Mobile Suit Gundam: The Mane Invasionby awkwardGardenerChaptersChapter One: Friends and FailingsChapter Two: Second Battle of A Baoa QuChapter Three: Mequine RisingChapter Four: Corsair and the CometChapter Five: The Insult of Luna IIChapter One: Friends and Failings - I decided to take a break from my other story. I had to many ideas, so I thought that if I actually did one of them I would have an easier time writing Dueling Dash. I'm really interested in seeing where I go with this story. I'm also very curious as to what readers think of it. So if you read this and have an opinion, feel welcome to comment. I would love it if everyone who reads this commented. Hope you guys like it as much as I do :3 - - A young man sat within the cockpit of his Mobile Suit. He wore a subtle smile but the rest of his face remained obscured by the elaborate helmet upon his head. He had just received word that his subordinates had been successful in the first phase of their mission. Of course they succeeded; it was his plan after all. “Begin phase two of the mission.” The man said calmly to the green clad man on his view screen. “Alert me if there are any complications.” The man on the screen saluted and said, “Yes sir. Proceeding with the mission.” The screen switched off as communications were closed between the two, but flickered back on a moment later. A tall, muscular man with a large scar across his chin appeared on the screen. “Commander Char, what is the status on your mission?” The man asked. “Admiral Dozle sir.” Char gave a small salute. “Slender's unit was able to sneak past enemy defenses. They're getting into position as we speak.” The helmeted man replied. His name was Char Aznable, at least that's what he wanted everyone to think. His real name was Casval Deikun, but that is a story for another time. “Good... We can only hope that they won't see this coming.” The Admiral said grudgingly. He had already lost almost fifty mobile suits to this new enemy, and more than twice as many men. “Char...” Dozle paused. “Don't get yourself killed. At this point I can't see us winning this without you...” Char only said, “I'll do my best, sir.” The screen switched off. *** Ensign Bright Noa sat in the bridge of White Base. His head held in both hands. He looked up, tears in his eyes, and before him stood a young girl. He couldn't quite tell who it was. There were so many refugees on the ship, and the tears blurring his eyes didn't help. The girl spoke, “Sir... Where is Amuro? I haven't seen him all day.” She asked. He remembered her name now. She was Fraw Bow. Bright tried to speak, “He, uh... he...” A boy, Hayato was his name, walked over. “I'll show her, sir.” He interrupted. He was always so helpful. “Th-thank you Hayato.” Bright replied. The Ensign put his head back down. He was only 19, yet he was in charge of a warship. In the early days he tried his best to lead the crew. He had been like a father figure to most of them. But then people started dying. He had tried telling himself that it was just how war was and that he would get used to it, but he never did. Most of his crew weren't even military. Bright was only an Ensign, yet he was the highest ranking officer on White Base. The pressure just kept building. He wasn't sure if he could handle it for much longer. The Zeon weren't even the problem anymore. In fact the Earth Federation and Principality of Zeon were now allies against a greater enemy, the Mobile Armada of New Equestria. The 'Mane' as most called them, had first appeared as White Base fled from the space colony Side 7. They immediately declared their intentions by destroying the colony without warning. Thankfully the colony had already been evacuated because of a Zeon attack, so it was likely that no one was hurt. Zeon and the Federation agreed to stop fighting until this threat was taken care of, but they didn't think they needed to work together until the Mane launched an attack on the Zeon fortress A Baoa Qu. The entire Delaz fleet was destroyed the first day. The only survivor of the fleet's destruction was an ace mobile suit pilot named Anavel Gato. The Zeon would have been destroyed right there had they not swallowed their pride and asked for help. Since then the two had been working together to try and stop the Mane's advance towards earth. Everyone just wanted the war to be over. *** “It'll go better this time.” Slender said to himself. The last real mission he had been sent on had been recon at Side 7. Unfortunately one of the members of his squad at the time, Jean, had decided steer the mission in another direction. Despite their leader Denim's objections, Jean attacked the military site they were watching. Denim and Jean were both killed by a kid piloting a prototype Mobile Suit. Which was surprising because Denim and Jean were both trained Mobile Suit pilots, yet their Zakus were destroyed so easily. Slender had been left behind to keep watch, so he was the only survivor. Slender turned on communications, and contacted one of his men. “Kai, do you read me?” He asked. A kid in a yellow jumpsuit appeared on his view screen. “Yeah, yeah. I'm here.” The kid replied. “Don't you start worrying about me, Slender. Just try not to get yourself killed.” Slender smiled. When he first heard that one of the kids from White Base was assigned to his squad, he figured that they would be an annoying little brat with no real combat experience. He had been right at first. Kai had done nothing but complain during his training. But over time he became a capable pilot, and a good friend. He could still be pretty pessimistic, but these were bad times. “Alright, I'll report our progress to the commander.” Slender said. The image on the screen changed from a kid in yellow, to a young man in an elaborate helmet. “Commander Char, sir.” Slender saluted. “We have successfully made it behind enemy defenses. Awaiting orders.” “Begin phase two of the mission.” Char gave a slight smile as he replied. “Alert me if there are any complications.” Slender saluted again and said, “Yes sir. Proceeding with the mission.” The screen switched back to Kai. “You think we have a chance?” Kai asked. “If we do then it's a pretty slim one.” Slender Shook his head. “All I know is that we can at least try. Now lets go, make sure that you can keep up.” “Is that a challenge?” Kai cracked his knuckles. “The Guncannon can outrun your Zaku easily!” The red Mobile Suit across the way waved its hands tauntingly at Slender. “Good to see that you're ready for once. Now lets go. We have a job that need doing.” And at Slender's command, the group continued to their objective. End Chapter 1 Chapter Two: Second Battle of A Baoa Qu“Admiral Sky. We're picking up human Mobile Suits just outside the base!” Yelled a young pony. “What are your orders?” The light blue pegasus know as Admiral Pale Sky got up from her seat. “Everypony take your battle stations! Scramble our fighters and intercept enemy communications! Don't let them any closer!” She commanded. Outside, Mane forces began to deploy. Suddenly there was a blast of light and communications went dead. Admiral Sky trotted over to the radar console and yelled, “What the buck just happened? What was that? What happened to our communications?” No pony had an answer for her. *** Slender took up his position. Across from him Kai did the same. Slender's com screen flickered on. Char Aznable appeared on the screen. “Slender, are you in position?” Char asked. Slender saluted. “Yes, Commander. I'm awaiting your orders.” “Good. You're cleared to set off the package. I have to warn you though. After you set it off, communications will be disabled and you'll be on your own until reinforcements arrive. So make sure everyone is ready.” Char explained. “Understood, sir. Slender, out.” The screen switched to one of Slender's Zaku pilots. “Activate the Minovsky Pulse.” The pilot saluted and shut off his screen. One of the Zakus came out from behind its cover with a large box in its hands. He placed it on the ground and pressed a button on the side. The box began to glow. “Everyone! Get behind cover! Now!” Slender ordered. Everyone did as he said. Moments later, the box sent out a large spherical blast of light. Communications died, and the lights in the fortress flickered. Slender signaled for his men to attack. 'We're on our own now. We have the advantage, but they have the numbers. We have to survive.' Slender told himself. 