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September 11th, Universal Century 0079 Looking out the window, a young boy excitedly stared at the planet that filled his field of view. The Earth hung in the sky, blue and white and green. It seemed swollen almost, a balloon about to burst. For a child who had been reared entirely on the canned air of a space colony, the planet seemed unreal. Far below, clouds swirled in the patterns of a great storm, though the boy would have hardly recognized them as such. His young brain struggled to process the image, and before it overwhelmed him, he turned back to his toy. The plaything, a small remote-controlled car, sat at his feet. Once more, he pressed the buttons of the control panel he held, but it again failed to start. Nearly in tears, he picked it up and carried it to his grandfather, who sat serenely on a padded bench. The two shared the same features, but the older man's skin had a tanned and weathered look that was impossible to earn on any colony. He smiled patiently, and took the car from his ward. "Let's see..." Before he could finish, up walked Amuro Ray, clad in a Federation uniform. His soft eyes took in the pair, and he bent down and took the toy into his hands. Tinkering with it briefly, his quick success was rewarded with two squeals. One came from the wheels of the toy, and the other issued from the youth, who immediately grabbed his possession and took off. A message of thanks apparent in his eyes, the grandfather began to tell Amuro of his origins in South America. He brought out a handful of coffee beans, and his voice swelled with the pride of a man speaking about his homeland. Feeling the strength of the man's words, Amuro couldn't help but wonder about his own place in the universe. He, too, glanced at the Earth, sitting tantalizingly close. It was just on the other side of the windows of the closest thing he currently had to a home... The ship, White Base. They had played an exhausting game of tag, from their departure on Side 7, to the harrowing travel to Luna II, and finally their escape and sprint towards Earth itself. The ragtag crew of the White Base was comprised mainly of the greenest of soldiers - children, really. Almost all of their crew were civilians pressed into duty out of necessity. And yet, they had survived, somehow. Some of it was due to luck, surely. Perhaps some small piece of it could be attributed to skill. 'But above all else,' White Base Captain Bright Noa thought to himself, 'I must give thanks for the incredible capabilities of this ship. Not to mention...' At that, his thoughts then turned to his rare and precious cargo. The experimental mobile suit which had been the genesis of the assault on Side 7 - the Gundam! 'And also, it's the greatest reason for our continued existence against the greatest foe in all the Zeon ranks... Their greatest ace pilot, who has chased us across half the Earth Sphere, and even now follows after us... The Red Comet, Char Aznable.' The young officer - barely into manhood himself - allowed himself one further moment's introspection, before the voice of his own ship's pilot jolted him out of his reverie. "Re-entry in 25 minutes," came Mirai's voice. There was a hint of shakiness to it, but a moment's conversation confirmed to Noa that she could be trusted to do all that was necessary to see them through. The bridge's communications unit crackled, and soon Lieutenant Teniente Reed's gruff visage could be seen staring out at White Base's young bridge crew. A voice, matching the face to which it was attached, came over the speakers. "We'll be in the Salamis's re-entry capsule, which travels at an extremely high velocity. You just have to keep us with us, alright?" Having said all he felt necessary, Lt. Reed ended the transmission, and went to make his own preparations. White Base's crew found their attention quickly diverted elsewhere, as their constant pursuer was receiving visitors... Seated in the command center of his Musai, Char Aznable allowed himself a brief nod of self-satisfaction. The approaching Sodon Tug dragged behind it three Zaku IIs, the reinforcements Char so desperately desired to take one final shot at the Trojan Horse. As his pilots entered - the best he could find within his available forces - Char turned, stood, and faced them, beginning their briefing. With the new supplies, they would have the chance to attack the White Base while it was focused on entering the Earth's atmosphere. This would give them a window of opportunity to hopefully bring down the troublesome Federation ship. The ship had been a thorn in the side of the Zeon forces, and needed to be dealt with. As for that mobile suit... Well, he would deal with it in due time. The mission took priority. He spoke as much to himself as to his pilots. "First objective? The Trojan Horse. Second objective? The enemy mobile suit. Good luck, men." Lt. Reed's capsule, fired from a Salamis that had come from Luna II, escorted White Base towards re-entry. A hopeful date at Jaburo awaited Capt. Noa and the Pegasus. Bright looked forward to getting himself a legitimate comportment of Federation forces. They had managed so far with these kids, but their luck would likely run out eventually. 