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Silent Requiem

By Nightmaresama, wing_zero_25@hotmail.com
 

Chapter 7: Solomon Phase 2



This is the best Gundam fanfic you will ever read. (Tim Seltzer, seltzer@seltzerbooks.com)


Nightmare's Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam or any of the other numerous anime series mentioned in this work-and there are a bunch! Gundam W, 08th MS, Evangelion, Gundam 0083, Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040, Outlaw Star, even Tenchi Universe; anything and anyone is fair game. I'm just a really big fan of anime with a lot of free time on my hands to be working on this thing since late 2001! So please, don't sue me! This is one of the best things I've ever written-I think-and I hope that no nit-picky person tries to take it from me!

"Commander Sanders!" Sam's voice came over the radio. His GM was approching very rapidly and carrying something very large. Sanders put the finishing blow to the Zaku he was fighting and turned to face his comrade.

"Commander! Hilde's Guncannon took a major hit and she's stuck inside. I'm not entirely sure how she is, but she blacked out a few minutes back and hasn't come to yet. She said something about her leg and not being able to move it and something had `gone right through' it. Tell me it's not what I think it is."

"Her leg? Why? Was it shrapnel?"

"I think so. Where's the nearest medical ship?"

Sanders' mind was racing. `Not this time; I won't lose any more teammates to these Zeeks'.

"I think it's the Valkyrie. She's about 300 kilometers away--the white one I believe. Hail Trowa and tell him we're pulling out to drop her off, but then we'll return. I'll escort you."

"Yes sir."

"Roger that Sam, give her my regards when you get the chance."


Trowa shot forward through the squad of Zakus and pulled out his sword, leaving behind an explosive trail of debris in his wake. The enemy suits were falling much quicker now, he noticed. Yet at the same time, the ones that did manage to escape, baited him on, trying to draw him away from the fortress.

Was this a sign that their force was weakening?

Whether it was or not, he pushed onward destroying more and more of the enemy suits. Eventually, upon passing into point 35,7, he heard a woman's voice over the wide area radio: "Alex, you're drifting, we have to keep together." And then "The fortress is only seven points away now, we can do it!"

`Alex?' he thought, `Seventh team's Alex Kincaid?' he'd soon find out whether it was or not; it was much better to fight in a group than alone. He sent hailed the unit ahead.


A thick mixture of blood and sweat ran down Cirrus O'Rielly's wan face, momentarily blurring her vision. The Feds just kept coming! It seemed as if every GM they destroyed suddenly reappeared as three more.

In a growing wave of anger, she swung hard at one of the offending suits, severing its head. Then, she performed a vertical slice that shredded whatever remained of it. Seconds later, she was forced to unload another round of shells at a GM-cannon that had come up from behind her. She was running dangerously low on rounds, and her generator was already working too hard for her to use the beam sabre for more than two or three minutes at a time.

'Kill or be killed…'

"Commander O'Rielly!" the voice came over the radio, choked with static. It was the new kid, Heero, but what was he doing piloting a Rick Dom?

"Heero!" Ayanami sounded very relieved to hear his voice.

"Ensign, give me a status report. What are you doing in that Dom?" She demanded.

"Major, it was all the Graf Zeppelin had left aboard. They told me it belonged to a guy who had already been fragged, so I should take it while they worked on my Zaku."

"Can you pilot it?" she was really unsure about how to go about fighting with a rookie in such an advanced suit, but it would have to suffice.

"I think so, yeah. By the way Commander, has Captain Gato rendezvoused with you all yet?" the Dom wobbled unsteadily as he must have been trying to reset the gyroscope. It was just as bad as she'd feared.

"No, we thought he was still with you." The other Drake units approached preparing to cover the two, but also listening to the conversation. "What happened?"

"I was hit by the Feds and had to return to the Graf Zeppelin in the dock. When I returned, he was already gone."

"And you're sure he wasn't killed?"

