Chapter 20: Blindsided
"Keep your bloody heads down!" Hawkins ordered
angrily as another pair of beams headed straight towards his squad. Both he and
Hoffman managed to evade the incoming shots, but the third Marasai, piloted by
a rookie named Jeffers, took a hit in the chest and suffered a reactor breach.
Hawkins instinctively ducked before he could be caught by the nuclear blast
that was sure to follow.
"****! My Marasai's been damaged by the blast
sir!" Hoffman announced as his Marasai lay helpless on the ground, having
lost a leg and both arms in the ensuing explosion, "I don't think I can
fight on sir!"
"Can you eject?" Hawkins asked as he fired a few
shots at the AEUG lines, trying to give some cover to the downed pilot,
"Hoffman?!"
"I can sir, but we can't press on the attack with only
one Mobile Suit!" Hoffman replied, frustration evident in his voice.
"Forget about the bloody assault and get your *** out
of here," Hawkins ordered as he ducked for cover, just barely avoiding
some beams fired at him in return, "Colonel Dolvich! This is Major
Hawkins, we've suffered severe losses and we are pulling back! Repeat we are
pulling back!"
---------------
"Hawkins! What the hell's happening down your end?!
Hawkins!" Natalie shouted into the radio as she warily began to scan the
jungles around her. Natalie was greeted only by static.
"Ma... mam... I don't think we're alone out
here..." the nervous voice of Lieutenant Jackson, the green pilot from the
23rd that had temporarily replaced Hasegawa, announced as he thought he saw several
shadows moving through the jungle. He swallowed as he realized the shadows were
getting nearer, "May... maybe we should fall back..."
"Ivan, how far are we from the enemy lines?"
Natalie demanded, not wanting to let the many hairs standing on the back of her
neck to cloud our judgment, "I thought we were close."
"I'm not sure mam," Ivan replied as he also began
to warily scan the vegetation around him, realizing that Jackson might be
right, "We should've encountered a couple of their Hover Tanks by now,
unless..."
"They're planning an ambush..." Natalie concluded
as her eyes went wide, realizing that she had probably just fallen into a trap,
"****! Ivan! Jackson! Pull back! Head straight for the LZ!"
---------------
"Smart move, Titans scum," Yoko said almost
approvingly as her Zugock started dashing towards the fleeing Marasais,
"But let's see if you can run fast enough!"
The three Marasais were supposed to be faster on the ground
than her bulky amphibious Mobile Suit, but she quickly saw that one of them had
difficulty negotiating the terrain and was being slowly left behind by his
comrades. The other two tried to compensate by turning back every once in a
while to cover their slower companion, but then the green pilot made a wrong
turn and found himself separated from the other two pilots. Never one to knock
on opportunity, she slowed down and began to stalk the isolated pilot, wanting
to savor the savage joy of being able to slowly rip her prey apart...
---------------
"Jackson, where the hell are you?!" Natalie
demanded as she retraced her footsteps in her efforts to locate the now missing
pilot, "Jackson! Respond!"
"I... I don't know!" the nervous pilot responded
as the loud sound of metallic footsteps began to disrupt the signal,
"Oh... Oh God... a giant crab seems to be after me... I..."
"Giant crab?!" Natalie demanded as she began to
sense the ground shaking as well, and realized that she must be getting closer,
"Jackson! What the hell are you talking about?!"
"A sea monster mam!" Jackson screamed in reply,
"I haven't seen anything like it before!"
Sea monster? Natalie thought. Could it be ANOTHER of those Zugocks?
"Jackson! Try to remember the profiles of Zeon underwater MS! Tell me if
you remember anything familiar!"
"I don't know!" the pilot screamed, giant
footsteps now clearly audible in the background "I just want to get out of
here alive!"
"Mam, I think I've spotted him!" Ivan reported as
he pointed to a clearing, "There!"
"Come on Ivan, let's go!" Natalie ordered as she
started dashing towards the clearing and hoped that whatever that thing was
wouldn't get to Jackson before she got to him, "Jackson! What's your
status?"
"I... I think I've lost him..." Jackson replied as
he started breathing heavily, almost muffling the sound of his own voice over
the radio, "I... I think I see you! You're due east of me!"
"Got it!" Natalie replied as she turned westwards,
and found herself letting out a sigh of relief as she saw Jackson's unharmed
Marasai, "I've spotted you too Jackson, now..."
