Post by Zero on Dec 29, 2009 18:47:19 GMT -5
::Prior to the Garma Event::
"...Sorry Akane." Marko said simply, eyes cast to the side as the new legs were before fitted onto the Dowdage. They were quick repairs, he had been foolish enough to let them get blown out again by some Feddie that had snuck into North America, but his mind was truthfully elsewhere as he withdrew a picture from his pocket.
In it stood Marko, smiling and saluting in his officer uniform while a girl with purple tinged hair wearing a pilots formal wear stood latched onto his arm. She was shorter then him, and obviously younger. It seemed like such a long time ago since his first commission, and while normally Marko disallowed him self to have feelings he had been a much different man back then, he hesitated, it was all because he had hesitated.
::Flashback::
The heat of the jungle was enough to drive them mad, penetrating deep into the cockpits of their Zaku II's. It was his first big commission and his nerves were on edge, his first actual mission. Flanking him were two other Zaku'. They had gotten reports of new Federal mobile suits deployed in the area and Marko was ordered to take his band on a patrol.
They had no idea what they were up against, but the reports of these new suits was terrifying. He hadn't the nerve to tell them that they faced almost certain death, the light conversation filtering over the comms was filled with laughter and jokes. If only they knew what he knew, if only they knew.
He had seen the recon footage, seen the destroyed husk of a Zaku that had the misfortune of getting surprised by this new Feddie suit. It was terrifying, to his very core.
"...Lieutenant!....LIEUTENANT ARE YOU THERE!?" Came the voice of a woman, her French accent carrying over the comm and causing Marko to snap out of his trance like stage, head cocking slightly as his Zaku stopped, the monoeye scanning around before he let out a heavy sigh.
"What is it Sergeant Larosa?" Marko questioned, his body relaxing back into his chair as a hand came up and simply loosened his collar. The heat was getting to him, who was he kidding, they weren't likely to encounter the Feddies here, it was a dense fucking jungle and though the region was still a hotspot for fighting, patrols came and went all the time.
"We've reached point Charlie, sir." She said, giggling in the process before letting out an annoyed sound, head falling back against her seat "When is my brother going to get here??" It was a highly inappropriate question and Marko could only shrug and give a chuckle.
"Reports say he's on his way from Africa...He should be here by tomorrow Claudia." It had turned informal fast, using first names, talking about personal life. It was all they had to do now that they had reached point Charlie, that had to hold for fifteen to twenty minutes before cycling out to Point Delta and finally returning back to base.
"Say, do you think the Feddies will actually show up?" There was a mixture of worry and excitement in her voice, he could tell it even through her accent and Marko just gave a soft laugh. He hoped the Fed's wouldn't show up, but he didn't have the heart to tell her that "My brother will never respect me if I never get the chance to prove my self." She mused over the communication, giving another heavy sigh.
"I'm sure you'll do fine, Claudia. Felix is a hero, it's unfair to compare your self to him. Don't worry about it." The officer reassured the enlisted woman, but his body soon felt cold, a tingling sensation scrapping at the back of his neck as the sensors picked up activity.
"CONTACT! DEAD HEAD!" Screamed a Luggun pilot as he flew high above, his life snuffed out almost instantly as weapons fire poured upward from the jungle and machine-gun rounds slammed into the flying aircraft, engulfing it in flames. Marko froze, locked tightly against his controls.
We're going to die.
"Lieutenant! Orders!" Claudia shouted, but Marko remained frozen, sweat rolling off of his forehead. He had never experienced a greater terror, it was his first battle, images of his sister and family flashed into his mind "...ORDERS!" Came the shout again before the woman just let out a sigh.
Before Marko could snap out of it the Federation suit lunged forward from the trees, he freaked, unable to think properly his hands jerked the controls and the Machine gun was raised up, the only thing coming over the communications channel was a loud scream as the sound of the Zaku's machine gun going off filled the jungle.
