Post by gaplant on Nov 11, 2009 21:19:47 GMT -5
As the One Year War progresses throughout the Earth Sphere, one brave Zeon soldier continues his fight to destroy the Earth Federation. Second Lieutenant Ando Shoji espouses the values of courage and justice, and believes himself to be chosen to destroy the evil inhabitants of Earth. Where did his story begin? What chain of events conspired to transform him from citizen, to soldier, to hero? Find out now, on COURAGEOUS ZAKU FIGHTER SHO!
~
UC 0079.01.16
FASTER!
Daniel Chase pumped air between his teeth as they ground together feverishly, masking the sound (if for much too short a time) of various alarms and radio chatter. It was the first low-pitched sound he had heard inside the cockpit of his Zaku in the last twelve hours, and it served to offer him a brief respite from the physical and mental strain testing the limits of his endurance. Daniel had been awake for 26 out of the last 28 hours, and the lion's share of that time had been spent riding waves of adrenaline in the most pitched battle of his career - the Battle of Lourm. At this point, he was exhausted; however, all around him were grim reminders that he was one of the lucky ones.
The one location in all of the Earth Sphere that had been known as "Side 5," home to millions of people, was obliterated. What remained of Daniel's sensors dutifully categorized each passing object in the storm of debris as pieces of Federation ships, Zeon weaponry, and even human bodies. Most of them were too small or too damaged to be any particular threat to his humanoid mecha, but ahead he noticed several large hull sections of what used to be a Magellan-grade battleship rocketing towards him. Fortunately, a few flicks of the wrist was all it took to avoid them, as his Zaku bobbed and weaved through the wreckage.
The maneuver was costly, however. His mobile suit's HUD began to fade into the darkness of space, and threatened to drag him to unconsciousness. He was tempted to give in, but the giant robot's mono-eye settled on the charred, metallic skeleton in its arms and he shook himself back to a state of alert. He shouted, and slammed his controls forward - the Zaku groaned, and shot forward ever faster, groaning as if an animal on its last legs.
"Hang on, damn it!"
The green mass of steel cradled against the Zaku's chest had once been a mobile suit, although that proud design had given way to what was essentially a pile of scrap. Both legs and arms were missing, and the head had been seared off by what presumably was a battleship-grade mega particle cannon. Daniel had originally encountered the object floating through space while in pursuit of of the fleeing Federal forces, and hadn't thought much of it at the time. However, after being recalled to the ZMF defensive line he had spotted it again, and it connected with him on some level. The feeling was very tiny, very minute and incredibly surreal, but it persisted even as he gazed upon the burnt-out mecha. It made him very uneasy, and although he knew there was no way any pilot could have survived that much damage, he brought the mobile suit with him anyway. If nothing else, at least it might be possible for the flight recorder to be salvaged, he reasoned.
Daniel's mind continued to drift, wondering how things had progressed this far. Mere months earlier, he had been stationed on board the Papua class logistical carrier "Cradle of Intent". Commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Space Assault Force, he had most recently been deployed to the vessel to serve primarily as an instructor in piloting tactics and techniques. His first group of recruits had been typical of all newly-enlisted military personnel he had ever known: brash, young, and naive. Thankfully, his ten years of experience had allowed him to more or less work the first two traits out of them in short order; although, the third would require much more time, and perhaps wasn't even something he would be able to do for them himself.
Unfortunately, that time wasn't granted. Without warning, the Cradle of Intent was folded into the ZMF 1st Combined Fleet in preparation for the upcoming campaign at Side 5. Daniel knew his subordinates weren't ready, but requests for their transfer were repeatedly denied. The actual role held during the battle by the Cradle of Intent was minor, Command held, and the crew was at very little risk. Additionally, Zeon officers had implied both directly and indirectly in their communications with Daniel that they suspected they might be outnumbered, and that every available soldier was needed for the operation.
God damn it...