'I just hope that the Red Comet can get here in time.' *** Admiral Sky was furious. Did the humans have some kind of new weapon? If communications and radar are down, then the Mane fighter pilots are pretty much useless. She moved over to the window and counted the enemy units. “Five? Only five Mobile suits?” She yelled. This was just ridiculous. “What are they, suicidal?” She paused and thought it over. “Wait... No. They know exactly what they're doing. Damn it, they planned this out perfectly!” The Admiral turned to her soldiers and said, “The humans figured out our weakness. If we have no communications, we can't give orders and our pilots will be clueless. If we don't have radar, our fighters are without their best weaponry. But wait... We do have something.” She turned to one of her officers. “Did my daughter launch yet?” The officer shook his head. “Good, bring her here. I need to talk to her.” *** “Is my fighter ready?” The engineer shook his head and the sky blue pegasus that had asked the question sighed. A brown pony entered. “Lieutenant Sky, your mother is looking for you.” He said. The pegasus looked at him and said, “No need to be formal. Just call me Corsair.” She paused. “Did you say my mother is looking for me? What for?” The brown pony opened his mouth to speak, but Corsair interrupted him, “Nevermind, just lead the way.” They walked down the many corridors of the recently captured fortress. Zeon propaganda still hung from the walls. No one had bothered taking it down yet. Plus, they had comedic value when examined by the Mane soldiers. All the talk of being best and powerful, yet they lost their main fortress in less than a day. What a shame. Finally, the two ponies reached the main command room. The brown pony saluted Corsair and left. Corsair saw her mother at the other end of the room and walked over. “The Allies have found our weakness, and they have taken full advantage of it.” Pale Sky said without turning to greet her daughter. “As much as I hate to say it...” She turned, “I have to send you out in the prototype Mequine. That is our only hope of winning this battle. You are our best pilot. You are the only one skilled enough to use the Mequine.” The Admiral reached into her desk and pulled out a square, striped piece of cloth. She gave it to Corsair. “That was your father's. He wore it into every battle he fought. All except his last.” Her eyes began to tear up from the memories of her late husband. “Corsair, I want you to take it. Wear it with pride, and come back alive.” Corsair looked down at the bandana. She grabbed it in her wings and wrapped it around the top of her head. She tied it deftly, and looked back at her mother. They slowly saluted each other. “It'll take more than a few human Mobile Suits to take me down. Don't worry, I'll make it out of this.” Corsair stated. She turned and left the room. 'Time to see what the Mequine can do.' She thought to herself as she continued to the hanger. The hanger was almost empty. Most of the fighters had already launched. She cantered to the back, nodding to a few engineers as she passed them. In the back was the Mequine. It towered over everything else, but there was only one. The higher ups had originally named it the Mobile Suit Equestrius. But the grunts and engineers had scrapped the name and just called it the Mequine. It was punny, but everypony liked it, so it stuck. Corsair turned to one of the engineers. “Is the Mequine ready to launch?” She asked him. “It is, all you need to do is get suited up and we can send you out.” The engineer replied. “I'm just gonna double check a few things while you get ready.” Corsair nodded and grabbed a pilot suit. She put it on with ease and looked through the helmet rack. “Oh, hey.” The engineer called her over. “We have a custom helmet for anypony piloting the Mequine.” He reached under a control panel and produced a dark blue helmet. On the side of the helmet was what looked like an old school cutlass crossing over a white wing. “Is that?” She said, a shocked look on her face. “My... my cutie mark. So the Mequine's pilot was me from the start...” She turned to the engineer, “Did you finish the adjustments?” He nodded and Corsair slipped on the helmet. She spread her wings and flew up to the Mequine's cockpit. As she landed, she looked down at the engineer, “Thanks for your work on the Mequine, Specialist, uh...” The engineer adjusted his glasses. “Just call me Ian.” He replied gruffly. “Specialist Ian, got it. Thanks for the help.” Corsair closed the cockpit and settled in to the seat. “Lieutenant Corsair Sky, launching in the Mequine!” She announced as she flew off the catapult. End Chapter 2 Chapter Three: Mequine Rising - Author's Note: I didn't mean to leave the story hanging for so long, but it's back. Hope you guys enjoy it. I'm also going to try making the chapters longer from here on. And yes, Corsair Sky is a pirate pony... - - Hayato led Fraw Bow away from the bridge and down the hallway. He turned his head towards her as he walked. “I can’t help but feel bad for Bright, you know? Poor guy has to deal with so much.” He said, narrowly avoiding an open door as he went. Fraw only nodded. Hayato turned his attention back to the hallway. “Oh, uh, here we are.” He stopped just outside of the infirmary. “Amuro should be right in here. Er… do you, uh, want me to go in with you?” “I think I’ll go in by myself… thank you anyways, Hayato.” She replied as she opened the door. Hayato opened his mouth as though to object, but instead walked away with a defeated look on his face. Fraw stepped into the infirmary as the door slid open. The room consisted of a few beds and little else. On the far end of the room stood a young medical officer from Luna 2, by the name of Roland Zeck. Fraw paused briefly before continuing across the room. Roland turned as he heard footsteps behind him and looked down to see the worried face of Fraw Bow. “Oh, Miss Fraw, how can I help you?” The man said as he adjusted his glasses. He wore a kind smile that only one who truly wanted to help others could wear. “I-is Amuro here? Hayato told me that he was here. I need to talk to him.” Fraw was still worried, but somehow Roland’s face eased her mind slightly. That is, until his smile turned south. “Yes… Amuro is right over here, Miss Fraw.” He motioned to his right as he spoke, and they both walked over to Amuro’s bed. Fraw’s face relaxed as she said,” Ah, he’s fine, probably just tired is all.” “I’m afraid that isn’t so. It’s much worse than simple fatigue.” Roland spoke and Fraw turned to look at him, a worried look quickly forming on her face. “Amuro’s body and mind have been under considerable stress ever since he began piloting the Gundam. This stress together with anxiety and fatigue finally took their toll on him… Fraw, Amuro is comatose. I don’t know how long he’ll be like this.” Roland explained. He then put his hand on Fraw’s shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, I’ve got this. I’ll be sure to take care of Amuro to the best of my abilities.” He once again wore a smile, yet it was somehow different than usual. *** Slender fired his rifle at a fighter as it passed by him. Only one round hit, but that was enough to send it flying into the fortress wall. They had only been fighting for ten minutes, but they had already lost one Zaku to a suicide attack, and another to its own bazooka malfunctioning. The only suits left were Slender’s Zaku II and Kai’s Guncannon. Suddenly a flare went off over A Baoa Qu. All of the fighters retreated, leaving Slender and Kai rather confused. “Huh… what the hell is that?” Kai’s voice was barely coherent over the radio, the Minovsky particle density was still high. Slender turned towards where Kai was pointing. Something had just launched from the fortress. It looked like a mobile suit at first, but as it got closer they realized that it had four legs and wings instead of arms. Slender shook his head a said, “Why is it that every time I go on a mission, my enemy has a new mobile weapon that we’ve never seen?” He then took a deep breath before addressing Kai. “We’re gonna focus on that new weapon until Char gets here. Get your cannons ready, I’m switching to my bazooka. I’m not taking any chances after what happened to Denim and Gene.” The new machine descended to the ground as it got closer, its wing folded as it landed. It didn’t make a move; neither did the two suits before it. Slender’s com screen flickered on as the pony suit’s pilot hailed him and Kai. A figure wearing a sky blue helmet appeared on both screens and spoke. “Hey, you two humans in the mobile suits. I’m givin ye once chance to leave before I have this here Mequine shoot you out of the proverbial water, yar.” She said. Slender would have burst out laughing had the situation not been so serious. They had no clue about the capabilities of this ‘Mequine’ or its pilot. There was a pause before he finally replied. “I’m sorry, but we didn’t come all this way just to lose two good pilots and gain nothing from it! Just you try and shoot us down, you freakishly colored horse!” Taking advantage of the pony’s surprise at this outburst, Slender aimed and fired his bazooka. Corsair Sky noticed the attack and dodged the shell almost too late. She used the force from the explosion behind her to propel herself at Slender. The Mequine’s right wing extended and one of the metallic feathers began to glow as it sliced through the Zaku’s bazooka. Knowing what was about to happen, Slender let go of the bazooka and used his thrusters to fly away from the imminent explosion. The super-heated wing easily cut through the bazooka’s metal exterior, but also succeeded at setting it off. Corsair’s eyes grew wide as the crimson rose opened before her, engulfing the Mequine in fire. “So that’s it then?” Kai asked himself. Slender replied, “Don’t lower your guard. I think I got it, but the Gundam would have survived that explosion…” The smoke began to settle and the Mequine burst out of the cloud. Corsair charged yet again at Slender, heat-wing extended. It was Slender’s turn to be surprised as he took out his heat-hawk and braced for the impact. Corsair yelled as they made contact. “I’m alive! How about that! It’ll take more than a bazooka to sink this ship!” Kai watched, both combatants seemed to have forgotten that he was