"Now, he dies..." a cold voice declared as a dark
shape appeared right behind Jackson's Marasai. Before Natalie could do
anything, the monster grabbed the unfortunate Mobile Suit from behind and
dragged it back into the darkened jungle, quickly disappearing into the thick
vegetation. A blood-curdling scream followed as Jackson finally met his fate.
---------------
"What's the situation?" Sylvie demanded as the
last two GM IIs finally turned tail, deciding that it was probably best to
remain as far away from her as possible, "Are our flanks secure?"
"Captain Gressiere, Yun is reporting the right flank is
secure," O'Connor responded as quickly as he could, still amazed at how
she had taken down all eight of those GM IIs on her own, "However, we
still can't raise Yoko on the left, although we think..."
"I'll check up on her," Sylvie volunteered,
knowing that Yoko was probably letting her barbaric instincts get the better of
her again, "And O'Connor, don't call me Captain. I don't plan to become a
leader in your little insurrection."
"Yes mam."
---------------
Damn it... just kill the poor ******* already! Natalie
thought as the screaming continued. Jackson was still alive, but the sick *****
piloting the MSM was now slowly crushing the Marasai's cockpit while he was
still trapped in it. Natalie closed her eyes as she heard the sickening sound
of metal being crunched into an ever-shrinking space, followed by yet another
scream.
"Just a little more, and your friend will scream no more,"
the female voice taunted over the radio, "How about trying to do the noble
thing and sacrifice yourselves for your young friend? Oh... I forgot... Titans
have no morals..."
*****! I swear, I'm going to kill you for this... Natalie
promised herself as she painfully decided to cut the radio link to Jackson,
knowing she couldn't do anything more to save the doomed pilot. She found
herself closing her eyes to fight back the tears, and hating herself for...
"Mam what do we do?!" Ivan demanded as he realized
Natalie had cut the link, "We can't just...!"
"We aren't abandoning him," Natalie promised,
"But listening to him scream for his life isn't going to help. We need to
be focused. Now keep close and let's start searching. If luck is with us, maybe
we can..."
"My, my, aren't you going to stay and hear him
die?" the voice taunted on as the Jackson's now desperate voice became
audible in the background, "I thought Titans liked brutality, isn't that
what you..."
"Just shut up and say your prayers you AEUG
*****!" Natalie finally shouted back as she let her temper get the better
of her, "Because if anything happens to Jackson I'm going to make sure to
cut off your tongue and make you endure a thousand days of torture before I
send you off to Hell. You hear me you rebel scum?!"
Yoko merely smiled in return, amused at the Titans officer's
threats. She paid no heed to them. Instead, she pulled the now half-crushed
cockpit out of the ruined Marasai's innards and placed it on the ground. Her
Zugock's feet began to hover over the hapless Jackson, and he could only scream
as he realized that it was slowly coming down...
---------------
You sick psychopath... Sylvie thought as she arrived just in
time to see the full weight of Yoko's Mobile Suit finally crush the unfortunate
pilot, whose final, agonizing scream had been blotted out by the sound of his
own bones snapping as his body was smothered into an unidentifiable mass of
blood and flesh. She felt like shooting Yoko right then and there, but decided
to stop herself for the moment. The voice of that Titans pilot was
unmistakable, and she wanted to deal with the... "unexpected guest"
by herself.
"Yoko, fall back to the base," Sylvie ordered as
she centered her sights on her target, "I'll take care of those Titans,
and unlike you I don't plan on using excessive force."
"Oh no Sylvie, I'm not going to let you have all the
fun on your own," Yoko replied wickedly as she began to stalk the two surviving
Marasais, whose pilots were now furiously searching for her, "And don't
lecture me on the rules of war Sylvie. You hardly remembered them went you went
off and tortured Ming"
"Yoko, return to the base immediately," Sylvie
ordered as she tightened her grip on the trigger, angry that Yoko had once
again mentioned that... damn name, "And remember, I'm using the same type
of beam rifle as they are."
"Why? Are you going to kill me?" Yoko dared,
"Are you planning to stage a crime scene? Or perhaps you're turning
traitor already? Have you forgotten about John? Remember, his life is still in
my hands..."
"Yoko, just do it," Sylvie ordered tiredly, not
wanting to be manipulated any further, "I'd hate to see your Mobile Suit
suffer severe damage."
"Promise that you'll serve with AEUG on a more
permanent basis, then those two will be all yours," Yoko offered, "I
know you hate them with a passion, so why not join us and help us kill more of
them? Isn't that what you love doing the most?"