The actual battle had been nothing less than a sheer hell-scape of carnage and destruction. Hundreds and thousands of fighters, mobile suits, and battleships collided violently, and the brief appearance of a new star indicated the loss of another life. The Cradle of Intent, for its part, served as a valuable support craft to the flank of a few nearby Musai cruisers positioned away from the main battle line. Its mobile suit contingent remained extremely close to the ship on Daniel's orders, which had been approved by the captain. Occasionally stray shots from the battle proper appeared in their general direction, but for the most part it appeared that (thankfully), Daniel and his men wouldn't see action.
Their luck failed at a very critical point in the battle, however. Several Salamis cruisers, flanked by dozens of fighters, broke from their companions and rushed the battalion of vessels. No doubt lead by reckless, desperate officers, they pushed for the Zeon line with visceral and aggressive speed. This movement prompted heavy reinforcements from the ZMF 1st Combined Fleet, which in turn lead to the Federation to transfer even more units into the area. Before long (and only momentarily), the Cradle of Intent became the center of the maelstrom of conflict.
The ship that had been Daniel's home was wiped out almost instantaneously, and his unit was quickly overwhelmed by the sheer firepower of so many cruisers (both friendly and enemy) at once. He lost contact with two of his three mobile suit companions in the initial assault, and another went silent when the tremendously large groups of reinforcements arrived. Daniel had tried desperately to contact the lone member assumed MIA, but was forced to stop to assist in the ensuing counterattack.
As the battle came to its conclusion, Daniel had remained relatively unscathed and had actually participated in the destruction of several fighters and multiple Salamis-type craft. Most of these kills had been confirmed, so it was likely that he was going to be highly-decorated after the battle - obviously a boon to his record as a career military man, and one he could be proud of later. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had betrayed the trust of the men and women who believed in him, and the families of people he knew as friends and comrades who had been counting on him to bring their loved ones back safe.
~
Daniel double-checked to ensure his flight-suit wasn't breached, and stepped out of his Zaku. He had been granted permission to land in the hangar of the Musai-class vessel "Saber of Will," which like most other vessels in the Zeon 1st Combined Fleet had suffered light-to moderate damage itself. Gliding to a nearby catwalk, he noticed the scrambling of various technicians and his mind was filled with the faces of the support staff of the Cradle of Intent.
His internal monologue was interrupted by the arrival of six pilots through a nearby door. They had also been involved in the battle, as evidenced by their haunted looks, slow movements, and drooping eyes. A small exchange of conversation revealed that only two of them had been stationed on the Saber of Will when the battle started; the other four had been transferred over from destroyed or disabled ships, like Daniel had. As the state of alert was still high, none of the pilots had been allowed to sleep, so instead they had returned to the hangar to check the status of repairs to their mobile suits in case they had to redeploy.
There was a sudden commotion among the support craft, and it drew the pilots' attention. Down below, Daniel could make out several torches being brought to bear on the ruined, cauterized torso of the destroyed Zaku he had carried. He subconsciously furled an eyebrow in surprise, as he didn't think a black box was worth so much effort so quickly after such a major battle. Focusing his eyes on the torso, though, he made out a series of letters and numbers he hadn't noticed before, and his heart dropped.
"Oh God."
Daniel grabbed the catwalk's supporting rail, and threw himself towards his parked mobile suit. Exactly as he arrived, a small circular cross-section of the scrap Zaku's cockpit was cut, and through it floated what appeared to be sheer pints of frozen blood and pounds of metallic debris. As the hangar's lights filtered through the obstacles obscuring vision into the cockpit, a small identification tag passed by, the chain serving as its necklace still tied tightly around a broken joystick. Daniel snatched it, scratching off blood as flashlights were brought to bear inside the destroyed mecha's torso section. Inside, illuminated by the technicians, was a man curled up into a fetal position, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his flight suit compromised by almost microscopic holes in several places. Bits and pieces of his flesh and blood had already somehow sealed up his battered clothing, and his face was indiscernible through the mask of red that covered his otherwise transparent facemask. However, Daniel Chase knew the identity of the figure before he even read his dogtag - the last, unaccounted-for member of what had been his mobile suit team the day before.