there, and he knew it. ‘Kai Shiden, it’s your time to shine’, he thought to himself. He checked his cannons; they still had about 50% of their ammo left, which was plenty. He reached back in the cockpit and positioned the targeting computer in front of him. The Guncannon began to move in for a clear shot and stopped off to the left of the enemy. Corsair felt a sudden chill as she fought to knock over the Zaku. She felt it again on her left wing and shifted her gaze. “Enemy off to port!” She gasped. She quickly shifted her left wing, which moved the Mequine’s wing as well, and said, “Fire port cannons.” Slender caught the wing motion out of the corner of his eye, and felt a thrill along his spine. He wasn’t sure how, but he knew that Kai was the target. Still struggling to keep the Zaku upright against the other wing, he yelled into his helmet radio, “Kai, get out of there!” A beam of light suddenly hit the Mequine’s left wing from above, knocking its aim down as it fired. Slender, Kai, and Corsair all looked up to see a pale red Zaku II flying towards them, a beam rifle in its grip. “Commander Char!” Slender said, “So the Red Comet made it at last.” Char’s masked face appeared of Slender’s com screen. He gave a slight smirk as he said, “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting.” Chapter Four: Corsair and the Comet“I’ll take over from here. Can you and Shiden still fight, Slender?” Char asked as his Zaku clashed with the Mequine. “Yes Commander, sir.” Slender saluted, Kai rolled his eyes. “Good, then I want you to join up with Bravo team and assault the hanger.” The Red Comet swung his heat hawk again only to have his foe parry with a heated left wing. “I can take care of this myself.” The two suits turned towards the fortress and took off leaving Char and the Mequine to fight one on one. The two suits jumped away from each other. Both stood ready for the other to strike, yet neither one moved. Char began to strafe his foe, who did the same. It was Char who broke the silence, “You’re being rather more cautious than before. Worried that your suit won’t be able to match mine, or maybe that you can’t match me perhaps?” “Says the infamous Red Comet, Char Aznable. Any smart pilot would be cautious against such a well-known enemy, yar.” Corsair replied. “You’ve sunk too many of my allies for me to be reckless around you. But ye won’t be addin’ me to count me today!” The Mequine sprang into action and charged the suit before it. Having been faced with charging enemies in the past, Char automatically feinted to the side. He almost instantly realized that his mistake as the Mequine’s mono-eye followed his movement. He also noticed an opportunity spawned by the very same mistake. “Got you now!” Corsair stated calmly as her suit’s right wing moved towards her enemy’s mid-section, the Zaku’s cockpit. “I don’t think so.” Char replied confidently. He swung his heat hawk and hit the wing just below its heated segment, cutting the entire thing off with little effort. Releasing his rifle, he grabbed the detached wing and ran it point first into the Mequine’s side. He retrieved his rifle as he jumped away from the possible explosion. The whole event seemed to happen in slow motion for Corsair, yet there was nothing she could do. Without the wing that side was completely undefended. “I hate prototypes.” She said to herself as Char backed off. Lights began to turn red across her console as the suit realized the damage it had received. The wing had at least missed the main reactor, but it had hit just about everything else and left the suit unbalanced to boot. Corsair furiously tried to regain control as the suit started to drift off. “You had a good suit…” Char admitted as he took aim, “… but you were no match for me.” A bright yellow beam fired from his rifle and pierced the Mequine where its wing once was, causing multiple systems to detonate simultaneously. Corsair sat back in the cockpit and looked out at the stars, “It looks like dad’s bandanna wasn’t so lucky after all.” She said as a large explosion went off in the suit’s other wing. The blast caused her to fly head first into the view screen. She couldn’t see the stars anymore. Char turned his back on the explosion and flew towards the fortress to assist Bravo team. “Too bad she wasn’t on our side.” *** Pale Sky watched momentarily as the Mequine and the Red Comet fought. She turned back to the soldier she had been speaking to. “What is the current total?” She asked him. “Sir, six wounded and thirty-four dead.” The soldier stated. “Damn… all because of that flash… What was that anyway?” Pale Sky asked to no one in particular. She looked out at the battle again but couldn’t see her daughter’s suit or the red Zaku anymore. One of the officers in the room turned to her. “Admiral Sky, ship approaching on the right!” He announced. “Is it one of ours?” She asked. Any back up would be a blessing at the moment. “Negative, sir. It seems to be a Federation Magellan class battleship.” “Damn it, of all the things that could have happened! Even Discord couldn’t make this into any more of a losing battle!” The Admiral yelled. She sat back down in her chair for a moment, but rose again seconds later. “Call back all of our fighters.” She ordered. “We’re abandoning A Baoa Qu.” *** Mane fighters flew around to make another pass over Kai’s Guncannon, but they broke off halfway and retreated into the hanger. All of the enemy’s fighters seemed to be retreating. Kai watched as they flew away from him. He could shoot a couple more down, but that just gave them more of a reason to turn back around so why bother? “What are they doing?” Kai asked loudly. “Hey look, reinforcements. That’s convenient.” Slender stated. Kai turned his suit around and noticed the Magellan battleship. “Well look at that, they do care.” Kai said as three Federation GM Mobile Suits left the ship. “Too bad they didn’t get here earlier tho-…” “We’re lucky to have gotten reinforcements at all.” Interrupted the Red Comet as he landed his suit next to Kai’s. “You should be grateful. I know I am.” Char, Kai, and Slender’s com screens lit up as one of the GMs approached them. To their surprise, their screens displayed a dark blue pony with a long silvery blue mane. All three raised their weapons as the pony spoke. “Whoa, hold on guys!” The pony exclaimed. “I’m on your side! Petty Officer Robert Stallion, I’ve been sent to assist in the recapture of A Baoa Qu.” “What? Are you serious?” Kai yelled. “Hold on, I’ll check on this.” Char stated after confirming that Minovsky Particle density was low enough for long range communications. “Vice Admiral Dozle, sir. Have you heard anything about the Federation having ponies as pilots?” “Unfortunately yes. I just received word from General Reval stating that they had four ex-Mane pilots and they were sending one of them to help take back A Baoa Qu.” The large man brought his hand to his forehead. “I have no clue what he was thinking. He said that he is at least keeping a close eye on them.” “Thank you, sir.” Char said slowly as he closed the communication. “As suspicious as this is, he’s telling the truth.” He said to Slender and Kai. Robert nodded as he said, “That’s right, I’m here to help. Just give me the order, and I’ll do it.” *** Ponies had begun to board the Alicorn class battleship named Cloudsdale. Admiral Pale Sky watched as her remaining troops loaded the left over fighters and the few functional Zakus they had left. There was still no sign of her daughter, but she was confident that she would return before they left. The brown pony that had been with Corsair earlier trotted up and saluted the Admiral. “Sir, we have finished loading the Zaku I’s and II’s. Shall we start moving essential personnel onto the Cloudsdale?” He asked. “Yes, do so now. I’ll make my way on board as well.” Admiral Sky stated. ‘We’ll have to pick up Corsair as we leave.’ She thought to herself as she cantered up the ramp into her ship. She was passed by at least a dozen or so of her troops, some nervous and some confident that she would get them out of this mess. She made her way to the ship’s bridge and stood next to the window. She still saw no signs of Corsair as she looked out at the few fighters that had refused to retreat still locked in combat with the Federation reinforcements. They were gone moments later. Her gaze wandered over to a Red Comet’s Mobile Suit. ‘Wasn’t that the same Zaku that had fought the Mequine? No, it couldn’t be.’ She thought. She began to turn away but something caught her eye. It was the Mequine! ‘But… most of it is missing. It should be moving, why isn’t it moving? No… there was no way… did she lose to the red suit?’ Seeing, but not wanting to believe, a tear ran down Pale Sky’s cheek. She turned around to address her crew. “Everypony to your battle stations. We’re going to fight our way out of here!” She yelled, tears still in her eyes as she turned to look at the red Zaku again. She wasn’t going to let that pilot live. *** With a gasp Corsair awoke from unconsciousness, her left eye flared with pain as she went to open her eyes. She was still in the Mequine. Her helmet had saved her life, but the visor had shattered on the left side. She realized the reason for the pain in her eye as she patched her visor, there was no way that she would see through that eye again. Tears of pain flowed from her working eye as she pulled her wings into her normal suit and sealed it up. She pressed the emergency release on the cockpit hatch and was sucked out as the little remaining atmosphere left. Managing to regain control with the small thrusters on the back of her suit, she began to drift towards A Baoa Qu. She could only watch as the Cloudsdale launched and began its attack against the Federation’s Magellan battleship. *** Char Aznable felt only respect for the crew of the Mane ship before him. They had lost this battle, yet they still fought knowing that they would have been allowed to pass had they just surrendered. But respect would not stop him from fighting and defeating them. Robert, Kai, and Slender were ahead of him. They attacked the ship along with the remaining Zakus of Bravo team and the GMs from the Magellan. The enemy battleship was surprisingly resilient compared to anything the Zeon had. It was quite possibly as tough a nut to crack as the Federation’s White Base. He had been examining the ship from a distance, but had found the weak point. He flew his Zaku straight at the ship, dodging as its main guns fired at him. His Zaku slammed into the front of the ship and he looked into the bridge as he raised his rifle. Inside was a mare with a sky blue coat and blonde mane staring at him defiantly, her face remarkably similar to the pilot he had fought earlier. He jumped back and fired his beam rifle into the bridge, killing everyone inside. The Red Comet made a final comment. “You put up a good fight; you have my respect for that.” *** Watching as the Red Comet’s suit fired at the Cloudsdale, Corsair wept. There was no way that her mother wasn’t on that ship. That man, Char Aznable, had taken not only her eye, but her mother as well. Nothing could make her forgive him. She swore that he would die by her hooves, but not now. She was tired, so very tired. The last thing she saw before unconsciousness took her was a Zaku turn and fly towards her. *** Slender watched as the Mane battleship crashed down onto A Baoa Qu. Sparks flew as the ship slid across the surface. It finally stopped. Though he had certainly killed everyone on the bridge, it seemed that Char had managed to preserve the ship itself. He could be such a show off at times. Slender turned around as he felt a chill along his spine. There was a Mane pilot drifting towards him. He flew over slowly. As he got close he realized that it was the Mequine’s pilot. Her name was Corsair Sky… but how did he know that? He wasn’t sure how, but he also knew she was alive, though barely. He gently extended his Zaku’s hand and caught her. He knew not why he was saving her, but it felt like they were connected somehow. He felt a great sadness radiating from her as he turned and flew back to the Magellan. “I hope the Antarctic Treaty applies to Mane pilots as well. She’s in enough pain already.” He said to himself Chapter Five: The Insult of Luna IIRobert Stallion followed Slender through the hallways of the Magellan battleship. It had been four hours since the recapture of A Baoa Qu, and spirits among the Federation soldiers were high. The Mane forces had finally been bested, and Slender had even managed to capture an enemy pilot. However, Robert couldn’t help but feel uneasy about the situation. He had most likely known most of the Mane soldiers that had been killed in the fight. He had never agreed with the methods of the Mane forces, but they were still his kin. Turning a corner, Robert and Slender were approached by a young Federation officer who addressed them. “Lieutenant Slender and Ensign Stallion, the Red Comet has asked for you two in the interrogation observation room.” The officer reported as he saluted. Saluting back, Slender said, “Thank you, Petty Officer Gable. We’ll head there straight away.” And with that the two continued down the corridor. *** Roland Zeck sat at his desk looking over a clipboard. An unsettling grin crept across his face as he examined Amuro Ray’s medical charts. Amuro was recovering smoothly after the operation Roland had performed. It was only a matter of time before he was able to pilot the Gundam again. The screen next to the desk flickered on and Ensign Bright Noa’s face appeared. “What’s Amuro’s status is he improving?” Bright asked the doctor. Bright’s expression had become similar to that of a war veteran. Roland gave his captain a somber look as he said, “I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t tell at this point in time. Given a day or two I should be able to determine when he will awake.” Ensign Bright paused and looked off to one side. “Alright… Let me know if anything changes…” The screen went black as the communication ended. Turning back to the charts, Roland smiled yet again. No one on this ship had any idea why he was really here. He aimed to keep it that way. *** Corsair Sky sat in an interrogation room uncomfortably. Human chairs were certainly not made to accommodate ponies. It didn’t help that her eye, or what was left of it, still hurt like no one’s business. Across from her sat a rather round man in a green uniform, a Zeon officer. The man just sat there quietly, only opening his mouth to ask her questions every few minutes. She was surprised by how weak human interrogation seemed, there wasn’t even any yelling. Behind the man was a mirror, probably a one way window. The door opened. A man in a red uniform walked in and dismissed the rounder man. Sitting in the briefly empty seat the man asked, “Do you know who I am?” His voice was remarkable familiar, yet Corsair couldn’t quite place it. She shook her head slowly, her expression unchanged. The man exhaled and spoke again, “I’m Char Aznable, a Lieutenant Commander with the Principality of Zeon.” Corsair’s face quickly became a mixture of shock, anger, and pain as she realized that this was the man that had taken her mother’s life. Her lips quivered as she opened her mouth and said, “Red Comet… I swear to Princess Luna… I will kill you for what you have done…” She looked up and glared at the man before her. Char had seen this look before. It was the same look that Pegasus on the ship had given him. “So that must have been your mother on that ship? She died honorably.” He could almost sympathize with this pony. There was a knock on the door and Char turned and answered. Slender stood outside the door and saluted. “You wanted to see me, sir?” “Yes, come in, Slender, you too, Robert. I’ll be just outside speaking with Dren.” Char left the room and Slender entered, followed by Robert. Robert looked over at Corsair, but turned away almost instantly. “Aw jeez. Of all of the ponies…” He said under his breath. “Robert?” Corsair exclaimed, eyes wide with shock. Slender looked back and forth between the two curiously. “You two know each other?” He asked. Robert turned to Slender. “I’d rather not talk about it, but we were both stationed on the same battleship for a while.” He explained. Corsair slammed her head against the table in anger, and instantly regretted it. “This is freaking brilliant! I lose my eye, my mom dies, and now you’re a traitor? I’m done, this is too much!” As she struggled to get free Corsair knocked the chair over, losing consciousness as her head hit the floor. *** A colossal battleship flew by what was once the colony, Side 7. A fleet of smaller ships followed alongside the ship as it passed the colony wreckage. The ship’s side read Draconequus, and it was the flagship of the MANE armada. On board the Draconequus, the MANE’s Fleet Admiral was receiving unwelcome news. “Sir, A Baoa Qu was retaken by the humans. Rear Admiral Pale Sky was lost, and her ship captured.” A nervous unicorn stated. The Fleet Admiral took a moment to ponder what had happened. She brought her hoof up to her chin and replied, “Tragic, but it is of no true consequence. Capturing A Baoa Qu was meant to assert ourselves against the Zeon, it was never a necessary command point. You are dismissed.” The starry maned Fleet Admiral turned to the navigator. “Set a course for the Federation stronghold, Luna II. I will no longer abide the existence of such an insult to my name.” Luna commanded. *** “What do you mean we can’t leave?” Bright Noa asked the man before him. “Commandant Wakkein, I demand to know why you’re refusing to let us leave.” “Watch your tongue, Ensign. You are addressing a superior officer.” Wakkein replied stiffly, “But if you must know. Our scouts have detected a large enemy force approaching. We will need White Base to remain here to aid in our defense. Is that understood, Ensign Bright?” Bright saluted reluctantly, “Yes, sir. White Base will stay to aid in the defense of Luna II.” The Commandant turned and said, “You are dismissed.” A young man with blonde hair waited outside Wakkein’s office. His name was Job John, and he had been assigned as the temporary pilot of the Gundam. He followed Bright as he left the office. “What’s the word, Captain? Is the Commandant gonna let us head to Earth or what?” Job asked. Bright sighed and then replied, “We’re to stay here until the enemy has been fought off. Apparently there’s a small fleet on its way.” A resigned look on his face, Job simply said, “Well, guess we’ve gotta fight then. I’ll make sure the Gundam is ready.” And he walked off towards White Base’s dock. Author's Note [It's been a while since my last update, and I'm not quite back in the groove of writing. I'm not sure if it's any good, but I thought I should at least update the story. Sorry for the wait.]
