The lone Musai cruiser sliced through the emptiness of space, it's green hull a spectacle in an otherwise black realm. It's cannons bristled, as though still ready for combat. It's engines flared as it pushed away from what had once been it's home. As the Principality of Zeon's main light cruiser, it was a formidable vessel, still capable of blasting opposing starships into scrap metal, or vaporizing fighters and mobile suits unlucky enough to be caught by it's beams.
Right now, none of that armament was going to do it any good.
A man dressed in a red uniform, wearing a mask over his eyes and nose and bearing a large, silver helmet on his head, stood on her bridge, watching the stars. He didn't move as the ship changed course, or as crewmen rushed hither and yon, nor did he take any peculiar interest in what was being said.
It had been a very... interesting year.
It had all started with colonization of the Earth Sphere, the area of space in and around the Moon's orbit. Within fifty years, man had built a veritable, prosperous empire in his own backyard. Groups of colonies placed around Lagrangian points were known as "Sides," and they grew rapidly in size and population.
Of course, as with all colonial empires, some of these had wanted independence. Under the philosophy and leadership of Zeon Zum Deikun, one such group of colonies, known as Side 3, declared independence, becoming the Republic of Zeon.
Well, that hadn't gone well with the leaders of the Earth Federation, who had immediately put economic pressure on the republic to force it back into the fold. None of those little tricks had succeeded; Zeon remained independent, and was going strong.
Then, one day, Zeon Zum Deikun died; the doctors had claimed it was from disease, from an elderly body.
For once, the man's expression changed slightly. It's all lies, he though viciously. I know what really happened.
After Deikun's death, the Zabi family took power, with Degwin Zabi leading, taking on the title "Sodo", or "lord". He transformed the Republic of Zeon into the Principality of Zeon, a dictatorship. The Zabis had ruthlessly purged all those who stood in their way, and ten years later no one in the Principality was strong enough to challenge them.
The year before, Year 0079 of the Universal Century, the tense atmosphere between the Earth Federation and the Principality broke out into full scale war. Zeon struck hard and fast from the beginning, destroying Earth fleets and capturing colonies.
The man turned his eyes downward somewhat. "Captured" was more or less a euphemism in this case; the inhabitants of those colonies hadn't switched their allegiance. Instead, they had been gassed. In the first week of the war - known to many as the "One Week War" or "One Week Battle" - billions of men, women, and children died as the Zeon forces wiped out Sides 1, 2, and 4.
It was a brutal war in spite of how short it had been. In the first month or so, one full third of humanity lay dead. Zeon tried twice to drop a colony onto a Federation base. The first attempt failed when the colony broke up in the atmosphere, missing the Federation base, though Sydney was completely obliterated. The second attempt lead to a battle the exhausted Zeon and wiped out an entire Earth fleet.
This was all made possible by the invention of the mobile suit, a fast, mechanized, agile vehicle, usually taking shape with two arms, two legs, and a head. Approximately 60 feet or so high, carrying a gun comparable to that of a battleship, and equipped with a beam weapon, it was a stunning invention. The Earth federation had been caught completely off guard, suffering massive defeats and losing battle after battle.
Eventually, though, even with it's blitz tactics and complete disregard for human life, even with an invasion of Earth itself, Zeon was slowly pushed back by the Earth forces, which remained determined and dutiful all throughout the war. Earth developed it's own versions of mobile suits, including the Gundam project.
Ah. Gundam. The man remembered his first clash with the machine the Federation had developed. It's why I'm stuck in this whole mess. The person responsible for the fall of Zeon, the one who destroyed all the red-coated man had ever come to love and who had lead to this ignoble flight...
He checked himself. Remember, you have a future to prepare for.
In any event, the pilot of the Gundam, Amuro Ray, had a mobile suit that was much more powerful than any Zeon had to use. Armed with a mighty gun and a beam sword, it could meet almost any challenge. And it had.
I should know; I faced Gundam more than once.
Armed with Gundam, and other mobile suits such as the GM and GM Command, the Federation had pushed back, repelling Zeon and throwing them off Earth. In a coordinated offensive, the Federation advanced, taking out Solomon fortress. Sensing the war was coming to a close, Degwin Sodo Zabi tired negotiating for peace.