'Can't get there soon enough. Hopefully this process will go smoothly... Okay, let's get going!' The Captain raised his voice, and began the announcements to the crew and passengers to prepare for re-entry. Staff and civilians alike scrambled to their assigned places. Far too quickly, it seemed, it became apparent that Bright's hopes for an easy re-entry were unlikely to come true. The screen told Bright all he needed to know about the situation, so he made one more announcement - one all-too-familiar to him already. "Enemy approaching! Launch Gundam immediately!" The Gundam stepped forward onto the launching platform, and Amuro took a deep breath as he tried to think of everything he would need to be aware of during the battle. As he thought about fighting Char one more time, Sayla's voice filled his cockpit. "Okay Amuro, make sure to get back here before we enter the atmosphere. Be careful. I read 4 Zakus out there." 'What? Four?!' At that, the Gundam launched, flinging the teen into space and straight into the path of the oncoming Zeon forces. In the distance, Amuro could see all four Zakus, led by one painted in Char's distinctive red color scheme. Behind that, the Musai's shuttle - the Komusai - disengaged from its mother ship and began an attack run of its own. The Zeon forces were too far away to be within range of Amuro's hyper bazooka - the only main weapon he had brought with him into the fray. 'I should have brought a spare...' "So we're clear then? Dren, use your Komusai to cover our mobile suits. Attack the re-entry capsule from the Federation battleship. We will split our forces. Men, bypass the enemy mobile suit, and begin an attack on the Trojan Horse from both flanks. I will attempt to keep their pilot at bay." Char wasn't worried. His fellow pilots were skilled, and would acquit themselves well. As they spread out and approached their target, he once more came face-to-face with the extraordinary Federation mobile suit. Its pilot once more foolishly tried to attack head-on, and Char easily countered with a missile attack. But it impacted harmlessly against that suit's shield, doing almost no damage. Another bazooka attack came in response, but was never a true threat to hit Char's Zaku. Before he could fire again, the enemy suit turned and headed back towards the Trojan Horse, and his three fellow pilots. Char followed, looking for an opening with which he could finally destroy that suit and its pilot. The Red Comet reminded himself to be patient - a suit that powerful would need a direct strike. And so he waited. The Gundam fired at a Zaku in the distance, which was angling to attack the White Base. The bazooka round missed, but the proximity sensors set it off even so. The explosion failed to destroy the Zaku, but severely damaged its operating capability. Its pilot, Kommun, grimaced as he realized he had lost not just his shield, but the use of his entire right arm. He tried to regain his bearings, as the battle continued to rage about him. The other two reinforcement Zakus had closed within range of the Pegasus-class cruiser, and were being forced to dodge intermittent fire from its missiles and machine guns. The attacks were clumsy and poorly timed, however, due to the lack of experience by gunners Hyato, Ryu, Kai, and Job John. After having finally figured out the mode of operation on White Base's weaponry, they were attempting to shoot down their pursuers, with no success. Both Zaku pilots began to take aim at the Trojan Horse, confident in their success. From the blackness, a hyper bazooka round sailed between the two men, causing both to break off their attacks. They scanned their surroundings frantically, realizing that the enemy mobile suit had returned, and Commander Char was in pursuit. Initially unwilling to approach the powerful Federation machine, they milled about for a moment to plan their attack. As the suit threw away its bazooka, they wondered if it might be safe to approach. One began creeping closer, as the Fed's inaction had emboldened him. 'Maybe he's having mechanical trouble - I don't see any other weapons on that monster... I could become a hero of the Zeon empire like Commander Char!' "Sayla, I need that beam rifle! I'm out of ammo!" Amuro was indeed out of bazooka rounds, and his lack of foresight meant he was stranded with few options to defend himself, or White Base. "Amuro, we can't do that. We'll get you the Gundam Hammer, so you'll ha... Look out!" Sayla cut off her explanation, screaming a warning to the Gundam pilot. But the heads-up was unnecessary - Amruo was fully aware of the onrushing Zeon suit. As the Zaku neared, looking to strike a blow with a heat hawk, Amruo fired with his head vulcans. They strafed up and down the suit, ripping numerous holes deep into its armor. The force of the attack knocked it back, and its pilot pulled away quickly. Within moments, though, it began to spark. The telltale signs of catastrophic reactor failure signaled the oncoming explosion, which Amuro was quick to avoid. The young pilot could almost swear that he could hear his defeated opponent's pleas to Char for help - now forever unanswered. Shaking his head, Amuro attempted the same tactic with the other Zaku menacing the Pegasus, but his fire seemed to spiral into the distance. Sayla's alert could hardly come too soon, as his console flashed to let him know that the Gundam Hammer was being launched. He spun away and goosed his thrusters, hoping that he could manage to catch it. As he stretched for the hammer, though, a feeling of dread overtook him, and he finally noticed Char poised triumphantly within range. Amuro stared down the wrong end of a bazooka barrel, and yelled. "No! Char!" For his