"I can't be, ma'am, I had my radio off the whole time I was in the fortress. On a side note Commander, as I was off looking for our ship, I saw them fueling up the Byg Zam. The Commandant-"

Machine gun fire cut him off. The Feds had found them and a squad of two GMs and two GM-cannons descended upon them. The GM-cannons both fired the mounted shoulder cannons and the Drakes were forced to scatter. Then the standard GMs split off on the sides and unleashed a simultaneous barrage of vulcan and machine gun fire. They were following a basic, textbook formation approach.

Then, Cirrus' harsh, logistical and calculating demeanor finally cracked. She let out the loudest Rebel Yell she could manage and took off.

In seconds, she had shredded one of the standard GMs with her sword. The other fell to her machine cannon. In the midst of the two explosions, she saw one of the Zakus chasing down one of the GM-cannons, but she couldn't see the final one. Suddenly, her Newtype abilities kicked in and she felt it behind her. In response to her ESP, she whirled around and unloaded two drums of ammo into it causing it to explode violently.

She was panting as the light from the explosion dimmed, and she reached up and tore off her helmet, letting her raven hair fall stickily about her face. Then the radio sounded off again: "Most impressive Commander," It was Sean. "How many kills is that today?"

"Too many" she muttered, composing herself. Ignoring any need to answer the question aloud, she called out to Heero: "Hey kid, you said they're launching the Zam?"

"Yeah. That'll swing the advantage back in our favor right?" the Dom settled slowly alongside her.

"It could, but the Feds also brought along their Gundam. Besides, if their battleships breech the 35, 6 line, Solomon will be at the mercy of their mega-particle cannons. How long before the Commandant launches?"

"About five minutes, I believe. At least that's what they were saying as I left"

Cirrus pulled a strand of her sweaty hair away from her eyes and settled on a course of action: "Blood Drakes, we are going to try and escort the Zam from the base to the frontlines. Destroy any Federal suits you come across, but don't dawdle. If you spend too much time fighting the little enemies, I'll leave you behind. We are an elite unit, so let's try and act like one. Notify me at once if you see Lieutenant Gato's Gelgoog. Let's go!"

All four of the suits took off.


The once sterile, white halls of the hospital ship, Valkyrie, were now stained with the blood of an ever increasing number of injured. Although she was trained to handle the sight of such conditions, Dr. Michelle Bannock's stomach still lurched at the sight of it all. Nevertheless, she rushed down the crowded walkway to the airlock of the hangar with stretcher in tow; apparently there was an emergency involving one of the MP Guncannons.

As she stepped through the sliding glass doors, she saw the wreckage of the suit-or half of a suit at any rate. Two soldiers awaited her at the end of the catwalk.

"Doctor, please hurry!" The younger soldier called out as she entered the room. "She's lost a lot of blood and there was a… you should have a look for yourself."

Dr. Bannock had been in the Federation's medical division for four months now, and nothing in that period of time nor any other time in all of her 22 years had she seen such a sight. Blood droplets floated freely in the cockpit, emanating from a massive puncture wound made by a large piece of shrapnel that had pierced her upper thigh. Michelle wasted no time; she pulled out the scaled down cutting laser she kept in the pocket of her long white labcoat and worked swiftly but carefully to cut the unconscious young woman free. The two soldiers helped to lift her up onto the stretcher and followed her into the ER. They remained outside after they had handed her off to the surgeon though.

As Michelle walked in to aid in any way possible, she overheard the surgeon talking to several nurses as he was washing his hands. "This looks really bad," he was saying, "I didn't know the Zeeks were putting up such stiff resistance."

Dr. Bannock spoke to him just as he was finishing, "Sir, what should I tell her comrades outside?"

"Tell `em were gonna have to amputate." He responded detachedly.

She shuddered as she stepped outside. "Hullo sirs," she began. They both stood up in a stiff, military manner. "I'm Dr. Michelle Bannock and I'm a Resident on this ship. I believe I have some very bad news for you…"


Just as the unit was beginning to fear the worst, they finally touched down on Solomon itself. Their timing was perfect because mere moments ago, the announcement had been made that the battlecruisers were moving in and the mega-particle cannons on the fortress had to be taken out to end the stalemate.

It was a long shot to say least, especially considering how much ammunitions they had wasted just trying to arrive on Solomon, still they fought on valiantly; but it wasn't until the other MS battalions started to arrive that any significant damage was dealt.