The peace deal might have worked. On the other hand, it might not. It didn't matter. Gihren Zabi had ordered the Zeon superweapon, the Solar Ray, to fie on the Federation fleet, knowing full well that his father was in the crossfire. Degwin and 30% of the Federation fleet were vaporized in an instant.
That didn't stop the Federation, which immediately launched an attack on the main Zeon fortress of A Baoa Qu. In the final battle of the war, the Federation eventually broke through the stubborn Zeon defense and captured the fortress, ending the war. On January 1st, 0080 U.C., a peace treaty was final signed, ending the 363 day conflict.
That was when the trouble started. The destruction wrought by Zeon during the war, in particular the destruction of Sydney, had caused paranoia concerning spacenoids to go through the roof. People naturally wanted answers, and they wanted revenge, revenge for the deaths of over a third of humanity. Federation agents had begun sweeping Side 3, although the newly-reborn Republic was still technically independent. They'd taken several former Zeon aces into custody.
Knowing he was on the list of vengeance - he knew full well he was, given his own vengeful conduct during the conflict - he and other Zeon patriots formulated a plan. During "nighttime" hours - times people in the Republic would be asleep - a group of Zeon soldiers who had fought in the war had attacked and overpowered the Musai's crew, or else convinced them to join them, and had begun their voyage.
The Federation undoubtedly knew about the theft by now. They would probably think that the lone cruiser and it's band of fugitives would have nowhere to go. After all, mankind had yet to build a ship capable of traveling from stat to star. Eventually, or so logic said, the Musai would run out of fuel and be captured, and all who had chosen to flee in her would be subject to "justice".
In this case, logic was wrong. For in the waning days of the war, Zeon scientists had made a breakthrough. They had invented a faster-than-light drive - one that had been installed in this very ship. It hadn't been tested yet, true, but the man and his compatriots knew it to be their only hope.
"Captain, we're ready to begin the jump sequence."
"Commence jump when you're ready," the man replied without looking at the speaker.
"Yes, Captain."
It was a compliment to his abilities during the war, the man thought, that the federation wanted to get it's hands on him so badly. How not, when he was known as the Red Comet, the pilot so feared by his Federation counterparts? Who could forget how he had made a name for himself in the Battle of Loum, how he had relentlessly pursued Gundam and came so close to destroying it?
The man's name was Char Aznable, Zeon's greatest pilot and son of Zeon Zum Deikun.
Char, otherwise known as Casval Rem Deikun, had had a bellyful of war and revenge. Deikun the elder had been poisoned by the treacherous Zabis. Casval, taking the name Char, went into hiding, enlisting in Zeon's military and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He became friends with Garma Zabi, the youngest of the family. Feeding Garma false information, he had let Garma run right into the teeth of Federation fire. He remembered contacting Garma in his last moments, laughing cruelly as his "friend" crashed to Earth and died.
Of course, such "incompetence" on his part earned him the wrath of Garma's big brother, Dozle, who had relieved Char. However, neither he nor anyone else ever suspected that Char had lead Garma to his death on purpose. Char had watched as Dozle was killed when Big Zam, his massive mobile armor, had been destroyed by Gundam; he'd had courage, getting out and spraying Gundam with machine gun fire before being caught in the explosion.
Gihren had, of course, killed his own father when he had authorized use of the Solar Ray, and Kycillia, furious over Gihren's actions, had slain him for patricide. At the time, Char had been fighting for his life, dueling Amuro Ray, his quest for vengeance temporarily forgotten.
For Amuro had slain Lalah Sune, Charr's protégé and the woman who he had hoped would supercede him as a leader and a fighter.
Char burned as he remembered the event. He didn't care about the facts, that Lalah had thrown herself into the path of Amuro's sword to save him, or that Amuro hadn't intended to kill her. He had killed her. He would pay the price, of that Char vowed.
It was only when his sister, Sayla Mass, aka Artesia Som Deikun, had stepped in and reminded him of his quest for vengeance against the Zabi family that he managed to pull himself back to his original mission.
"Garma, I'm sending your sister to join you. Consider this my farewell gift." With those words, he'd lifted a bazooka he'd found and destroyed the bridge of Kycillia's ship, killing her in the process and completing his mission of revenge.
And it had gotten him... nothing. He felt little sense of accomplishment. His father was still dead, Lalah was still dead, and nothing he could do could possibly call them back from the land of death. He was a fugitive, running from Federation agents, away from the world his father had created.