Chapter One: Friends and Failings - I decided to take a break from my other story. I had to many ideas, so I thought that if I actually did one of them I would have an easier time writing Dueling Dash. I'm really interested in seeing where I go with this story. I'm also very curious as to what readers think of it. So if you read this and have an opinion, feel welcome to comment. I would love it if everyone who reads this commented. Hope you guys like it as much as I do :3 - - A young man sat within the cockpit of his Mobile Suit. He wore a subtle smile but the rest of his face remained obscured by the elaborate helmet upon his head. He had just received word that his subordinates had been successful in the first phase of their mission. Of course they succeeded; it was his plan after all. “Begin phase two of the mission.” The man said calmly to the green clad man on his view screen. “Alert me if there are any complications.” The man on the screen saluted and said, “Yes sir. Proceeding with the mission.” The screen switched off as communications were closed between the two, but flickered back on a moment later. A tall, muscular man with a large scar across his chin appeared on the screen. “Commander Char, what is the status on your mission?” The man asked. “Admiral Dozle sir.” Char gave a small salute. “Slender's unit was able to sneak past enemy defenses. They're getting into position as we speak.” The helmeted man replied. His name was Char Aznable, at least that's what he wanted everyone to think. His real name was Casval Deikun, but that is a story for another time. “Good... We can only hope that they won't see this coming.” The Admiral said grudgingly. He had already lost almost fifty mobile suits to this new enemy, and more than twice as many men. “Char...” Dozle paused. “Don't get yourself killed. At this point I can't see us winning this without you...” Char only said, “I'll do my best, sir.” The screen switched off. *** Ensign Bright Noa sat in the bridge of White Base. His head held in both hands. He looked up, tears in his eyes, and before him stood a young girl. He couldn't quite tell who it was. There were so many refugees on the ship, and the tears blurring his eyes didn't help. The girl spoke, “Sir... Where is Amuro? I haven't seen him all day.” She asked. He remembered her name now. She was Fraw Bow. Bright tried to speak, “He, uh... he...” A boy, Hayato was his name, walked over. “I'll show her, sir.” He interrupted. He was always so helpful. “Th-thank you Hayato.” Bright replied. The Ensign put his head back down. He was only 19, yet he was in charge of a warship. In the early days he tried his best to lead the crew. He had been like a father figure to most of them. But then people started dying. He had tried telling himself that it was just how war was and that he would get used to it, but he never did. Most of his crew weren't even military. Bright was only an Ensign, yet he was the highest ranking officer on White Base. The pressure just kept building. He wasn't sure if he could handle it for much longer. The Zeon weren't even the problem anymore. In fact the Earth Federation and Principality of Zeon were now allies against a greater enemy, the Mobile Armada of New Equestria. The 'Mane' as most called them, had first appeared as White Base fled from the space colony Side 7. They immediately declared their intentions by destroying the colony without warning. Thankfully the colony had already been evacuated because of a Zeon attack, so it was likely that no one was hurt. Zeon and the Federation agreed to stop fighting until this threat was taken care of, but they didn't think they needed to work together until the Mane launched an attack on the Zeon fortress A Baoa Qu. The entire Delaz fleet was destroyed the first day. The only survivor of the fleet's destruction was an ace mobile suit pilot named Anavel Gato. The Zeon would have been destroyed right there had they not swallowed their pride and asked for help. Since then the two had been working together to try and stop the Mane's advance towards earth. Everyone just wanted the war to be over. *** “It'll go better this time.” Slender said to himself. The last real mission he had been sent on had been recon at Side 7. Unfortunately one of the members of his squad at the time, Jean, had decided steer the mission in another direction. Despite their leader Denim's objections, Jean attacked the military site they were watching. Denim and Jean were both killed by a kid piloting a prototype Mobile Suit. Which was surprising because Denim and Jean were both trained Mobile Suit pilots, yet their Zakus were destroyed so easily. Slender had been left behind to keep watch, so he was the only survivor. Slender turned on communications, and contacted one of his men. “Kai, do you read me?” He asked. A kid in a yellow jumpsuit appeared on his view screen. “Yeah, yeah. I'm here.” The kid replied. “Don't you start worrying about me, Slender. Just try not to get yourself killed.” Slender smiled. When he first heard that one of the kids from White Base was assigned to his squad, he figured that they would be an annoying little brat with no real combat experience. He had been right at first. Kai had done nothing but complain during his training. But over time he became a capable pilot, and a good friend. He could still be pretty pessimistic, but these were bad times. “Alright, I'll report our progress to the commander.” Slender said. The image on the screen changed from a kid in yellow, to a young man in an elaborate helmet. “Commander Char, sir.” Slender saluted. “We have successfully made it behind enemy defenses. Awaiting orders.” “Begin phase two of the mission.” Char gave a slight smile as he replied. “Alert me if there are any complications.” Slender saluted again and said, “Yes sir. Proceeding with the mission.” The screen switched back to Kai. “You think we have a chance?” Kai asked. “If we do then it's a pretty slim one.” Slender Shook his head. “All I know is that we can at least try. Now lets go, make sure that you can keep up.” “Is that a challenge?” Kai cracked his knuckles. “The Guncannon can outrun your Zaku easily!” The red Mobile Suit across the way waved its hands tauntingly at Slender. “Good to see that you're ready for once. Now lets go. We have a job that need doing.” And at Slender's command, the group continued to their objective. End Chapter 1
Chapter Two: Second Battle of A Baoa Qu“Admiral Sky. We're picking up human Mobile Suits just outside the base!” Yelled a young pony. “What are your orders?” The light blue pegasus know as Admiral Pale Sky got up from her seat. “Everypony take your battle stations! Scramble our fighters and intercept enemy communications! Don't let them any closer!” She commanded. Outside, Mane forces began to deploy. Suddenly there was a blast of light and communications went dead. Admiral Sky trotted over to the radar console and yelled, “What the buck just happened? What was that? What happened to our communications?” No pony had an answer for her. *** Slender took up his position. Across from him Kai did the same. Slender's com screen flickered on. Char Aznable appeared on the screen. “Slender, are you in position?” Char asked. Slender saluted. “Yes, Commander. I'm awaiting your orders.” “Good. You're cleared to set off the package. I have to warn you though. After you set it off, communications will be disabled and you'll be on your own until reinforcements arrive. So make sure everyone is ready.” Char explained. “Understood, sir. Slender, out.” The screen switched to one of Slender's Zaku pilots. “Activate the Minovsky Pulse.” The pilot saluted and shut off his screen. One of the Zakus came out from behind its cover with a large box in its hands. He placed it on the ground and pressed a button on the side. The box began to glow. “Everyone! Get behind cover! Now!” Slender ordered. Everyone did as he said. Moments later, the box sent out a large spherical blast of light. Communications died, and the lights in the fortress flickered. Slender signaled for his men to attack. 'We're on our own now. We have the advantage, but they have the numbers. We have to survive.' Slender told himself. 