Mobile Suit Gundam; Char's Redemption

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.