I have nothing anymore, other than my life and my ambitions. Sayla had remained in the Republic, being the good girl he'd told her to be. Too bad I'm not a good big brother.
As the ship's drives warmed up and the floor began to shake mildly, he wondered if his quest had been in vain. Perhaps vengeance wasn't all it was cranked up to be. Maybe he had been ruled by rage all this time.
A more stubborn part of his mind refused to take in this explanation. Remember Lalah. Remember that the Federation has driven you from your home.
And what did your revenge get you? It has done nothing. Perhaps worse than nothing. You've had to leave behind your remaining family and most of your friends, running from the Federation.
"Captain, our jump will commence in three minutes. I'd advise that you hold onto something."
The voice snapped him out of his thoughts and back to the present. He turned to the soldier who had spoken to him. "Thank you," Char said as he walked to his chair and sat down. The timer ticked down as Char continued to think about his past, and what was left for the future.
"Three, two, one... Commencing jump!"
There was an almighty heave, a flash - then the space outside the viewport seemed to run by in the opposite direction.
So this is the fabled hyperspace, Char thought, mildly surprised.
"Captain, our fuel's running a little low; we'll have to exit hyperspace if we plan on finding anymore," a crewman said from his station.
Char turned in his seat to gaze upon him. It was three hours after the initial jump. "Don't we have enough to reach Tau Ceti as planned?"
"No, captain; the drive's taken up far more fuel than we anticipated."
A lesser man would have pounded his fist on something. Char didn't, though he was probably two steps away from doing it. Of course an untested system would have problems, bugs, and issues, like fuel consumption. The prototype hadn't been taken for a spin, understandable due to the loss of the war by Zeon and the shelving of the project.
I pride myself on planning several steps ahead, but now I've proven myself a hypocrite.
"Alright, take us out. We'll discuss what to do after we discern the situation."
"Yes captain."
Char turned his chair forward, into the mind-boggling view of hyperspace. It was quite mesmerizing, but it had made him dizzy after a while.
There was another jerk like the first, then the empty blackness of space returned.
"Captain, I'm picking up a number of large objects in our vicinity."
"And...?"
"One of them is a planet, of that I'm sure."
"Good. We need somewhere to replenish our supplies, particularly the fuel for the jump drive."
"Do you want me to turn for the planet, captain?" the helmsman asked.
"Yes." Char stood up, adjusting his helmet. In any case, I'm eager to be the first to look upon this new world.
The Musai turned, and the planet his crew had detected came into view.
The first thought to cross his mind was it's similarity with Earth. There were three main continents, with green landscape covering most of the northernmost one. To the south west of that continent there was another; this one was mostly sand-colored, so much so that he was sure it consisted mainly of desert. The third, to the east of the second, was a mishmash of tan, red-brown, and green.
"Is there anything we can ascertain about that world from here?"
"Not yet, sir."
"Move us closer, then."
"Yes sir."
Strange. I'm sensing something... different about this planet. Like it's got something Earth doesn't. As a Newtype, a human who lived in space, he had an increased sense of mental awareness and an ability to detect hostility from others. It was partly why he was still here to think about it, and most of his opponents weren't. He had been able to telepathically communicate with Lalah; it was one reason why her death had been so literally painful for him. He remembered as she released a final, anguished scream as her body died; he'd felt it from within his mind, tearing at him from within.
He gave himself a mental shakedown. Lalah wasn't here to help him now. He had a crew to think about. During the war, he'd often tried to avoid connecting with other soldiers, but his sense of duty as well as sense of loyalty to Zeon had urged him to intervene on behalf of his fellow soldiers during the war.
M'Quve, you'd still be alive if you'd accepted my help, perhaps even here with me now.
He gave himself another mental shake. Nothing mattered right now other than the ship and the people she carried.
"Hmm? Captain, I think the system's glitched."
Char turned quickly to face the communications officer. "How so?"
"The computer is claiming that the sun and the moon are orbiting the planet, but... that's impossible."
"Hmm. It seems like a minor error," Char said. "Disregard it, and try to obtain some proper information about the planet."
"Yes sir."
Char looked upon the planet again. It certainly looked alive enough to bear a sentient species. If so, would he need to fight once more?