"Yes!" Alex cried out as another wave of GMs landed on the base to aid their efforts.

"We might actually pull this off." Trowa exclaimed.

And just at that time, while emotions were running their highest, the Zeeks played their final trump card…


From deep below the raging battle outside, the monstrous engines of the Byg Zam roared to life. The advance battalions of GMs and Balls were instantly vaporized the Minovsky fusion furnace created by the launch. Still, it rose higher, out of the depths of the fortress and into the battle that raged outside.

The Blood Drake squadron screamed through the vacuum at dizzying speeds, rushing to aid the Commandant in the inevitable final battle between the Zam and the entire Federation fleet.

Such thoughts played in Cirrus' mind. That, and the fact that they had yet to find Captain Gato. She wondered what had become of him. Had he gotten KIA? Had some stray GM fragged him by chance?

Still, despite all the possible solutions her mind was throwing at her, something-her growing Newtype abilities most likely-told her that he was in fact still alive. And it was this hunch, this instinct, that pushed her to make a difficult decision:

"Blood Drakes, listen up!" She called out over the radio. "I cannot aid you in the final defense of Solomon."

"What?" Rei demanded.

"I have got to go and search for Captain Gato. I know you may find these orders dishearting, but this is the way it must be."

She paused momentarily. "I hope you all fight well and do the Duchy great honor. Remember our orders, our name, and our proficiency; they have brought us thus far and will continue to aid us in the darkest of times. Kill those who would kill, and avenge those who have fallen! Drakes, I salute you! Seig Zeon!"

"Sieg Zeon! The chorous of answers returned.


"What the hell is that?!" A voice over the broadband radio cried out, before being cut short.

"Ahh!" another voice was cut short in mid-scream.

The number of screams was increasing rapidly and with such proximity, that it made Alex's heart start to beat a little faster.

The landing on Solomon had gone well enough and the 107th had managed to take out a number of mega-particle emplacements without expending too much ammo, but something felt wrong. It was actually going too easily. Where were all the Zakus that should have been guarding the base?

Suddenly, as his GM crossed over to the dark side of the asteroid, he saw what all the screaming was about.

"One-oh-seven! Repeat, one-oh-seven! This is incredible! Get over to area 28-80 on the dark side. Oh, man…"

His eyes had settled upon a monstrous, bipedal mobile armour that stood fully three times as tall as his GM. It stepped forward and from the midsection of the body unleashed a full 360-degree burst of mega-particle fire that decimated three units of GMs in the initial blast.

Several cannon types tried to fire at it from behind outcroppings of rock, but it was too late for them as well. The cannon rounds detonated across the behemoth's bodily section, but hardly left a scratch. It then took another ominous step forward, a truly impressive stride, and unleashed a devastating blast from a central cannon, and vaporized the fleeing Cannons instantly. This attack also did grazing damage to the base itself.

"So, this is their final gambit, huh?" Kiyone asked aloud.

"Should we try and take it on, Karen?" Duo asked the CO. His voice was choked with fear and doubt now. Even more so than that day when his team took on the black Gouf way back in New England.

Alex awaited the response. He knew that, if they could take the thing on and win, they'd be hailed as heroes. However, based on what he'd already seen, that mobile armour was absolutely impregnable and he didn't want to die yet.

Before Karen had a chance to answer, a platoon of black and red Zakus and one Rick Dom of the same colour scheme landed before them. `An elite unit' she surmised.

"Alright Feds, you're not touchin' the Zam. The Blood Drakes are here to see to that." A voice came over the radio from one of the Zakus.

As if to confirm the statement, the mobile armour fired its massive engines and slowly but surely launched itself into the oncoming fleet of Federal battlecruisers.

"Shitfire!" Duo shouted, "Let's ghost these guys and get after it!"

The Drakes and the 107th launched themselves into battle.


Aboard the Valkyrie, the news of the Zam was just being relayed.

"Are you kidding me?" Sam asked, his eyes wide with shock.

The orderly shook his head. "No way, this thing is huge. I heard it took out three units on Solomon in one blast."