'I just hope that the Red Comet can get here in time.' *** Admiral Sky was furious. Did the humans have some kind of new weapon? If communications and radar are down, then the Mane fighter pilots are pretty much useless. She moved over to the window and counted the enemy units. “Five? Only five Mobile suits?” She yelled. This was just ridiculous. “What are they, suicidal?” She paused and thought it over. “Wait... No. They know exactly what they're doing. Damn it, they planned this out perfectly!” The Admiral turned to her soldiers and said, “The humans figured out our weakness. If we have no communications, we can't give orders and our pilots will be clueless. If we don't have radar, our fighters are without their best weaponry. But wait... We do have something.” She turned to one of her officers. “Did my daughter launch yet?” The officer shook his head. “Good, bring her here. I need to talk to her.” *** “Is my fighter ready?” The engineer shook his head and the sky blue pegasus that had asked the question sighed. A brown pony entered. “Lieutenant Sky, your mother is looking for you.” He said. The pegasus looked at him and said, “No need to be formal. Just call me Corsair.” She paused. “Did you say my mother is looking for me? What for?” The brown pony opened his mouth to speak, but Corsair interrupted him, “Nevermind, just lead the way.” They walked down the many corridors of the recently captured fortress. Zeon propaganda still hung from the walls. No one had bothered taking it down yet. Plus, they had comedic value when examined by the Mane soldiers. All the talk of being best and powerful, yet they lost their main fortress in less than a day. What a shame. Finally, the two ponies reached the main command room. The brown pony saluted Corsair and left. Corsair saw her mother at the other end of the room and walked over. “The Allies have found our weakness, and they have taken full advantage of it.” Pale Sky said without turning to greet her daughter. “As much as I hate to say it...” She turned, “I have to send you out in the prototype Mequine. That is our only hope of winning this battle. You are our best pilot. You are the only one skilled enough to use the Mequine.” The Admiral reached into her desk and pulled out a square, striped piece of cloth. She gave it to Corsair. “That was your father's. He wore it into every battle he fought. All except his last.” Her eyes began to tear up from the memories of her late husband. “Corsair, I want you to take it. Wear it with pride, and come back alive.” Corsair looked down at the bandana. She grabbed it in her wings and wrapped it around the top of her head. She tied it deftly, and looked back at her mother. They slowly saluted each other. “It'll take more than a few human Mobile Suits to take me down. Don't worry, I'll make it out of this.” Corsair stated. She turned and left the room. 'Time to see what the Mequine can do.' She thought to herself as she continued to the hanger. The hanger was almost empty. Most of the fighters had already launched. She cantered to the back, nodding to a few engineers as she passed them. In the back was the Mequine. It towered over everything else, but there was only one. The higher ups had originally named it the Mobile Suit Equestrius. But the grunts and engineers had scrapped the name and just called it the Mequine. It was punny, but everypony liked it, so it stuck. Corsair turned to one of the engineers. “Is the Mequine ready to launch?” She asked him. “It is, all you need to do is get suited up and we can send you out.” The engineer replied. “I'm just gonna double check a few things while you get ready.” Corsair nodded and grabbed a pilot suit. She put it on with ease and looked through the helmet rack. “Oh, hey.” The engineer called her over. “We have a custom helmet for anypony piloting the Mequine.” He reached under a control panel and produced a dark blue helmet. On the side of the helmet was what looked like an old school cutlass crossing over a white wing. “Is that?” She said, a shocked look on her face. “My... my cutie mark. So the Mequine's pilot was me from the start...” She turned to the engineer, “Did you finish the adjustments?” He nodded and Corsair slipped on the helmet. She spread her wings and flew up to the Mequine's cockpit. As she landed, she looked down at the engineer, “Thanks for your work on the Mequine, Specialist, uh...” The engineer adjusted his glasses. “Just call me Ian.” He replied gruffly. “Specialist Ian, got it. Thanks for the help.” Corsair closed the cockpit and settled in to the seat. “Lieutenant Corsair Sky, launching in the Mequine!” She announced as she flew off the catapult. End Chapter 2
Chapter Three: Mequine Rising - Author's Note: I didn't mean to leave the story hanging for so long, but it's back. Hope you guys enjoy it. I'm also going to try making the chapters longer from here on. And yes, Corsair Sky is a pirate pony... - - Hayato led Fraw Bow away from the bridge and down the hallway. He turned his head towards her as he walked. “I can’t help but feel bad for Bright, you know? Poor guy has to deal with so much.” He said, narrowly avoiding an open door as he went. Fraw only nodded. Hayato turned his attention back to the hallway. “Oh, uh, here we are.” He stopped just outside of the infirmary. “Amuro should be right in here. Er… do you, uh, want me to go in with you?” “I think I’ll go in by myself… thank you anyways, Hayato.” She replied as she opened the door. Hayato opened his mouth as though to object, but instead walked away with a defeated look on his face. Fraw stepped into the infirmary as the door slid open. The room consisted of a few beds and little else. On the far end of the room stood a young medical officer from Luna 2, by the name of Roland Zeck. Fraw paused briefly before continuing across the room. Roland turned as he heard footsteps behind him and looked down to see the worried face of Fraw Bow. “Oh, Miss Fraw, how can I help you?” The man said as he adjusted his glasses. He wore a kind smile that only one who truly wanted to help others could wear. “I-is Amuro here? Hayato told me that he was here. I need to talk to him.” Fraw was still worried, but somehow Roland’s face eased her mind slightly. That is, until his smile turned south. “Yes… Amuro is right over here, Miss Fraw.” He motioned to his right as he spoke, and they both walked over to Amuro’s bed. Fraw’s face relaxed as she said,” Ah, he’s fine, probably just tired is all.” “I’m afraid that isn’t so. It’s much worse than simple fatigue.” Roland spoke and Fraw turned to look at him, a worried look quickly forming on her face. “Amuro’s body and mind have been under considerable stress ever since he began piloting the Gundam. This stress together with anxiety and fatigue finally took their toll on him… Fraw, Amuro is comatose. I don’t know how long he’ll be like this.” Roland explained. He then put his hand on Fraw’s shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, I’ve got this. I’ll be sure to take care of Amuro to the best of my abilities.” He once again wore a smile, yet it was somehow different than usual. *** Slender fired his rifle at a fighter as it passed by him. Only one round hit, but that was enough to send it flying into the fortress wall. They had only been fighting for ten minutes, but they had already lost one Zaku to a suicide attack, and another to its own bazooka malfunctioning. The only suits left were Slender’s Zaku II and Kai’s Guncannon. Suddenly a flare went off over A Baoa Qu. All of the fighters retreated, leaving Slender and Kai rather confused. “Huh… what the hell is that?” Kai’s voice was barely coherent over the radio, the Minovsky particle density was still high. Slender turned towards where Kai was pointing. Something had just launched from the fortress. It looked like a mobile suit at first, but as it got closer they realized that it had four legs and wings instead of arms. Slender shook his head a said, “Why is it that every time I go on a mission, my enemy has a new mobile weapon that we’ve never seen?” He then took a deep breath before addressing Kai. “We’re gonna focus on that new weapon until Char gets here. Get your cannons ready, I’m switching to my bazooka. I’m not taking any chances after what happened to Denim and Gene.” The new machine descended to the ground as it got closer, its wing folded as it landed. It didn’t make a move; neither did the two suits before it. Slender’s com screen flickered on as the pony suit’s pilot hailed him and Kai. A figure wearing a sky blue helmet appeared on both screens and spoke. “Hey, you two humans in the mobile suits. I’m givin ye once chance to leave before I have this here Mequine shoot you out of the proverbial water, yar.” She said. Slender would have burst out laughing had the situation not been so serious. They had no clue about the capabilities of this ‘Mequine’ or its pilot. There was a pause before he finally replied. “I’m sorry, but we didn’t come all this way just to lose two good pilots and gain nothing from it! Just you try and shoot us down, you freakishly colored horse!” Taking advantage of the pony’s surprise at this outburst, Slender aimed and fired his bazooka. Corsair Sky noticed the attack and dodged the shell almost too late. She used the force from the explosion behind her to propel herself at Slender. The Mequine’s right wing extended and one of the metallic feathers began to glow as it sliced through the Zaku’s bazooka. Knowing what was about to happen, Slender let go of the bazooka and used his thrusters to fly away from the imminent explosion. The super-heated wing easily cut through the bazooka’s metal exterior, but also succeeded at setting it off. Corsair’s eyes grew wide as the crimson rose opened before her, engulfing the Mequine in fire. “So that’s it then?” Kai asked himself. Slender replied, “Don’t lower your guard. I think I got it, but the Gundam would have survived that explosion…” The smoke began to settle and the Mequine burst out of the cloud. Corsair charged yet again at Slender, heat-wing extended. It was Slender’s turn to be surprised as he took out his heat-hawk and braced for the impact. Corsair yelled as they made contact. “I’m alive! How about that! It’ll take more than a bazooka to sink this ship!” Kai watched, both combatants seemed to have forgotten that he was there, and he knew it. ‘Kai Shiden, it’s your time to shine’, he thought to himself. He checked his cannons; they still had about 50% of their ammo left, which was plenty. He reached back in the cockpit and positioned the targeting computer in front of him. The Guncannon began to move in for a clear shot and stopped off to the left of the enemy. Corsair felt a sudden chill as she fought to knock over the Zaku. She felt it again on her left wing and shifted her gaze. “Enemy off to port!” She gasped. She quickly shifted her left wing, which moved the Mequine’s wing as well, and said, “Fire port cannons.” Slender caught the wing motion out of the corner of his eye, and felt a thrill along his spine. He wasn’t sure how, but he knew that Kai was the target. Still struggling to keep the Zaku upright against the other wing, he yelled into his helmet radio, “Kai, get out of there!” A beam of light suddenly hit the Mequine’s left wing from above, knocking its aim down as it fired. Slender, Kai, and Corsair all looked up to see a pale red Zaku II flying towards them, a beam rifle in its grip. “Commander Char!” Slender said, “So the Red Comet made it at last.” Char’s masked face appeared of Slender’s com screen. He gave a slight smirk as he said, “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting.”