The Musai had a number of mobile suits onboard; one of them was his old, pinkish-red Zaku II. He would have preferred something more modern, like the Gelgoog, but considering that his other mobile suits had been destroyed in combat, it was the best he had, and more than enough to capture the vessel for himself and the other Zeon fugitives.
The world below looked relatively peaceful, though. Even if there were advanced lifeforms there, they probably wouldn't be advanced enough to do any real harm if they were hostile. This stopover would probably take a few days, a few month, if necessary, then they'd be on their way.
The planet loomed before them, it's oceans and landmasses clear and obvious to everyone by now.
"Captain, we've picked up a number of objects coming in at high velocity." The man looked up from his console, alarmed. "They're coming right at us, sir!"
"Take evasive action immediately!"
He knew it was too late even as he said it. The first rocky projectile struck the cruiser; Char grabbed a nearby console as the ship rocked.
"Fire on the remaining asteroids! Destroy them!"
He watched as the Musai's laser cannons opened fire. Several asteroids were vaporized; others broke apart on contact with the beams.
The rest kept coming, and not even the rate of fire kept up by the ship's crew could get them all. More struck the Musai, and this time Char was sent to his knees, clutching at the console.
"How bad are we hit?" he demanded.
"Sir, the engines are down," the communications officer reported, "and the jump drive is ready for another transit... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
His console had exploded, sending what was left of his body flying across the bridge. Char felt something shiver inside him as the man expired.
Secondary explosions began to go off, and the Musai shook like an animal in mortal pain.
"Captain! The gravity's got us, we're being pulled into the atmosphere!"
"Get the engines online!"
"There isn't time, captain!"
Deep down, Char had known this. He grabbed as his head as he felt the ship shudder, his own mind feeling the pain quite vividly.
"Then get to the escape capsules. The ship's lost."
"Yes sir!"
"And try to save as many mobile suits as you can!"
He wasn't sure the rest of the bridge crew had heard him; most of them were in the process of leaving. He gave himself a mental shrug. If they got to the escape capsules, they had a decent chance of living through this nightmare.
Char walked toward the exit himself. His destination wasn't a lifeboat. No. He intended to go with something with a little more firepower.
Chapter 2; Bailing out and first contact
Char was relieved to find that his Zaku was still in one piece. The ship shook again as it began to enter the atmosphere.
I have to hurry.
Char ran for it, dodging bits of the ceiling that were falling and making his way over to the mobile suit.
A metal beam almost fell on top of him as he neared the Zaku. He jumped to his right to dodge it, then ran to the Zaku, entering the cockpit and closing the hatch behind him. He began the start up sequence.
Come on, come on...
The suit shook as the engine finally started. Char checked the controls. The Zaku raised it's gun, as he'd ordered. It appeared to be in working order. With that, he began running to the hangar door.
Suddenly, the floor slipped out from under him, and he started falling.
He fired his rockets, and the decent stopped. He grabbed ahold of a beam above him, one of those still standing, and held on. Apparently, the ship had descended far enough that the planet's gravity had taken hold, which accounted for the sudden change. He was tempted just to rip the hangar doors open now and jump out.
The Zaku isn't made for an atmospheric entry, he reminded himself. Poor Crown learned that the hard way. That was another death on Amuro's head, one he intended to collect.
He felt a jab of fear, one he immediately discarded. He'd felt fear before. It had come, unbidden, into every battle he'd fought, into every sticky situation. Having been so close to it so often made it easy to toss aside.
"This is the Red Comet; are there any escape pods out there?" he called over his radio.
No response.
"Say again, this is Char Aznable; have any escape pods left the ship? Is there anyone out there?"
Again, there was no response. However, there was a strange static that ordinarily wasn't there.
"Blast," he muttered angrily.
Suddenly, voices started coming in on the radio, disconnected; "Aznab... read... who... esc... tioned?"
"Char here. Your communication is garbled, repeat your last transmission."
"Char Aznable... read... ou... who are... and what... pods... mentioned?"
"Identify yourself; who is this?"
"O... you to demand... I am?"
That sounded defiant. "This is the Red Comet. Identify yourself; where were you on the ship?" Then it hit him. "What part of Zeon's military did you occupy during the war?"
"What?...What... Zeon... is... questri... who... you?"
That confirmed Chars suspicions; this transmission wasn't coming from an escape pod. It was coming from someone else, someone who had no knowledge of what Zeon was. And that could only mean one thing... intelligent alien life.