It didn't stop. The mobile suit kept coming. Rounds striking the ground and trees around it but the skilled pilot was careful to avoid taking too much direct damage as it's shield took the brunt of the damage. It came in fast and hard, smacking the Zaku's machine gun upward as the shells continued to pour up out of it.
Just as the Feddie pilot was going for the killing blow a Zaku blasted sideways through the trees, slamming into the mobile suit and sending it staggering to the side. The woman screamed, her thrusters kicking in once again and sending it flying backwards as she leveled her bazooka and pulled the trigger, the round slamming into the Feddie suit square on, the resulting explosion destroying it.
"Liuetenant...Are you alrig-" Her words her cut off as a bright pink light broke through the armor of the Zaku and cut it's way upward, the Zaku's systems failing fast as it collapsed down onto it's knees, sparks flying from the exposed electrical parts, it's arm and upper shoulder having fallen clean off.
"....I....I'm sorry...." Coughed the woman over the comm, a small explosion in her cockpit from the damage having caused pieces of metal to embed in her body. Marko watched on in horror, tears falling from his eyes "T....Tell my brother....Sorry...M...marko..." She gasped out, coughing once more as blood spilled from her lips.
Marko lunged his Zaku back up, intercepting the Feddie suit before it could attack her again, his heat hawk slamming against the beam saber in an almost futile effort to keep it from delivering a finishing blow "Claudia! Hang in there, Claudia! I'll...I'll protect you! I promise!" He shouted back over the communication, his sorrow quickly transforming into anger as he pushed the Zaku forward with it's full might, toppling the Feddie suit backwards and breaking the lock just enough to slow him to slam his heat hawk across the feddies torso only to bring it down again, lobbing one of it's arms off.
The feddie suit responded by literally punching the Zaku with it's other hand, sending the green mobile suit staggering backwards but Marko was quick to correct the problem, shoulder rushing the Feddie suit and sending it falling forward onto the jungle floor, his heat hawk slamming against it's torso over and over again until the lights of the mobile suit's eyes flickered off, the pilot inside no doubt dead.
"It's too late....for that....Marko...." She coughed again, this time wheezing heavily as she looked down, tears streaming from her eyes as she lifted her blood covered hands "I...I...I don't want to...to die..." The young woman sobbed uncontrollably now, tears staining her face as she coughed a large amount of blood against her display.
"I...Love you...." Marko muttered out, hand slamming against his own display in anger as the sound of a coughing fit came over his communications followed by silence "Claudia.....? Claudia!?" He shouted, but to no avail, he would receive no reply that day as the Zaku remained propped up, wrecked from it's battle with the Feddie mobile suit and lifeless.
Marko uttered his promise, the promise which guided him through the rest of his military career while staring down at a white cross on the ground and a plaque that bared the woman's name. Marko himself wrapped in bandages, his eyes showing a cold resolve, his promise to do everything within his power to honor Claudia's sacrifice, to do whatever necessary to insure that sacrifice never had to be made again. He felt a hand on his shoulder, turning his head over to see Felix standing behind him, an empty look in his face as he just gave a nod. After that, Marko made it his business to remain distant from other pilots, and went so far as to recklessly endanger him self in order to protect his squad mates.
::Present day::
A loud smack echoed through the room, Marko's head reeling to the side in response to the blow "You do her no honor if you continue to act so recklessly with your life.. I expect you to remember your promise." The man known as Felix spat out at his commanding officer, much to the surprise of the other soldiers around who prepared to lurch forward and arrest the man, had it not been for Marko simply lifting his hand and calling them off.
The two pilots walked off, in truth, Marko always imagined that Felix had blamed him for Claudia's death. But Felix had never looked at it that way, to Felix Marko was like a brother to him, he had even allowed the brash pilot to date his younger sister with no complaint. The fact that she had died in the battlefield protecting Marko did not anger him, he saw it as an honorable death, and knew probably that Claudia had been more interested in showing off to him self rather then to Marko.
Truth be told, Felix blamed him self for her death, not Marko.
In his cockpit, Marko withdrew the picture of the couple and placed it so that it would always be in view. He knew not whether he would survive the coming battle, but it was his duty as an officer to ensure the survival of his team.