Chapter Four: Corsair and the Comet“I’ll take over from here. Can you and Shiden still fight, Slender?” Char asked as his Zaku clashed with the Mequine. “Yes Commander, sir.” Slender saluted, Kai rolled his eyes. “Good, then I want you to join up with Bravo team and assault the hanger.” The Red Comet swung his heat hawk again only to have his foe parry with a heated left wing. “I can take care of this myself.” The two suits turned towards the fortress and took off leaving Char and the Mequine to fight one on one. The two suits jumped away from each other. Both stood ready for the other to strike, yet neither one moved. Char began to strafe his foe, who did the same. It was Char who broke the silence, “You’re being rather more cautious than before. Worried that your suit won’t be able to match mine, or maybe that you can’t match me perhaps?” “Says the infamous Red Comet, Char Aznable. Any smart pilot would be cautious against such a well-known enemy, yar.” Corsair replied. “You’ve sunk too many of my allies for me to be reckless around you. But ye won’t be addin’ me to count me today!” The Mequine sprang into action and charged the suit before it. Having been faced with charging enemies in the past, Char automatically feinted to the side. He almost instantly realized that his mistake as the Mequine’s mono-eye followed his movement. He also noticed an opportunity spawned by the very same mistake. “Got you now!” Corsair stated calmly as her suit’s right wing moved towards her enemy’s mid-section, the Zaku’s cockpit. “I don’t think so.” Char replied confidently. He swung his heat hawk and hit the wing just below its heated segment, cutting the entire thing off with little effort. Releasing his rifle, he grabbed the detached wing and ran it point first into the Mequine’s side. He retrieved his rifle as he jumped away from the possible explosion. The whole event seemed to happen in slow motion for Corsair, yet there was nothing she could do. Without the wing that side was completely undefended. “I hate prototypes.” She said to herself as Char backed off. Lights began to turn red across her console as the suit realized the damage it had received. The wing had at least missed the main reactor, but it had hit just about everything else and left the suit unbalanced to boot. Corsair furiously tried to regain control as the suit started to drift off. “You had a good suit…” Char admitted as he took aim, “… but you were no match for me.” A bright yellow beam fired from his rifle and pierced the Mequine where its wing once was, causing multiple systems to detonate simultaneously. Corsair sat back in the cockpit and looked out at the stars, “It looks like dad’s bandanna wasn’t so lucky after all.” She said as a large explosion went off in the suit’s other wing. The blast caused her to fly head first into the view screen. She couldn’t see the stars anymore. Char turned his back on the explosion and flew towards the fortress to assist Bravo team. “Too bad she wasn’t on our side.” *** Pale Sky watched momentarily as the Mequine and the Red Comet fought. She turned back to the soldier she had been speaking to. “What is the current total?” She asked him. “Sir, six wounded and thirty-four dead.” The soldier stated. “Damn… all because of that flash… What was that anyway?” Pale Sky asked to no one in particular. She looked out at the battle again but couldn’t see her daughter’s suit or the red Zaku anymore. One of the officers in the room turned to her. “Admiral Sky, ship approaching on the right!” He announced. “Is it one of ours?” She asked. Any back up would be a blessing at the moment. “Negative, sir. It seems to be a Federation Magellan class battleship.” “Damn it, of all the things that could have happened! Even Discord couldn’t make this into any more of a losing battle!” The Admiral yelled. She sat back down in her chair for a moment, but rose again seconds later. “Call back all of our fighters.” She ordered. “We’re abandoning A Baoa Qu.” *** Mane fighters flew around to make another pass over Kai’s Guncannon, but they broke off halfway and retreated into the hanger. All of the enemy’s fighters seemed to be retreating. Kai watched as they flew away from him. He could shoot a couple more down, but that just gave them more of a reason to turn back around so why bother? “What are they doing?” Kai asked loudly. “Hey look, reinforcements. That’s convenient.” Slender stated. Kai turned his suit around and noticed the Magellan battleship. “Well look at that, they do care.” Kai said as three Federation GM Mobile Suits left the ship. “Too bad they didn’t get here earlier tho-…” “We’re lucky to have gotten reinforcements at all.” Interrupted the Red Comet as he landed his suit next to Kai’s. “You should be grateful. I know I am.” Char, Kai, and Slender’s com screens lit up as one of the GMs approached them. To their surprise, their screens displayed a dark blue pony with a long silvery blue mane. All three raised their weapons as the pony spoke. “Whoa, hold on guys!” The pony exclaimed. “I’m on your side! Petty Officer Robert Stallion, I’ve been sent to assist in the recapture of A Baoa Qu.” “What? Are you serious?” Kai yelled. “Hold on, I’ll check on this.” Char stated after confirming that Minovsky Particle density was low enough for long range communications. “Vice Admiral Dozle, sir. Have you heard anything about the Federation having ponies as pilots?” “Unfortunately yes. I just received word from General Reval stating that they had four ex-Mane pilots and they were sending one of them to help take back A Baoa Qu.” The large man brought his hand to his forehead. “I have no clue what he was thinking. He said that he is at least keeping a close eye on them.” “Thank you, sir.” Char said slowly as he closed the communication. “As suspicious as this is, he’s telling the truth.” He said to Slender and Kai. Robert nodded as he said, “That’s right, I’m here to help. Just give me the order, and I’ll do it.” *** Ponies had begun to board the Alicorn class battleship named Cloudsdale. Admiral Pale Sky watched as her remaining troops loaded the left over fighters and the few functional Zakus they had left. There was still no sign of her daughter, but she was confident that she would return before they left. The brown pony that had been with Corsair earlier trotted up and saluted the Admiral. “Sir, we have finished loading the Zaku I’s and II’s. Shall we start moving essential personnel onto the Cloudsdale?” He asked. “Yes, do so now. I’ll make my way on board as well.” Admiral Sky stated. ‘We’ll have to pick up Corsair as we leave.’ She thought to herself as she cantered up the ramp into her ship. She was passed by at least a dozen or so of her troops, some nervous and some confident that she would get them out of this mess. She made her way to the ship’s bridge and stood next to the window. She still saw no signs of Corsair as she looked out at the few fighters that had refused to retreat still locked in combat with the Federation reinforcements. They were gone moments later. Her gaze wandered over to a Red Comet’s Mobile Suit. ‘Wasn’t that the same Zaku that had fought the Mequine? No, it couldn’t be.’ She thought. She began to turn away but something caught her eye. It was the Mequine! ‘But… most of it is missing. It should be moving, why isn’t it moving? No… there was no way… did she lose to the red suit?’ Seeing, but not wanting to believe, a tear ran down Pale Sky’s cheek. She turned around to address her crew. “Everypony to your battle stations. We’re going to fight our way out of here!” She yelled, tears still in her eyes as she turned to look at the red Zaku again. She wasn’t going to let that pilot live. *** With a gasp Corsair awoke from unconsciousness, her left eye flared with pain as she went to open her eyes. She was still in the Mequine. Her helmet had saved her life, but the visor had shattered on the left side. She realized the reason for the pain in her eye as she patched her visor, there was no way that she would see through that eye again. Tears of pain flowed from her working eye as she pulled her wings into her normal suit and sealed it up. She pressed the emergency release on the cockpit hatch and was sucked out as the little remaining atmosphere left. Managing to regain control with the small thrusters on the back of her suit, she began to drift towards A Baoa Qu. She could only watch as the Cloudsdale launched and began its attack against the Federation’s Magellan battleship. *** Char Aznable felt only respect for the crew of the Mane ship before him. They had lost this battle, yet they still fought knowing that they would have been allowed to pass had they just surrendered. But respect would not stop him from fighting and defeating them. Robert, Kai, and Slender were ahead of him. They attacked the ship along with the remaining Zakus of Bravo team and the GMs from the Magellan. The enemy battleship was surprisingly resilient compared to anything the Zeon had. It was quite possibly as tough a nut to crack as the Federation’s White Base. He had been examining the ship from a distance, but had found the weak point. He flew his Zaku straight at the ship, dodging as its main guns fired at him. His Zaku slammed into the front of the ship and he looked into the bridge as he raised his rifle. Inside was a mare with a sky blue coat and blonde mane staring at him defiantly, her face remarkably similar to the pilot he had fought earlier. He jumped back and fired his beam rifle into the bridge, killing everyone inside. The Red Comet made a final comment. “You put up a good fight; you have my respect for that.” *** Watching as the Red Comet’s suit fired at the Cloudsdale, Corsair wept. There was no way that her mother wasn’t on that ship. That man, Char Aznable, had taken not only her eye, but her mother as well. Nothing could make her forgive him. She swore that he would die by her hooves, but not now. She was tired, so very tired. The last thing she saw before unconsciousness took her was a Zaku turn and fly towards her. *** Slender watched as the Mane battleship crashed down onto A Baoa Qu. Sparks flew as the ship slid across the surface. It finally stopped. Though he had certainly killed everyone on the bridge, it seemed that Char had managed to preserve the ship itself. He could be such a show off at times. Slender turned around as he felt a chill along his spine. There was a Mane pilot drifting towards him. He flew over slowly. As he got close he realized that it was the Mequine’s pilot. Her name was Corsair Sky… but how did he know that? He wasn’t sure how, but he also knew she was alive, though barely. He gently extended his Zaku’s hand and caught her. He knew not why he was saving her, but it felt like they were connected somehow. He felt a great sadness radiating from her as he turned and flew back to the Magellan. “I hope the Antarctic Treaty applies to Mane pilots as well. She’s in enough pain already.” He said to himself
Chapter Five: The Insult of Luna IIRobert Stallion followed Slender through the hallways of the Magellan battleship. It had been four hours since the recapture of A Baoa Qu, and spirits among the Federation soldiers were high. The Mane forces had finally been bested, and Slender had even managed to capture an enemy pilot. However, Robert couldn’t help but feel uneasy about the situation. He had most likely known most of the Mane soldiers that had been killed in the fight. He had never agreed with the methods of the Mane forces, but they were still his kin. Turning a corner, Robert and Slender were approached by a young Federation officer who addressed them. “Lieutenant Slender and Ensign Stallion, the Red Comet has asked for you two in the interrogation observation room.” The officer reported as he saluted. Saluting back, Slender said, “Thank you, Petty Officer Gable. We’ll head there straight away.” And with that the two continued down the corridor. *** Roland Zeck sat at his desk looking over a clipboard. An unsettling grin crept across his face as he examined Amuro Ray’s medical charts. Amuro was recovering smoothly after the operation Roland had performed. It was only a matter of time before he was able to pilot the Gundam again. The screen next to the desk flickered on and Ensign Bright Noa’s face appeared. “What’s Amuro’s status is he improving?” Bright asked the doctor. Bright’s expression had become similar to that of a war veteran. Roland gave his captain a somber look as he said, “I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t tell at this point in time. Given a day or two I should be able to determine when he will awake.” Ensign Bright paused and looked off to one side. “Alright… Let me know if anything changes…” The screen went black as the communication ended. Turning back to the charts, Roland smiled yet again. No one on this ship had any idea why he was really here. He aimed to keep it that way. *** Corsair Sky sat in an interrogation room uncomfortably. Human chairs were certainly not made to accommodate ponies. It didn’t help that her eye, or what was left of it, still hurt like no one’s business. Across from her sat a rather round man in a green uniform, a Zeon officer. The man just sat there quietly, only opening his mouth to ask her questions every few minutes. She was surprised by how weak human interrogation seemed, there wasn’t even any yelling. Behind the man was a mirror, probably a one way window. The door opened. A man in a red uniform walked in and dismissed the rounder man. Sitting in the briefly empty seat the man asked, “Do you know who I am?” His voice was remarkable familiar, yet Corsair couldn’t quite place it. She shook her head slowly, her expression unchanged. The man exhaled and spoke again, “I’m Char Aznable, a Lieutenant Commander with the Principality of Zeon.” Corsair’s face quickly became a mixture of shock, anger, and pain as she realized that this was the man that had taken her mother’s life. Her lips quivered as she opened her mouth and said, “Red Comet… I swear to Princess Luna… I will kill you for what you have done…” She looked up and glared at the man before her. Char had seen this look before. It was the same look that Pegasus on the ship had given him. “So that must have been your mother on that ship? She died honorably.” He could almost sympathize with this pony. There was a knock on the door and Char turned and answered. Slender stood outside the door and saluted. “You wanted to see me, sir?” “Yes, come in, Slender, you too, Robert. I’ll be just outside speaking with Dren.” Char left the room and Slender entered, followed by Robert. Robert looked over at Corsair, but turned away almost instantly. “Aw jeez. Of all of the ponies…” He said under his breath. “Robert?” Corsair exclaimed, eyes wide with shock. Slender looked back and forth between the two curiously. “You two know each other?” He asked. Robert turned to Slender. “I’d rather not talk about it, but we were both stationed on the same battleship for a while.” He explained. Corsair slammed her head against the table in anger, and instantly regretted it. “This is freaking brilliant! I lose my eye, my mom dies, and now you’re a traitor? I’m done, this is too much!” As she struggled to get free Corsair knocked the chair over, losing consciousness as her head hit the floor. *** A colossal battleship flew by what was once the colony, Side 7. A fleet of smaller ships followed alongside the ship as it passed the colony wreckage. The ship’s side read Draconequus, and it was the flagship of the MANE armada. On board the Draconequus, the MANE’s Fleet Admiral was receiving unwelcome news. “Sir, A Baoa Qu was retaken by the humans. Rear Admiral Pale Sky was lost, and her ship captured.” A nervous unicorn stated. The Fleet Admiral took a moment to ponder what had happened. She brought her hoof up to her chin and replied, “Tragic, but it is of no true consequence. Capturing A Baoa Qu was meant to assert ourselves against the Zeon, it was never a necessary command point. You are dismissed.” The starry maned Fleet Admiral turned to the navigator. “Set a course for the Federation stronghold, Luna II. I will no longer abide the existence of such an insult to my name.” Luna commanded. *** “What do you mean we can’t leave?” Bright Noa asked the man before him. “Commandant Wakkein, I demand to know why you’re refusing to let us leave.” “Watch your tongue, Ensign. You are addressing a superior officer.” Wakkein replied stiffly, “But if you must know. Our scouts have detected a large enemy force approaching. We will need White Base to remain here to aid in our defense. Is that understood, Ensign Bright?” Bright saluted reluctantly, “Yes, sir. White Base will stay to aid in the defense of Luna II.” The Commandant turned and said, “You are dismissed.” A young man with blonde hair waited outside Wakkein’s office. His name was Job John, and he had been assigned as the temporary pilot of the Gundam. He followed Bright as he left the office. “What’s the word, Captain? Is the Commandant gonna let us head to Earth or what?” Job asked. Bright sighed and then replied, “We’re to stay here until the enemy has been fought off. Apparently there’s a small fleet on its way.” A resigned look on his face, Job simply said, “Well, guess we’ve gotta fight then. I’ll make sure the Gundam is ready.” And he walked off towards White Base’s dock. Author's Note [It's been a while since my last update, and I'm not quite back in the groove of writing. I'm not sure if it's any good, but I thought I should at least update the story. Sorry for the wait.]