part, the Zeon pilot was decidedly calmer. With almost no emotion, he pulled the trigger, offering up a final epitaph to his opponent. "Now, say goodbye." "Are you and your men alright?" Bright's voice was strained, as he attempted to focus on the battle at hand. Lt. Reed was normally not a chipper officer - and the stabbing pain from the wound in his arm made him even less pleasant. Shrapnel from a Komusai missile had punctured his capsule's canopy, injuring him and forcing the capsule to take refuge in White Base. Otherwise it would certainly disintegrate on re-entry. He took out his frustrations on Capt. Noa, immediately berating the young officer for his recklessness in throwing the Gundam into combat. With no patience for an argument, Bright immediately shot back at the older Lieutenant. "If I hadn't, you'd already be dead!" The ship rocked, and the conversation died abruptly as damage sensors blared. Atmosphere immediately began streaming out through a small hole in the Pegasus's hull, though the breach was quickly patched with a gummy pink film. Bright grimaced. 'Hope that can hold through the re-entry. It's one thing after another on this ship! Hopefully Amuro's doing better than we are...' The bazooka round left Char's muzzle and headed for the Gundam. But before it could impact on the white mobile suit, it slammed into the Gundam Hammer, knocking it directly into Amuro's path. He gratefully grabbed at the weapon, and immediately swung it forward, intercepting a second bazooka blast from Char. Behind the Gundam crept Kommun in his crippled Zaku, a heat hawk brandished in his left arm. As Char attacked with his own heat hawk, Kommun dashed forward to level the killing blow. However, Amuro's skills had grown greatly of late, and he managed to catch Char's strike with his shield. Before Kommun could finish his attack, the Gundam had slung its hammer directly into the Zaku's midsection, shattering it almost instantly. 'Incredible. Are the skills of that pilot really improving so quickly? There must be something more to it,' Char mused to himself. A beeping in his cockpit alerted him that the edge of the atmosphere was fast approaching. Cursing that he could not finish the White Base or its ever-frustrating mobile suit, he turned to rejoin the Komusai and enter the atmosphere safely. He called to his remaining wingman, but the pilot - Crown - refused, desiring to finish the Trojan Horse to the exclusion of all else. Char shook his head, knowing the sure outcome of that decision. "I can get him!" Amuro aimed carefully with his vulcan guns, and once more tried to take out the last remaining Zaku, but his shots sailed far wide of the target. Turbulence rocked him in his cockpit, and he finally realized just how far he had allowed himself to fall. The Earth's gravity was now accelerating him downwards at an uncontrollable pace. There was no time to return to White Base. With the atmosphere's friction hammering his suit, Amuro desperately grasped at the Gundam's manual. As he flipped through the pages, he could see his former target as it incinerated in the atmosphere. The image lent him even greater urgency. He could have sworn that somewhere... 'There!' Indeed, it was a procedure for a successful unassisted re-entry. The Gundam came with a highly-ablative re-entry film, which would permit the suit to survive the extremely high temperatures when descending from orbit. He pressed the sequence to deploy the film, and held his breath. Incredibly, within moments, the suit's armor had not only stopped heating up, but began to cool down. The re-entry film managed to quickly bring the Gundam's armor temperature down to manageable levels, and Amuro sat back in relief. It appeared he and Gundam had made it through together one more time - though how much longer could he stand against Char? "Amazing. That suit could survive even that?" The surprise was evident in Char's voice. But his bewilderment quickly turned to anger at the loss of three more men, and he immediately placed a call to a familiar ally in the region. After all, war was a hard business, so Char always had a back-up plan. "Well, what is it, Red Comet?" The familiar, smooth voice seemed to almost drip through the speakers of the Komusai, even despite the static interference of the finishing stages of re-entry. "I might have to give up that ridiculous nickname altogether... Captain Garma Zabi!" As Char explained the situation, the charismatic young Zeon officer immediately launched a Gaw attack carrier. With a finger twirled in his stylishly-purple hair, Garma imagined how proud his sister would be if he could single-handedly shut down the Federation's V Project. He sprinted down the hall towards his hangar, eager to earn his place amongst his family. 'Char, my old friend, you've brought me quite a gift!' Meanwhile, an excitable young man held the hand of his grandfather, as both looked down upon the land that they thought they would both soon call home. Unbeknownst to them, though, it was far from Federation space, and deep within the Zeon-controlled region. The trials of White Base were far from over. But for at least a moment, these thoughts evaporated at the wonder of the beauty of the planet. The Gundam had returned to the Pegasus's hangar, the miraculous machine nearly unharmed. The crew of the White Base had little time to gather themselves, knowing that they would soon face yet another dire battle. But, at least, they had made it to the Earth! |