"...Sorry Akane." Marko said simply, eyes cast to the side as the new legs were before fitted onto the Dowdage. They were quick repairs, he had been foolish enough to let them get blown out again by some Feddie that had snuck into North America, but his mind was truthfully elsewhere as he withdrew a picture from his pocket.
In it stood Marko, smiling and saluting in his officer uniform while a girl with purple tinged hair wearing a pilots formal wear stood latched onto his arm. She was shorter then him, and obviously younger. It seemed like such a long time ago since his first commission, and while normally Marko disallowed him self to have feelings he had been a much different man back then, he hesitated, it was all because he had hesitated.
::Flashback::
The heat of the jungle was enough to drive them mad, penetrating deep into the cockpits of their Zaku II's. It was his first big commission and his nerves were on edge, his first actual mission. Flanking him were two other Zaku'. They had gotten reports of new Federal mobile suits deployed in the area and Marko was ordered to take his band on a patrol.
They had no idea what they were up against, but the reports of these new suits was terrifying. He hadn't the nerve to tell them that they faced almost certain death, the light conversation filtering over the comms was filled with laughter and jokes. If only they knew what he knew, if only they knew.
He had seen the recon footage, seen the destroyed husk of a Zaku that had the misfortune of getting surprised by this new Feddie suit. It was terrifying, to his very core.
"...Lieutenant!....LIEUTENANT ARE YOU THERE!?" Came the voice of a woman, her French accent carrying over the comm and causing Marko to snap out of his trance like stage, head cocking slightly as his Zaku stopped, the monoeye scanning around before he let out a heavy sigh.
"What is it Sergeant Larosa?" Marko questioned, his body relaxing back into his chair as a hand came up and simply loosened his collar. The heat was getting to him, who was he kidding, they weren't likely to encounter the Feddies here, it was a dense fucking jungle and though the region was still a hotspot for fighting, patrols came and went all the time.
"We've reached point Charlie, sir." She said, giggling in the process before letting out an annoyed sound, head falling back against her seat "When is my brother going to get here??" It was a highly inappropriate question and Marko could only shrug and give a chuckle.
"Reports say he's on his way from Africa...He should be here by tomorrow Claudia." It had turned informal fast, using first names, talking about personal life. It was all they had to do now that they had reached point Charlie, that had to hold for fifteen to twenty minutes before cycling out to Point Delta and finally returning back to base.
"Say, do you think the Feddies will actually show up?" There was a mixture of worry and excitement in her voice, he could tell it even through her accent and Marko just gave a soft laugh. He hoped the Fed's wouldn't show up, but he didn't have the heart to tell her that "My brother will never respect me if I never get the chance to prove my self." She mused over the communication, giving another heavy sigh.
"I'm sure you'll do fine, Claudia. Felix is a hero, it's unfair to compare your self to him. Don't worry about it." The officer reassured the enlisted woman, but his body soon felt cold, a tingling sensation scrapping at the back of his neck as the sensors picked up activity.
"CONTACT! DEAD HEAD!" Screamed a Luggun pilot as he flew high above, his life snuffed out almost instantly as weapons fire poured upward from the jungle and machine-gun rounds slammed into the flying aircraft, engulfing it in flames. Marko froze, locked tightly against his controls.
We're going to die.
"Lieutenant! Orders!" Claudia shouted, but Marko remained frozen, sweat rolling off of his forehead. He had never experienced a greater terror, it was his first battle, images of his sister and family flashed into his mind "...ORDERS!" Came the shout again before the woman just let out a sigh.
Before Marko could snap out of it the Federation suit lunged forward from the trees, he freaked, unable to think properly his hands jerked the controls and the Machine gun was raised up, the only thing coming over the communications channel was a loud scream as the sound of the Zaku's machine gun going off filled the jungle.
It didn't stop. The mobile suit kept coming. Rounds striking the ground and trees around it but the skilled pilot was careful to avoid taking too much direct damage as it's shield took the brunt of the damage. It came in fast and hard, smacking the Zaku's machine gun upward as the shells continued to pour up out of it.