Or it could be the Federation pretending...
No. He discarded that before he got far. Something in his mind was telling him that wasn't the answer, and he chided himself. All indications seemed to be that his original hunch was correct.
He also realized that he had been broadcasting on an open channel that anyone could read. He cursed himself for a fool. In Zeon's military, he would never have forgotten something so integral to a good soldier. The brief period of peace must have began the process of forgetfulness.
"Who.. ell are you, an... re you fro...?"
That was clear enough. It also reminded him to switch to a Zeon military channel. "Has anyone gotten to the escape - " He was forced to cut off as the beam he was hanging onto began to give way.
"Captain?"
"Yes?"
"Thank God," the voice on the radio responded. "Our group got to the escape pod just in time... I don't think anyone else made it, though; we haven't been able to raise anyone else."
Char shuddered as a secondary explosion shook the ship. "You're free?"
"Yes sir. Where are you?"
"In my mobile suit."
"In your... Sir, you're not still on that flaming pile of wreckage...!?"
"Right in one."
"You have to get out!"
"My suit isn't built for entering the atmosphere; I'm waiting until the ship's descended far enough to launch."
"With all due respect, captain, you're crazy!"
"So said many Federation pilots, and they're all dead." Char was forced to let go of the beam, and looked toward the front of the ship; that side of the hangar was now facing downward, and was probably safe enough to land on. He proceeded to do so, although the shaking and the rocking almost made him regret his action. "Just tell me when what's left of this rust bucket has fallen far enough for me to make a safe exit."
"Why a mobile suit, sir? Why not - "
"An escape pod?" Char finished. "We might need the firepower, and I'm not wasting all that time adding an extra supply of fuel. Besides which, be careful what channel you're broadcasting on; there are others listening."
"The Federation - "
"Has no hand in this. It's something new. Keep your guns ready on your aim steady when you land."
"Uh, yes sir."
Char waited. More parts of the rapidly decaying ship started falling around him, and he had to dodge quickly to avoid them; he wanted the Zaku to be in perfect condition, or as near to it as it could be, when he got to the surface.
"Sir, the ship..."
Char didn't hear the rest of it; an awful sound, one of metal tearing, ripped through his ears, and the ship shook, hard. Suddenly, the hangar was field with light. He looked up.
The rear end of the ship - what was now the top - had sheared away; clearly, the forces exerted on the Musai had torn it in two, and now...
Now is the time to make my move. He began moving toward what had been the starboard side of the hangar.
"Captain..."
"I'm going." Char looked over the edge.
A mass of blue met him. For a split second, he thought he must be confused, that he was still in space. Then it registered in his brain that what he was looking at was water. He was about to fall right into the sea.
And the Zaku was never built for underwater operation either. Still, he was past the danger stage, and he could leave without risk to his mobile suit.
"Captain..."
"Going... Now!"
He fired his rockets again, and the Zaku lifted off as though it was brand new. He flew into the sky, clearing the remains of the hangar bay, and watched as the bow section of the Musai fell into the water about a thousand feet below.
A shadow fell over him. He looked up.
The rear half of the ship was coming down... right on top of him!
It's just not my day.
He hit the rockets again, and his suit dived; faster and faster he went, for he knew he had to gain speed, to outpace the doom falling to meet him.
He was perhaps fifty feet from the water when he evened out and heading northward. He looked behind him and heard as well as saw the back half of the cruiser strike the water. Large waves rippled outward from the impact zone, some of them following him. Almost lazily, he flew to a height where the waves couldn't reach him, and watched as they passed by below.
There goes our only known means of leaving this rock, Char thought as he angled northward. A few Zeon refugees and a single mobile suit, against... what? That he didn't know.
He continued flying. So far, he hadn't been shot at or menaced by anything other than rogue asteroids and the wreckage of a dying ship. Not that he wasn't glad for the respite, but the radio had picked up somebody who wasn't from the Republic of Zeon, someone who could speak English... someone he was sure was not human. Furthermore, the voice he'd heard had been defiant and questioning, so he had expected some form of open hostility by now. Surely the falling, burning pieces of wreckage had been noticed on radar, if not by sight. There had to be something...
There. On his radar, a blip suddenly appeared. It was moving toward him; straight for him, in fact.
He raised his gun, ready to fire.