Naive fool... Sylvie thought but did not bother to say out
loud. I have other plans Yoko, and I'm not going to let you interfere in them
again. She fired.
---------------
Natalie's eyes went wide as she saw a beam coming straight
for her, but to her surprise the shot passed harmlessly above her head and
missed her entirely. She then spotted some movement in the jungle in front of
her.
"There!" Natalie shouted as she pointed at what
looked like a blue colored Mobile Suit running deeper into the jungle. She
quickly signaled Ivan to follow her, before beginning a headlong rush to catch
that AEUG *****. This was all personal now, and she was going to make that
rebel pay for what she did to Jackson...
"Mam! Something's wrong..." Ivan warned as he
tried to keep up with Natalie, and found himself being slowly left behind,
"Jackson said he was attacked by an MSM, that didn't look like..."
"He said he didn't know what it was, so it could've
been ANYTHING," Natalie replied testily as she realized she had lost sight
of that blue Mobile Suit, and cursed herself for letting it get away, "You
know they were testing some new toys here in New Guinea, and I have no doubts
our AEUG friends are making the most of our hard-earned research."
"But mam..." Ivan started before a beam suddenly
sliced through his Mobile Suit's right arm, chopping it off entirely along with
his beam rifle, "****! I'm hit! Take cover!"
"Ivan?!" Natalie asked as she turned around, just
in time to see a second beam slice of the Marasai's other arm. She fired a shot
in the direction of the beam, but no explosion followed, and her hand began to
shake as the uneasy feeling that had been haunting her began to cloud her judgment
once again...
"I... I'm alright, but that sniper took out both my
arms!" Ivan reported as he warily looked around, fearing that enemy sniper
would fire a final shot to take him out, "I can't defend myself!"
"Ivan, get back to the LZ, I'll cover you..."
Natalie ordered as she began to scan the area, yet fearing that her efforts
would be futile, "I'll follow you as soon as I take down that
sniper."
"Mam, I'm not leaving you!" Ivan protested,
"You can't take that sniper on by your own! We need to..."
"Ivan, just go," Natalie ordered as she began to
march deeper into the jungle, knowing that whoever that sniper was, she was
going to have to face her, sooner or later...
----------------
"Crafty, very crafty..." Yoko muttered as she
finally realized that she had lost them. Sylvie had intentionally fired upon
those two Titans to bait them into following her, leaving her own Zugock to be
left behind thanks to its slower ground speed. She made a note to give Sylvie a
few more extra hours of "reprogramming" once she finally got her
hands on her for this minor infraction. Colonial independence was only going to
be achieved if it had single-minded soldiers fighting for it, and she had
already devised a program to transform Subject V into one of them, whether she
liked it or not...
"Captains Gressiere and Nagato, where the hell are
you?" Major Anderson demanded, his voice barely audible over the radio,
"What is the status of our flank?"
But until then Sylvie, I'll let you have a little more
fun... Yoko decided as she chose to answer, "This is Yoko, flank is
secure. We had three Titans units coming our way but we stopped them cold. I
took down one of them while Sylvie is pursuing the other two, I believe it
won't take her too long. Awaiting instructions."
"Return to base immediately and help secure the launch
area," Anderson ordered, "Scott is saying that the work is almost
done, and he wants to make sure it's safe before the launch starts."
"Understood," Yoko replied as an evil smile formed
around her lips, realizing another golden opportunity had presented itself,
"I'm on my way."
---------------
"Come on out here you AEUG scum!" Natalie shouted
into the airwaves as she began to frantically search for that sniper, "And
if you are in anyway related to that ***** who killed Jackson, say your prayers
because I'm going to turn what's left of your miserable life into a living
hell!"
Don't bother Natalie... A certain Ming Chow has already
beaten you to the punch... Sylvie thought as she started considering her
options. She had always thought that Natalie would be inclined to do the right
thing... but Yoko's damn display had probably left her with a seriously
disturbed view of AEUG. Natalie would probably hate her now if she knew she was
fighting for rebels capable of committing such atrocities, and once she started
down that path...
"Colonel Dolvich, please, just leave," Sylvie
asked as she finally decided to talk, "You can't win this fight now. Don't
let your temper get the better of you and throw your life away."
Syl... Sylvie? Natalie thought as she recognized the voice,
and feeling her hands shake even harder as she realized that her fondest
hopes... and her worst fears came true at the same time. Sylvie? Why?! Did you
really just fake your death to join those murderers?! Did you... "Sylvie?