Just as the Feddie pilot was going for the killing blow a Zaku blasted sideways through the trees, slamming into the mobile suit and sending it staggering to the side. The woman screamed, her thrusters kicking in once again and sending it flying backwards as she leveled her bazooka and pulled the trigger, the round slamming into the Feddie suit square on, the resulting explosion destroying it.
"Liuetenant...Are you alrig-" Her words her cut off as a bright pink light broke through the armor of the Zaku and cut it's way upward, the Zaku's systems failing fast as it collapsed down onto it's knees, sparks flying from the exposed electrical parts, it's arm and upper shoulder having fallen clean off.
"....I....I'm sorry...." Coughed the woman over the comm, a small explosion in her cockpit from the damage having caused pieces of metal to embed in her body. Marko watched on in horror, tears falling from his eyes "T....Tell my brother....Sorry...M...marko..." She gasped out, coughing once more as blood spilled from her lips.
Marko lunged his Zaku back up, intercepting the Feddie suit before it could attack her again, his heat hawk slamming against the beam saber in an almost futile effort to keep it from delivering a finishing blow "Claudia! Hang in there, Claudia! I'll...I'll protect you! I promise!" He shouted back over the communication, his sorrow quickly transforming into anger as he pushed the Zaku forward with it's full might, toppling the Feddie suit backwards and breaking the lock just enough to slow him to slam his heat hawk across the feddies torso only to bring it down again, lobbing one of it's arms off.
The feddie suit responded by literally punching the Zaku with it's other hand, sending the green mobile suit staggering backwards but Marko was quick to correct the problem, shoulder rushing the Feddie suit and sending it falling forward onto the jungle floor, his heat hawk slamming against it's torso over and over again until the lights of the mobile suit's eyes flickered off, the pilot inside no doubt dead.
"It's too late....for that....Marko...." She coughed again, this time wheezing heavily as she looked down, tears streaming from her eyes as she lifted her blood covered hands "I...I...I don't want to...to die..." The young woman sobbed uncontrollably now, tears staining her face as she coughed a large amount of blood against her display.
"I...Love you...." Marko muttered out, hand slamming against his own display in anger as the sound of a coughing fit came over his communications followed by silence "Claudia.....? Claudia!?" He shouted, but to no avail, he would receive no reply that day as the Zaku remained propped up, wrecked from it's battle with the Feddie mobile suit and lifeless.
Marko uttered his promise, the promise which guided him through the rest of his military career while staring down at a white cross on the ground and a plaque that bared the woman's name. Marko himself wrapped in bandages, his eyes showing a cold resolve, his promise to do everything within his power to honor Claudia's sacrifice, to do whatever necessary to insure that sacrifice never had to be made again. He felt a hand on his shoulder, turning his head over to see Felix standing behind him, an empty look in his face as he just gave a nod. After that, Marko made it his business to remain distant from other pilots, and went so far as to recklessly endanger him self in order to protect his squad mates.
::Present day::
A loud smack echoed through the room, Marko's head reeling to the side in response to the blow "You do her no honor if you continue to act so recklessly with your life.. I expect you to remember your promise." The man known as Felix spat out at his commanding officer, much to the surprise of the other soldiers around who prepared to lurch forward and arrest the man, had it not been for Marko simply lifting his hand and calling them off.
The two pilots walked off, in truth, Marko always imagined that Felix had blamed him for Claudia's death. But Felix had never looked at it that way, to Felix Marko was like a brother to him, he had even allowed the brash pilot to date his younger sister with no complaint. The fact that she had died in the battlefield protecting Marko did not anger him, he saw it as an honorable death, and knew probably that Claudia had been more interested in showing off to him self rather then to Marko.
Truth be told, Felix blamed him self for her death, not Marko.
In his cockpit, Marko withdrew the picture of the couple and placed it so that it would always be in view. He knew not whether he would survive the coming battle, but it was his duty as an officer to ensure the survival of his team.