Sam turned to his CO. "What should we do, Commander?"

"I'm not sure," Sanders replied at first. Then, "I guess it would be best if you stayed here with Hilde; her operation should be finished before too long. Meantime, I'm gonna head on back out to see if I can catch up with Trowa. The battlecruisers are already past the main defenses so it should be easy for me to slip right through to Solomon."

"But what if you run into the mobile armour?"

"Trust me, I won't. Just stay here and see if you can't look after Hilde." With that he turned and started back to the main hangar.

Sam sat back down on the waiting room chair and watched the images of the battle fill the flat-screen before him. There were many different shots of the Byg Zam mobile armour destroying the battalions of GMs and Balls along the surface of the asteroid fortress with frightening efficiency. He wondered why they hadn't sent it out sooner. Why had they withheld their one greatest asset until their stronghold itself was under siege?

Just then, the images switched over to a much smaller, green and blue Zeon marine-type. It had taken a severe beating but still managed to take out a platoon of GMs that were attacking it all at once. Sam raised one of his eyebrows when he saw it. That was the same Zeek he'd seen earlier-the one who'd attacked them and almost cost their lives. As he gritted his teeth in frustrated rage, he saw that it was approaching the front line of battlecruisers. To his horrified amazement, the suit landed on one of the capital ships and unloaded a stream of bullets right at its bridge.

He slammed his fists down on the arms of the hard, plastic chair as he watched the ship was torn apart by internal explosions. This guy was unreal!

It was at that time that the doctor he'd seen earlier came back out of the emergency room. If he hadn't been so frustrated, he would have thought her very attractive; she had a beautiful face, but the deep hazel eyes behind the lenses of her wire-framed glasses showed the signs of one who'd seen the brutality of war firsthand.

Nevertheless, he tore his eyes away from the screen and stood attentively when she entered. "How is she doctor?"

Michelle sighed deeply and averted her eyes from his face. "As you know, we had to amputate the limb before it became gangrenous," she began. "Your friend is doing okay, but she totally disregards any kind of prosthetic. Is she always this stubborn?"

"Usually," Sam replied, nonchalantly. "Can I go and see her?"

"Um, sure. Of course you can, but see if you can't try and change her mind about an artificial replacement."

"Yes, ma'am" he said and the both stepped into the room.

Just as they were leaving, though, the image on the flat-screen switched over to a pitched battle being fought on the surface of Solomon between five GMs and a squad of black and red Zeon suits…


"Just like old times, huh Kiyo-chan?" Trowa asked as he lashed out at the Zaku with his beam sword, defending his friend's mangled GM.

"Honto, really" she said sarcastically as she fired off another round from her beam gun at the feinting enemy.

Inside though, she was thinking about how long this fight was dragging out. Normal Zakus would've been Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition long before now; why was this group so tough?

"This is useless!" she yelled out loud, fully reverting back to her native tongue. Her GM was running dangerously low on propellant by having to maintain flight in Solomon's gravity since her leg was missing. She also noticed that the thrusters were way into the red as well; she was going to overheat!

She let out a traditional Japanese battle cry and charged the Zeek, totally melting the thrusters on her GM in the process. Yet, when she managed to reach it, time seemed to slow down as she swung out in a devastatingly effective slash that cleaved the suit in two. The momentum of the blow was strong enough to carry her to the ground about a hundred yards away, resulting in a crushing impact.

"Kiyone!" Trowa called after her. He rushed his GM over to keep hers covered from any possible attack, even though they were far from the combat zone.

"I'm okay, Trowa. Guess I nailed that son of a bitch!"

"Yeah, you sure did, didn't you," he said with a laugh. "Let's get out of here before someone notices us." With that, he hefted her GM up in his arms and prepared to take off.

Suddenly, she cried out, "No wait. We can't leave yet! Look over there!"

He swung the GM's head in the direction she was pointing…

"Sean! You bastards! You fucking killed Sean!" The pilot of the Zaku shouted at Alex as the light faded from the explosion of its comrade. "Now you're all going to die!"