Is that..."
"Your best friend is dead," the voice replied, "I'm...
just a killing machine they built out of her remains. Please Natalie,
just..."
"Damn it Sylvie, stop being so damn cryptic! I KNOW
it's still you!" Natalie demanded as she wished she could get a visual
link, so that she could just see her once more and be sure that it really was
her... "What did those AEUG *******s do to you? Did they turn you into a
Guinea Pig for their Newtype experiments?! Did they force you into doing this?!
Sylvie, I know you! You won't just..."
"It wasn't AEUG who killed her, Natalie," Sylvie
replied sadly, "It was..."
"Wilkins..." Natalie concluded as she gritted her
teeth, realizing that she NEVER should've trusted that damn ******. He had been
eyeing Sylvie for a long time, ostensibly because he wanted her for a couple of
SpecOps Missions, but she never imagined that twisted ****** would ACTUALLY
take a loyal soldier like Sylvie and... "Sylvie, listen to me. I don't
know what that ****** did to you to make you join the other side, but when we
get back to Peking I swear..."
"I can't come back Natalie," Sylvie replied
firmly, "They'll just take me away again and kill you in the process.
Please, forget about me and just live the life you always wanted. If you don't
you might just..."
"You know I can't do that!" Natalie responded,
"I can't let something like this slide Sylvie! I can't just sit down
knowing everything that's going on out there! And I can't understand why you
trust murderers like that ***** who..."
"There are bad apples everywhere, even in AEUG,"
Sylvie answered simply, "Her name is Captain Yoko Nagato, a former member
of the Zeon Special Forces, and I can tell you for certain that she is not my
ally."
Yoko Nagato? Natalie thought as she burned that name into
her memory, swearing she'd be the one to kill that murdering ***** for killing
Jackson like that, "And what do you want me to do Sylvie? Join your
rebellion? You know I can't do that either! Sylvie, you know that they won't
agree after what just happened, and you can't ask me to choose between..."
"I know that there's only one person who is truly close
to your heart Natalie, even though you may still deny it because of your
rank," Sylvie reminded, "And I am not asking you to leave him for my
sake. I told you, forget about me. Forget that I ever existed. But you know
further fighting here is going to be futile. Take your men and leave. Go back
to Saigon and just sit this war out. I'll make sure nothing happens to your men
as long as they are there."
"Sylvie.. damn it you know it's not that simple!"
Natalie countered, "What about the next time? What if I'm ordered to hunt
you down?! What if we meet again in battle?! What if we...?"
"Natalie, I kept telling you that there's only one
thing I truly wished for in my entire life," Sylvie reminded as her voice
trailed off, as she fought the memories now flooding back in her mind. If only
she could just return to those days... just one last time... "And that's
why I also kept telling you not to let your blind loyalty get in the way.
Because in the end, he might be the only one to come to hold you when you're
finally all alone, crying in the dark..."
"Sylvie?" Natalie asked, blinking away tears as
she sensed the overwhelming sadness in Sylvie's voice. Sylvie didn't respond.
When Natalie checked her radio, she found that Sylvie had already cut the link,
leaving her alone with only those parting words to guide her thoughts.
---------------
August 2, UC 0087. 0730 Zulu.
Federal Headquarters, East Asia Theater of Operations.
Peking, China.
Titans Major Fredrick Bayerlein* was already deep in thought
when the dispatch from New Guinea finally arrived. A native of Earth that had
spent a good portion of his childhood in the colony of New Koenigsberg, he
ordinarily would never have been accepted into the Titans ranks for having such
blatant spacenoid influences, especially influences from a colony that had
raised one of the most feared fighting units that Zeon had ever fielded for
that matter, had it not been for the outstanding reputation of his father and
his wide knowledge of genetics and Newtypes. Besides, Bayerlein thought on
cynically, that fool Wilkins liked having competent officers around to take
credit for their hard-earned work, though for once it seems Wilkins would be
the one taking the blame thanks to the efforts of a certain Subject V...
"I hear you have news..." Wilkins asked as he
entered the command room, having taken yet another coffee break only a few
moments before, "How did the attacks go?"
"We have suffered rather severe casualties sir,"
the Major replied in an even tone, trying not to betray his utter contempt
towards his superior, "Our U-class has disappeared, presumably sunk along
with its escorts. Colonel Dolvich's attack has also been beaten off, and it
seems little is left of her battalions."