Seaman Ando Shoji?!
A twitching finger from the otherwise-catatonic individual sent the entire hangar into a panic, and Daniel desperately screamed.
"MEDIC!"
~
UC 0079.01.16
FASTER!
Daniel Chase pumped air between his teeth as they ground together feverishly, masking the sound (if for much too short a time) of various alarms and radio chatter. It was the first low-pitched sound he had heard inside the cockpit of his Zaku in the last twelve hours, and it served to offer him a brief respite from the physical and mental strain testing the limits of his endurance. Daniel had been awake for 26 out of the last 28 hours, and the lion's share of that time had been spent riding waves of adrenaline in the most pitched battle of his career - the Battle of Lourm. At this point, he was exhausted; however, all around him were grim reminders that he was one of the lucky ones.
The one location in all of the Earth Sphere that had been known as "Side 5," home to millions of people, was obliterated. What remained of Daniel's sensors dutifully categorized each passing object in the storm of debris as pieces of Federation ships, Zeon weaponry, and even human bodies. Most of them were too small or too damaged to be any particular threat to his humanoid mecha, but ahead he noticed several large hull sections of what used to be a Magellan-grade battleship rocketing towards him. Fortunately, a few flicks of the wrist was all it took to avoid them, as his Zaku bobbed and weaved through the wreckage.
The maneuver was costly, however. His mobile suit's HUD began to fade into the darkness of space, and threatened to drag him to unconsciousness. He was tempted to give in, but the giant robot's mono-eye settled on the charred, metallic skeleton in its arms and he shook himself back to a state of alert. He shouted, and slammed his controls forward - the Zaku groaned, and shot forward ever faster, groaning as if an animal on its last legs.
"Hang on, damn it!"
The green mass of steel cradled against the Zaku's chest had once been a mobile suit, although that proud design had given way to what was essentially a pile of scrap. Both legs and arms were missing, and the head had been seared off by what presumably was a battleship-grade mega particle cannon. Daniel had originally encountered the object floating through space while in pursuit of of the fleeing Federal forces, and hadn't thought much of it at the time. However, after being recalled to the ZMF defensive line he had spotted it again, and it connected with him on some level. The feeling was very tiny, very minute and incredibly surreal, but it persisted even as he gazed upon the burnt-out mecha. It made him very uneasy, and although he knew there was no way any pilot could have survived that much damage, he brought the mobile suit with him anyway. If nothing else, at least it might be possible for the flight recorder to be salvaged, he reasoned.
Daniel's mind continued to drift, wondering how things had progressed this far. Mere months earlier, he had been stationed on board the Papua class logistical carrier "Cradle of Intent". Commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Space Assault Force, he had most recently been deployed to the vessel to serve primarily as an instructor in piloting tactics and techniques. His first group of recruits had been typical of all newly-enlisted military personnel he had ever known: brash, young, and naive. Thankfully, his ten years of experience had allowed him to more or less work the first two traits out of them in short order; although, the third would require much more time, and perhaps wasn't even something he would be able to do for them himself.
Unfortunately, that time wasn't granted. Without warning, the Cradle of Intent was folded into the ZMF 1st Combined Fleet in preparation for the upcoming campaign at Side 5. Daniel knew his subordinates weren't ready, but requests for their transfer were repeatedly denied. The actual role held during the battle by the Cradle of Intent was minor, Command held, and the crew was at very little risk. Additionally, Zeon officers had implied both directly and indirectly in their communications with Daniel that they suspected they might be outnumbered, and that every available soldier was needed for the operation.
God damn it...
The actual battle had been nothing less than a sheer hell-scape of carnage and destruction. Hundreds and thousands of fighters, mobile suits, and battleships collided violently, and the brief appearance of a new star indicated the loss of another life. The Cradle of Intent, for its part, served as a valuable support craft to the flank of a few nearby Musai cruisers positioned away from the main battle line. Its mobile suit contingent remained extremely close to the ship on Daniel's orders, which had been approved by the captain. Occasionally stray shots from the battle proper appeared in their general direction, but for the most part it appeared that (thankfully), Daniel and his men wouldn't see action.