Alex ignored that chatter. He didn't like gratifying cocky enemies by trying to come back at their threats, but this seemed more like a promise than a threat. The Zeek did a quick jump and landed a kick squarely under his GM's chin sending it flying backwards. The wind was knocked from Alex's lungs as the suit thudded heavily to the ground, but in his dizzy state of semi-consciousness, he saw the enemy stand above him, Heat Hawk raised.

'So, this'll end everything, will it? Alex thought'. He closed his eyes and awaited the inevitable impact. `I'm sorry, Rachel…'


Rei had difficulty coming to terms with the fact that Sean Marx, her friend and comrade in arms had just been vaporised right in front of her. How could this have happened? He was better than that! They all were, she was sure of it.

"Heero!" she called out to him as she stood perched above one of the GMs, ready to hack it to pieces. "Heero, they got Sean!"

For all the Minovsky interference, he was unable to respond to her hail. She couldn't see him anywhere around either.

"Fine then!" Rei screamed. "I'll kill every one of you myself!" She made ready to bring the axe down hard.


"We've gotta save Kincaid!" Kiyone shouted.

"But if I leave, you could be hit by the enemy!" Trowa pointed out.

"That doesn't matter now; hurry and get him before it's too-" The Zaku slammed the weapon down on the GM and it shuddered spastically. She gasped in disbelief.

"Alex…no!" Trowa took off and slammed into the Zaku, before blasting it twice through the cockpit. Turning away from the glare of the explosion, he then looked down at the mangled suit before him.

The armour was heavily dented and slightly melted, but the damage was not too severe.

This presented a difficult problem. Kiyone was unguarded and immobile, but Alex's cockpit had been smashed in and there was no way of telling what kind of physical damage he had sustained. Trowa's mind began racing; what should he do?

Then the answer came to him. "Hey, Kiyone!" He called out, "Are you still okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be okay as long as no Zaku ties to blast me; as a matter of fact, they may already think they've killed me as long as I don't, move. Why?"

"So…" He had to stop the conversation briefly to pick off an approaching Dom from a different unit. "So you could still pilot a mobile suit if it was operational?"

"Sure."

"Alright, then I need you to get out of your GM, and get into Alex's. It doesn't look too banged up. If we can get him out and to a hospital ship quickly, he should be fine except for maybe a couple of cracked ribs."

"But what about mine?" she was strapping on her helmet and preparing to go outside. "And what happens if there's a lot of flak out there?"

"I'll carry you," he explained as he returned to her.

Kiyone crawled up out of the GM's cockpit and onto Trowa's outstretched hand. It was fortunate that she'd remembered to pull out a standard issue hand-held rocket launcher, just in case. "Let's go!"

As the GM lurched forward, she had to cling to one of fingers to keep from falling off. However, they still managed to reach Alex. Kiyone jumped down on the hatch and after a short struggle, managed to pry it open. "Alrighty, Alex-kun, ya better scoot over" she said as she climbed in with him.

"How is he? Any shrapnel wounds?"

"None that I can see. He's still breathing…life support seems to be functioning normal. You're probably right though: he most likely does have a couple of broken ribs."

"Do you need an escort?" Trowa asked as the bashed GM stood up.

"No, we'll be fine. Just stay here and help out Karen and Duo."

"Roger that; good luck." The two GMs parted ways.


The mighty mobile armour, Byg Zam, plowed its way through the Federal lines, smashing mobile suits all the way. Finally it reached the centre of the fleet and slowed its onslaught until it remained fairly stationary, and it was at that exact moment that the cannons around its midsection gleamed brightly…


Michelle stood at the large window and watched the battle play out below. All around down there, mobile suits were being destroyed, and the real people inside along with them, at an incredible rate. She shuddered thinking about it. Would they all end up like that girl in the recovery room now? Or like the maimed soldiers that were strewn across the hall?

She tried to imagine what life would be like without one of her legs. Wasn't there something called "phantom limb pain"? Why wouldn't she accept the prosthetic? If not for her own sake than at least so she wouldn't have to look at it.

She leaned into the room to see how they were doing. It wasn't that she enjoyed eavesdropping on patients; she was just a little curious…

"Thanks a lot Sam. I owe you big" Hilde began. She was sitting upright in the bed already; it was an amazing recovery time.