Suddenly, the blip stopped moving.
Hmm? That was odd in and of itself. Missiles didn't just stop in midair...
Then whatever it is, it isn't a missile.
He could see it on his forward camera, a speck, far away in the distance. He increased the magnification. It didn't zoom in as far as he'd thought, but even from here he could see that the thing had wings that were flapping, allowing it to hover in midair. Some form of native life, no doubt.
He increased the magnification even more.
A winged horse came into view. It was hovering there, plainly watching him.
An animal, no doubt, curious to see what's interrupted it's day.
But he cast that theory in the rubbish bin as soon as he got a second look at it. The eyes were too intelligent, and it's movements to concerted, to be just some stray beast. Instead of just taking a glance and then flying away, it continued to monitor his approach.
Then it took a pair of binoculars out of a couple of bags that he'd missed spotting until now, and held them in it's bare hooves, turning them in his direction.
"Definitely more than a brute beast," he muttered to himself.
Char watched as the horse's face suddenly became one of fear, and it flew away from him, back to the north.
There must be land nearby. if I just follow it...
He flew forward a at full speed. Though his quarry had originally fled at surprising speed, he rapidly gained on it; before long, he didn't need to use radar to keep track of it; he could follow it by eyesight alone.
Before long, he saw a landmass begin to rise from the ocean.
I could capture the alien; maybe it will reveal something. Then again, maybe not. Who's to say we speak the same language?
He chose to disregard the horse and headed for the landmass before him. Five minutes later, he touched down on solid ground, some distance inland, away from the beach.
Char allowed himself a minute's rest. Since this venture had begun, several hours ago, he'd been wide awake. Now some of that exhaustion was creeping up on him.
The blip on his radar hadn't gone away. In fact, it had been joined by numerous others. He looked up and a little to the left.
More winged horses were floating some distance away.
He zoomed in the camera. Most of them held a mixture of fear and curiosity on their faces. One held a camera of it's own, of an obsolescent kind seen perhaps a hundred years or so ago on Earth. With it, it took a picture of him, or, rather, his Zaku.
A lesser - or perhaps stupid - pilot might have fired his gun in the air just to watch them scatter. Char didn't do anything other than observe the lifeforms on his cameras for perhaps thirty seconds.
Then, facing forward, he started marching inland.
The horses didn't go away. Char saw another flash from the camera-user. That might get annoying if a threat decided to show up. However, by now he was beginning to suspect that the natives didn't have technology that equaled up to that of humanity in it's current state; if there were to have been a military response of that kind, he would have encountered it by now.
No sooner than he'd finished thinking this when three more horses appeared in the distance. These looked different from the others. For one thing, they were all on the ground. For another, these all had horns on their heads, a fact he verified by zooming his camera in on them
Third, they all bore some sort of armor.
Char could have laughed out loud if his situation hadn't otherwise been so serious. The armor was of a sort born by medieval warriors, of no practical use that he could see. He quickly turned away from them, but then stopped.
Maybe the aliens weren't so keen on being enemies as he'd suspected. That said, it was a good idea to monitor them so he'd have some inkling of what to expect from them.
He focused his cameras on the soldiers, zooming in as far as he could go without, of course, messing up his view of them. Right now, one of them was talking to the others, gesturing at the Zaku with a hoof as he spoke. The one beside him shrugged cautiously, making a stopping motion. The first stomped the ground in what seemed like an expression of frustration, and indeed, his - for Char hazarded a guess that it was male - had eyebrows facing inward with anger. The third horse was simply staying out of the conversation, perhaps hoping his superiors would leave him out of their argument.
Fascinating. As the first human to have glimpses of an alien civilization, he was impressed. Despite their deficiency in technology - if the ancient armor they wore had anything to say about it - they acted much like soldiers in a human military.
The one that seemed to be arguing for a less aggressive course of action noticed that the Zaku's head had turned their way, for he pointed excitedly at the mobile suit. Then, plainly having higher rank than the other two, he made a motion for them both to lower themselves behind a pair of bushes not far from their location.
So they want to keep tabs on me. Not that I blame them.
Some of the flying horses had become bored while he was standing still. They began to fly away northwestward, toward a village he'd noticed a moment before.
As long as the paparazzi is among them, I'm fine with that.