Their luck failed at a very critical point in the battle, however. Several Salamis cruisers, flanked by dozens of fighters, broke from their companions and rushed the battalion of vessels. No doubt lead by reckless, desperate officers, they pushed for the Zeon line with visceral and aggressive speed. This movement prompted heavy reinforcements from the ZMF 1st Combined Fleet, which in turn lead to the Federation to transfer even more units into the area. Before long (and only momentarily), the Cradle of Intent became the center of the maelstrom of conflict.
The ship that had been Daniel's home was wiped out almost instantaneously, and his unit was quickly overwhelmed by the sheer firepower of so many cruisers (both friendly and enemy) at once. He lost contact with two of his three mobile suit companions in the initial assault, and another went silent when the tremendously large groups of reinforcements arrived. Daniel had tried desperately to contact the lone member assumed MIA, but was forced to stop to assist in the ensuing counterattack.
As the battle came to its conclusion, Daniel had remained relatively unscathed and had actually participated in the destruction of several fighters and multiple Salamis-type craft. Most of these kills had been confirmed, so it was likely that he was going to be highly-decorated after the battle - obviously a boon to his record as a career military man, and one he could be proud of later. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had betrayed the trust of the men and women who believed in him, and the families of people he knew as friends and comrades who had been counting on him to bring their loved ones back safe.
~
Daniel double-checked to ensure his flight-suit wasn't breached, and stepped out of his Zaku. He had been granted permission to land in the hangar of the Musai-class vessel "Saber of Will," which like most other vessels in the Zeon 1st Combined Fleet had suffered light-to moderate damage itself. Gliding to a nearby catwalk, he noticed the scrambling of various technicians and his mind was filled with the faces of the support staff of the Cradle of Intent.
His internal monologue was interrupted by the arrival of six pilots through a nearby door. They had also been involved in the battle, as evidenced by their haunted looks, slow movements, and drooping eyes. A small exchange of conversation revealed that only two of them had been stationed on the Saber of Will when the battle started; the other four had been transferred over from destroyed or disabled ships, like Daniel had. As the state of alert was still high, none of the pilots had been allowed to sleep, so instead they had returned to the hangar to check the status of repairs to their mobile suits in case they had to redeploy.
There was a sudden commotion among the support craft, and it drew the pilots' attention. Down below, Daniel could make out several torches being brought to bear on the ruined, cauterized torso of the destroyed Zaku he had carried. He subconsciously furled an eyebrow in surprise, as he didn't think a black box was worth so much effort so quickly after such a major battle. Focusing his eyes on the torso, though, he made out a series of letters and numbers he hadn't noticed before, and his heart dropped.
"Oh God."
Daniel grabbed the catwalk's supporting rail, and threw himself towards his parked mobile suit. Exactly as he arrived, a small circular cross-section of the scrap Zaku's cockpit was cut, and through it floated what appeared to be sheer pints of frozen blood and pounds of metallic debris. As the hangar's lights filtered through the obstacles obscuring vision into the cockpit, a small identification tag passed by, the chain serving as its necklace still tied tightly around a broken joystick. Daniel snatched it, scratching off blood as flashlights were brought to bear inside the destroyed mecha's torso section. Inside, illuminated by the technicians, was a man curled up into a fetal position, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his flight suit compromised by almost microscopic holes in several places. Bits and pieces of his flesh and blood had already somehow sealed up his battered clothing, and his face was indiscernible through the mask of red that covered his otherwise transparent facemask. However, Daniel Chase knew the identity of the figure before he even read his dogtag - the last, unaccounted-for member of what had been his mobile suit team the day before.
Seaman Ando Shoji?!
A twitching finger from the otherwise-catatonic individual sent the entire hangar into a panic, and Daniel desperately screamed.
"MEDIC!"