"We still have one force left, how far are they from
New Guinea?" Wilkins demanded.
"Very close sir, they should be arriving in five minutes."
Wilkins merely nodded. The first two groups were expendable
anyway, and it was about time those AEUG rebels met a force that was more than
their match...
---------------
"About bloody time..." Honour muttered as a pair
of seamen finally pulled him out of the water and into the rescue boat. Both he
and Rollins had managed to survive the sinking of the X-7, but it had taken a
rather long while for somebody to come rescue them, and as a result Rollins had
swallowed a great deal of saltwater while he struggled to keep afloat. The
young man was now looking very sick and regularly threw up as his stomach tried
to force out the excess water in his system. Fortunately enough, despite the
obvious discomfort he was suffering, Rollin's condition wasn't life
threatening.
"What's been going on?" Honour asked the boat's
coxswain as he shifted his attention away from his injured crewman, "Have
we beaten off the attack? Casualties?"
"The situation is still confused, but I think we've
beaten them off sir," the coxswain reported, "However, we've only
found a few survivors from the 557, and most of them are in critical condition.
I don't think many of them are going to make it."
"Colonel Mason?" Honour asked, cursing himself for
not detecting that enemy U-class.
"Wounded sir," the coxswain replied as he bit his
lip, "Perhaps mortally."
---------------
"Ho... how many did..." Colonel Ken Mason gasped
before he coughed out some more of his own blood, his internal injuries now
taking their toll. John could barely stand there and watch, knowing that if he
told Ken the truth...
"Ken, just lie down and relax..." John started,
"You're too badly injured, and..."
"How many made it John?!" Ken finally blurted out
as he held his chest, trying to ignore the pain, "Tell me! That's an
order!"
"Not many," John replied, deciding to just stick
with the truth, "Perhaps a dozen, maybe two dozen, most of them as banged
up as you are."
"Damn..." Ken replied as he tried to stand up,
breathing painfully as he did so, before falling back down to the floor once
again, "I have to... have to get up... Have to find more of them and get
them somewhere safe..."
"Already doing that Ken," John replied, trying to
sound enthusiastic, as though the situation wasn't as dire as it really was,
"We still have boats in the water, and they're still finding people as we
speak. Those we've found are already being treated, and some are being either
reassigned to the U-606 or the Shigure..."
"God help the ship that witch is going to be assigned
to..." Ken muttered as his eyes began to drift away, "Damn kid...
needs somebody like me to spank the hell out of her before..."
"I know Ken..." John whispered as the Colonel
finally fell silent, his eyes now staring into nothingness. John reached out to
check his pulse. It was gone.
---------------
"Damn it Ivan! Why did you leave the Colonel
behind?!" Hawkins demanded as Ivan finished his report, "Didn't you
realize she might be dead by now because of you?!"
"She ordered me to fall back sir!" Ivan countered,
"As a soldier I had no choice. I couldn't have..."
"She was not thinking very clearly from the sound of
your story Ivan," Hawkins cut off, "And it was YOUR duty to protect
her no matter what! Is your own skin more important?!"
Then why didn't you insist on going with her? Ivan thought
angrily in return. You've been keeping your eye on her since the two of you
have met anyway, so why don't you just...
"Sir! I've spotted something!" Hasegawa reported
from his observation perch, "A Mobile Suit of some sort."
"Identify," Hawkins ordered, hoping it was
Natalie.
"Unknown sir, but if it's one of those AEUG
rebels..." Hasegawa started.
"Keep your bloodlust to yourself and identify that
Mobile Suit Hasegawa," Hawkins angrily cut off, getting more frustrated as
each second passed. He knew he shouldn't have entrusted her safety to Ivan, he
knew that...
"Calm down, sir," Hasegawa replied in a smug tone,
"You need not worry anymore. It seems your fair lady has returned."
"Can it Hasegawa. Don't forget that I am still your
superior officer," Natalie ordered as her Marasai became clearly visible
to a very relieved Hawkins, "And calm down Major, it's unlike you to show
your temper."
"Mam, are you alright?" Hawkins asked, too
relieved to even notice Natalie's comment, "Did that sniper..."
"Hawkins, just gather the surviving men and call in the
Mideas to extract us," Natalie ordered as she took one last, regretful
look at the jungle behind her, wishing there could have been another way,
"Our fight is finished here Hawkins. We're going back to Saigon."
---------------
"For the last time Yoko, I'm not in the mood for your
games," John replied angrily as Yoko confronted him with yet another
"proposal". He'd seen enough people get killed today, and with this
lunatic who...