So far, the flying ones hadn't done anything suggesting military importance, and instead behaved like civilians who'd never heard of danger or warfare. Perhaps this was evidence of some sort of caste system.
Ha; I'm a soldier, not a scientist. What would I know about the subject.
When the departing flyers were perhaps a mile or so away, it happened. Something darted out of the woods to Char's right, nearly striking one of the flying horses. He saw the target of the projectile gasp in shock, then it and it's companions began fleeing westward, where a number of tall buildings were visible.
The three soldiers noticed the threat at once. They all lifted spears and charged at the woods, their excitement over his arrival forgotten in the wake of the attack.
Char watched as a number of ropes with stones or iron balls attached to them flew out of the woods and ensnared the horse soldiers; they fell, one after the other.
A group of doglike humanoids left the woods, running toward the village he'd seen.
They were unlike anything he'd seen before. The ran on their hind legs - no, what should have been their hind legs - but they had the faces of dogs, and their paws ended in long nails reminiscent of claws. They carried spears and crossbows, clearly bent on attacking the town he'd seen. The things dragged the three soldiers into the woods, and more of them came out of the forests, a few of them looking his way before one of them, apparently their leader, made a gesture ordering them to continue their attack.
Something about these creatures and their actions made Char's blood boil. The horses had been willing to merely follow him, perhaps to check if he was a threat, but these... dog things had turned up and attacked out of nowhere.
Like the damned Zabis, he thought. That comparison decided his course of action.
He wasn't going to let them just march on the town. He hit his rockets and took off, and he was glad to see looks of surprise and fear on their faces as he did so.
He flew toward the village. He noticed that it had buildings not unlike those of Industrial Age Earth. He gave a mental shrug. The inhabitants were plainly peaceful, perhaps to the point where they hadn't found the need to advance in the field of military science. If that was so, did that mean they were fools who deserved their fate?
"No." Char answered himself out loud. Too many had died in the One Year War who had never deserved their fate, the colonists of Sides 1,2, and 4 uppermost among them.
Odd, I'm not usually this sentimental. While he had cared for the soldiers under his command as much as he could, he knew he wasn't the closest to them. And his "friendship" with Garma made the very idea of affection seem... off. So why was this feeling burning within him, and why now?
Char landed on the eastern road just outside the village. He was aware that many of the townsfolk were coming out to view the spectacle of a mobile suit in their midst; it wasn't like they could miss it, it stood about sixty feet high, after all. He didn't even need the cameras to know; he could feel them with his Newtype powers. He ignored them as best he could and waited for the army of dog monsters to approach the town.
It didn't take long. Several horses, these without either wings or horns, fled from a patch of woods as the monsters advanced. Four of them were caught by the same devices the attackers had used to ensnare the soldiers. A pack of the things emerged from the wood, eager for the spoils, yet with the new titan standing before the town, they were understandably reluctant to advance.
Char switched to his external speakers. "Withdraw from this town and return whatever captives you've taken. Now," he added threateningly.
He didn't expect the dog things to understand him. Why would they, considering they were from different worlds and species? So he was caught off guard when one of the things, getting over it's shock, stepped forward. "Or what?" it called, raising a spear in his direction.
"Or this." Char raised his gun and fired. A beam burst forth from it's end. There was an explosion as the beam struck, vaporizing the dog and the small pack of it's comrades that had surrounded it and making a crater in the ground where they had stood seconds before.
Upon seeing what had become of their leader, the dog pack uttered howls of dismay. They dropped their equipment and ran, some resorting to running on all fours as they did so. Within moments, the place cleared out like magic.
Char could still feel the stares of the town's inhabitants upon him, terror interlacing with relief and curiosity. It was obvious they hadn't expected anything like this.
"Uh... excuse me..."
Char almost started. Then he realized that the voice was coming from behind. He turned around.
The entire town had turned out, and were now watching him. Closest to him was a blue-gray horse, one without horns or wings, one brave enough to have walked to within twenty feet of his machine. As he'd turned, it had backed up a few steps, then stood it's ground.
"Please pardon me for acting so upfront," the horse - a female, he guessed from it's voice - "it, er...what I mean to say is..."
"I'd advise you all to stay inside. There may be more of these things out here," Char said as the horse continued to have trouble speaking, gesturing with the left arm of his Zaku II to the direction the dogs had fled in.
Char hit his rockets and blasted off.
Well, that's one way to make first contact.