"Well, not really." He said sheepishly.

"'Not really'? Sam, you saved my life. If it wasn't for you, I would've been toast. At least I'm still all here-more-or-less." She gave a wry smile as she pointed to the spot where her leg would have been.

"Yeah, but why won't you let the doctor help you with that? I mean, like with a prosthetic or something?"

"I don't need one, thank you." She snapped. "If I lost this leg, I lost it. I don't need a replacement for it." Her royal blue eyes flared as she challenged him to push the issue further.

He backed off, instead. "So, how long before you're out of here?"

"They said about two weeks, tops, so I won't be able to--"

A thunderous burst cut her off in mid sentence. The Valkyrie shuddered violently as if it had been hit. Michelle rushed back to the window just in time to see the fading beams of energy that seemed to be radiating from a central point in the midst of the fleet. Seconds later, twenty-one capital ships exploded in the blackness of space.


Sanders glanced back over his shoulder and saw the whole scene: the Byg Zam had fired another simultaneous 360-degree blast that had wiped out a massive portion of the assault fleet. Blinded by overwhelming frustration, he though about going back and facing off with it; if he could just hit it hard enough…

Instead, he ran into a solitary, black Gelgoog.


"Sean and Rei in one battle?" Heero gasped in dismay. "It's too much!"

Why had they had to die? They had done nothing wrong. All that they--all that all of the Drakes wanted was to continue the fight for Independence. Was that so wrong on a cosmic level that fate would turn against them all and leave them all dead defending this miserable hunk of space rock?

Rei had been the reason he had quit the Federation in the first place. Sure, he acted like a good Zeon patriot ever since that day in the factory, where she rescued him after he had defected, but now, with her gone, what reason did he have left to fight?

"To avenge her…" he thought as he pulled out the Dom's heat sabre.


This final Rick Dom was consuming all of his concentration. This was surely one of the most elite squads stationed here if they could hold them back with such a small and seemingly inadequate mobile suit make-up.

"All right, dammit, this is it for you!" he raged over the radio at his enemy.

The Dom wobbled slightly, but took out its heat sword and prepared for the final attack "So what, stop talking and come and get me, Feddie!" its pilot challenged.

(At this exact instant, after hearing each other's voices, both Duo and Heero were struck by an intense feeling of déjà-vu. How did they feel like they knew each other so well considering this was their first time fighting? And what did the words "Operation Meteor" have to do with it? Hmm…")

The two suits lept into an impressive display of swordsmanship and cunning tactical prowess as they each unleashed an onslaught of hacks, slashes, and evasions. Soon, Duo's frustration got the better of him and he drew back and punched the Dom in the face-plate. Heero countered with a devastating blow to the midsection that caused the GM to double over in recoil. `One for one' he thought coldly.

Then, Duo heard Karen's voice over the radio. "What!? Are you serious? They can't be! Duo, break off your attack now and get off this asteroid!"

"Huh? I've almost got him. What are you so worried about?" the fact that Karen was worried at all really had him on edge; his CO never sounded this upset about anything.

"Huh, chief? What happened?" The Dom swung its sabre in a wide arc, narrowly missing him.

"In about five minutes, the Brass are gonna open up on this place with the Solar Ray! We've got to leave, now!"

Duo didn't know what the heck a "Solar Ray" was, but whatever it was, it sounded serious. He fired a crippling blast directly at the enemy's cockpit and took off after his CO.

"Damn you!" Heero roared in helpless agony. "You can't just shoot me once and leave, you bastard! Come back and finish me off for God's sake!"

Yet even as he sat raging after the departing GM, he knew already that it was too late.

Suddenly, he felt a splitting pain in the side of his head. He had been in such a hurry to get off the Graf Zeppelin that he had not had time to properly secure his helmet. Now as a result of the banging his head on an instrument panel upon impact, he was bleeding from a massive gash above his left temple.

As the pain worsened, Heero closed his eyes with a final wish: that it would all be over soon.