"Oh come on John, are you going to leave your dear
Sylvie here under my care?" Yoko replied smugly, "I've already
explained to you what I'm going to do to your Newtype friend, and you also know
that she's stupid enough not to go with you, don't you?"
"I'll plan a Yoko-style kidnapping if I have to, but
until then leave me alone," John muttered as he loaded the last stretcher
into a waiting Type 82. Four of Ken's surviving crewmen, Nikki among them, were
too injured to remain onboard the U-606 with its non-existent medical
facilities, and they were about to be sent to the Shigure for treatment. They
would have to find some way to get back to their Kalaba allies in the future
once they got out of the cruiser's medical bay, but it was a lot better than
ending up dead, "As you can see I have important work to do."
"Fine, suit yourself," Yoko replied with a smile,
"I'll just have to shoot you again so the doctor will have to send you to
the Shigure along with that Torecelli kid. You know you two look very cute
together you know, especially if you're both fighting for AEUG."
"Yoko, shut up," John replied tiredly as he gave
Yoko the finger, "That isn't funny, and if you say that again I'll be the
one doing the shooting."
An explosion suddenly gave lie to that statement.
---------------
"What the hell?!" Liv shouted as she spotted the
blue-colored disk now sweeping low over the base, firing a powerful beam weapon
of some sort several times and destroying several buildings and laying waste to
the dock area. Being a fan of early 20th Century science fiction movies, she
would've sworn that thing was an alien UFO had it not been for another, more
familiar shape now accompanying it. A very familiar shape. And a VERY large one
too...
"Holy ****, is that what I think it is?!" Gordon
remarked as he spotted the huge former Zeon airborne carrier, "I thought
the Federation phased out all of those damn Gaus**!"
"They obviously weren't very thorough..." Liv
replied as she dodged some anti-aircraft fire now coming her way, before
spotting even more unwelcome guests heading straight for the base, "Oh
****. Jean, if you're hearing this, you'd better get the hell ready. It looks
like a couple of flying carpets are coming your way..."
---------------
And there is nothing magical about a flying carpet... Jean
thought to himself as the first three GM IIs started their strafing runs, all
of them enjoying the speed and elevation offered by riding atop a Dodai class
heavy bomber/transport. An ADV began to open up on one of the GMs, but the blue
UFO, now identified by Jean as a Variable Mobile Armor Type AEUG had earlier
encountered in the former Kennedy Base, fired a shot that blew the ADV apart.
All three GMs completed their strafing runs unscathed, and killed two Type 82s
and one of Jean's surviving wingmen in the process. Things were already looking
pretty bad after the strafing run, and they only got worse as the Gau began
dropping its troops.
There was only one Mobile Suit that Major Anderson had come
to fear after taking command of the Hover Battalion, and the sight of three of
them being dropped by the Gau almost made him panic. As fast as his tanks were,
Doms were even faster, and were better armed and armored. Anderson ordered all
of his men to concentrate their fire on the incoming Doms, but before his
gunners could set their sights all three managed to land safely on the ground.
A chill passed throughout the AEUG ranks as all three monoeyes flashed red as
one, announcing that the slaughter was about to begin...
---------------
*Just in case anybody's remotely interested, Bayerlein was
taken from one Colonel Fritz Bayerlein, who served under Rommel's DAK in North
Africa. I was initially considering using a more "aristocratic"
German surname for this particular character, but since His Divine Shadow has
clearly ear-marked most of them for his own fic, I decided to use something
more ordinary. Besides, I doubt he'd be very welcome in the 10th Pzk Division
after joining the Titans^_^.
Oh, and speaking of HDS, a couple of blatant In Vain Doth
Valour Bleed(otherwise known as the fic that's so good that it'll make even the
most loyal Feddie shout "Sieg Zeon!") references here as well^_^. I
just hope I got it all right...
** Yeah, I used a Gau. I figured they'd keep a few after the
war, since the Feddies have been playing around with Zeon technology alot, and
also because using an Audhumla class with a fully-loaded MS complement will
almost spell certain doom for our heroes ^_^. Same story for the Doms, though I
think they're going to be doing a lot of trouble in the next chapter ^_^.
---------------
Notice: This fic and all its contents are copyrighted by Thomas E. "Zinegata" Ting. No part of this work may be taken by any other person without permission from the author. Gundam and all related trademarks are owned by Bandai and their respective companies.