-----------Pause Transmission----------

The Federation's ultimate weapon in lieu of the banning of atomic weapons by the Antarctic Treaty, was the awesome Solar Ray. This device was an array of mirrors that focused the light of the sun onto a single point from which it could be discharged as a high energy beam. This discharge was capable of raking through matter and easily destroying all but the most massive of objects (planets, moons, large asteroids, etc.).

Due to the large amount of light energy required to power the weapon, it takes time for it to become fully charged and capable of firing. Thus the MS teams' overriding sense of urgency to finish the battle after the Brass announced their intent to use it.

On a side note, the Battle of Solomon was the only instance during the One Year War that the Federation utilized the Solar Ray. However, soon after their creation of it, it was matched by a similar if not more powerful one developed by the Zeons.


----------Resume Transmission---------

"Karen, is the base going down? Did we win?" Duo asked as the two of them broke Solomon's gravity well.

"I'm not sure, but I think it's still up in the air. The Solar Ray should finish off the fortress, but they still have that mobile armour on the loose. Plus, they've reported a couple of Aces in the vicinity. Just one of those marine types wasted one of our Capital ships and two frigates. I'd say we're lucky to've made it out in one piece."

The two GMs headed back in the direction where Yagami had been to try and regroup with Alex and Kiyone.


Cirrus eyed the Fed suit with suspicion. This guy was undoubtedly good-she could've guessed that even without being a Newtype, just by the energy radiating from his suit and the way its stance was set up.

"This could be it for me…"

Sanders was totally focused on the Zeon unit. He knew he had to make a move to try and get back to the asteroid to help Trowa, but it seemed pretty obvious that this black Gelgoog was not about to let him through without a fight. He assumed a battle stance with his beam sabre readied, and launched himself into an all out attack.

Blow and counterblow echoed across the vacuum as the two mobile suits engaged in a dazzling fencing display. Sanders would push Cirrus back and seem to have her on the run, then, suddenly, she'd manage a completely unexpected manoeuvre and hit him where he least expected it. Then she'd go on the offensive.

She'd pushed him back almost to the Federation's battle line, when she drew her machine rifle and began a dual onslaught, intermittently firing and slashing, forcing him farther back.

At this point, two things happened almost simultaneously. Sanders cut his Mass-Balance system off in a last-ditch attempt to pull a very risky manoeuvre, and Cirrus caught sight of the battlecruiser, Yagami.

At the sight of the ship, all the old feelings of anger and sadness-all the feelings she'd struggled so valiantly to keep bottled up inside all this time-suddenly broke free and welled to the surface in an intense adrenaline rush, the likes of which Cirrus O'Rielly had never felt in her whole life.

The Day of Reckoning had finally arrived exactly eleven months, seventeen days and five-and-a-half-hours later.

She would not be denied.

Cirrus gunned her engines to the red-line in a mad dash to reach the ship and, in so doing, her retribution. Yet, the emotions and excitement which she now felt had caused her to forget all about her duel with the GM and it circled around behind her and dealt a crippling blow to her right leg and its adjoining boosters. The blow slowed her charge to a crawl and she realized she would have to take care of this guy first.


Captain Vincent Langley was still intently watching the reports of the battle and plotting the safest course based on those statistics when the helmsman spoke up. "Captain, sir, I've got two MS engaged in combat just two kilometres off to starboard. What should we do?"

Though his crew and other captains lauded Langley for being chivalrous and brave, deep down he did have a strong sense of self-preservation, and he knew that many times, it only took one MS to take out a battleship, or at least the bridge.

"All ahead full," he decided. "Hopefully, we can get around them."

"Aye, sir."

"Still," he continued, "lock forward and aft guns on the Zeek. If it domes after us, at least we'd be able to pick it off at range." The aged Salamis-class crusier was retrofitted with eight powerful mega-particle cannons, that worked well when attacking another battleship at range, but had difficulty picking of an agile mobile suit.

"Aye," the gunner responded.

Yet, even though he was taking all the precautions, Langley still knew something about this was wrong. It was elusive but it was definitely there…


" quoth Duo Maxwell, Gundam Wing Endless Waltz

" Duo Maxwell and Heero Yuy are two of the main characters in Endless Waltz


Silent Requiem
This fanfic is complete.

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