Silent Requiem, a fanfic by Nightmaresama, chapter 19

Alex watched as the enemy suit fled the battlefield, intent on following after it. His hand was already reaching for the thruster control, when suddenly, almost as if by its own accord, the apendage froze, milimetres from the control.

Without warning the pysche of Alex Kincaid was bombarded by thousands of seemingly random images of warfare and conflict. Spastically, he snapped back into his chair, his back arching and his eyes rolling back in his head. He gasped for breath, but no matter how hard he struggled, he could not inhale fast or deep enough.

An image of a mobile suit shredded in half by a beam sabre. Another of one getting caught directly in the chest with a mega-particle beam. Another of two suits simultaneously exploding during a fire-fight. The images paraded past at an ever-increasing rate, each one bring a new burst of pain with it. It was almost as if he himself were feeling a fraction of the pain being incured upon the hapless peoplke inside those suits.

Faster and faster the images swept, becoming a blur of light and pain. Alex wondered if he had gone off the deep end; if the stress of fighting had finally cracked him. He also wondered if it would ever end. Never in his life had he been subject to pain of such intensity; it felt as if the very fabric of his being was being torn asunder.

Alex stared into darkness for what seemed an eternity, untila voice called out to him.

"What?" he asked. The voice resonated through the darkness again and he felt the vibrations, but could not distinguish the words.

"The killing," it replied, "the pain, the suffering, the vendettas, the angst, the rage, the helplessness, and the exhaustion."

"But what can I do? I am only one man. I cannot change history's tides, or the will of nations."

"You can make peace in yourself," it replied, matter of factly. "Once you begin doing this, others will follow."

"My name is Cirrus Hikari O'Reilly. I was torn by emotions at the end of my life as you are now. Please do not repeat my mistakes. Life is too precious to squander on insignificant battles."

"You must look within yourself for those answers, for I cannot tell you. I can simply direct your steps."

"I was a Zeon Officer when I was alive, and yes, I am deceased. I was also a powerful Newtype. But I was human too, and I made some very human mistakes."

"Do not let hatred and mistrust rip you apart. All life is precious, but ultimately decisions must be made. Do you see?"

"I know you can. But remember, the indescriminate death must end for life to truly begein anew…"

Then, with a resounding electric discharge, Alex Kincaid found himself back in the cockpit of his GM. He looked around, dazed for several seconds, but then, he remembered the situation. He quickly spotted Kiyone's GM and rocketed towards it.

"Hell no, you fucker!" Kiyone yelled as the Gelgoog fired its remaining thrusters to break the asteroid's weak gravity well. She took off in pusuit; with any luck the suit would have been crippled enough to be overtaken by her slower GM. "Come on Alex!"

"Kiyone, we need to hold our position here!" he tried to reason with his comrade. "Remember what Karen always said about trying to be the hero!"

"You'd let him get away after all they've done to us?" Kiyone asked appalled. "He's a Zeon for Chrissakes! It's not being a hero to try and kill him, it's our duty!"

"You're blurring the line between duty and ideals Kiyone!" Alex fired back. "Whomever's in that suit is a person too and you damn well know it. You've won, can't you let it rest at that?"

"I've no time for-" a blow from a Zaku machine gun cut her off in midsentence. "Dammit!" she hissed as she wheeled to return fire.

As she did so all the colour drained from her already wan face. Before her was the largest most formidable Zeon battleship she had ever seen. A half dozen Zakus swarmed back and forth from the two catapult decks, retreiving their fallen comrades, including the Damaged Gelgoog.

It took an act of sheer willpower to force herself to reach for one of her grenades to hurl at the leviathan. Yet just as she prepared to go for it, she was tackled from behind by Alex GM.

"Why the hell did you do that?" she screamed, returning to her senses, "Whose side are you on anyway?"

Before he even had time to respon the masive mega-particle cannons on the front of the ship spat forth multiple beams of saffron-coloured death, just missing the spot where Kiyone had been.

"Fine!" Kiyone was livid. "But for the record, I have no fucking idea what the hell is wrong with you! You were the one who was all about storming the fortress in the first place and now you start with this 'don't kill them, they're human too,' bullshit. You're not making any sense!"

They turned back in the direction of the carrier and left the raging fortress behind.

Anavel Gato climbed out of his mangled Gelgoog's cockpit in the cavernous hangar aboard the Gwaden, and began making hs was twoards one of the upgraded Rick Dom units. The sooner he got back out on the field of battle, the sooner he could go out and hit the Feddies again! From the reports pouring in on the radio, they had already established a massive beachhead and were taking the fight inside A Baoa Qu.

He would go back out there and continue the fight. The cause of the Revolution was just and it would prevail! There was no way that the Imperialist Feddies could triumph, at least that was what the dialectic said, and that was never wrong…right? God was on the side of the righteous, and the Zeon struggle for independence was the most righteous struggle in over seventy-nine years…right?

Now that his Gelgoog marine had ben destroyed, to continue the fight he had intended on commandeering one of the new model Rick Dom units in the Gwaden's hold.

"Lietenant, stop!" an orderly called behind him, as he leapt down from the catwalk toward the awaiting suit. "They've issued an order to retreat!"

Ignoring the cries of the petty underofficer, Gato continued towards the awaiting Mobile Suit. It was only when he heard the gravelly voice of Delaz himself that he stopped and looked up.

The orderly came to a stiff attention as the admiral of the fleet wing made his presence known in the mobile suit flight deck. Like Gato, Delaz paid him no mind. "Your ship, the carrier Doroai, has been destroyed---

Delaz nodded, "Yes, and it seems our commander in chief Ghirin has also been lost. I have informed our men that we are retreating from A Baoa Qu. We will depart this sector and regroup at a secure location in the asteroid belt."

"You mean we're going to run away?" Gato was stunned. "We're to flee like so many dogs with our tails between our legs? No! I won't be a part of it! I'd rather die here than retreat!"

"So you'll throw away your life and all that you've accomplished in a situation of defeat? I am sorry my friend, but there is no honour in that."

"In any event, we are hardly fleeing. The Federation is corrupt and arrogant-any schoolchild knows that-and should they win the day here and now, how long do you think it will take before they start getting complacent again? It was this same haughty complacency that led to the early victories of this war."

Not to be placated so easily, Gato shook his head. What of the individuals who had already given their lives for the cause? The blood spilled throughout the war could never be washed from his conscience. Max, Sean, Rei, Heero, Jim, Cirrus…they all paid the ultimate price for the cause of liberation. Could he ever live with himself if he did not make a similar sacrifice? Was death the only real escape from a life of self-blame and emotional agony? Was death the only escape from the brutal reality that all of his friends were already gone?

Delaz looked at him expectantly. "Let it be as you say, sir," Gato said at last, saluting. "I am entrusting my personal revenge to you. If and when we do strike back at the Federation, it will the rudest awakening they've received in quite some time."

The captain of the Gwaden smiled maliciously. "Excellent choice, lieutenant commander. Soon the Federation will come to know fear, and the sons and daughters of Zeon will be there to exact vengeance upon them. Seig Zeon!"

Naomi Sterling lay in the bed of the Hospital Ship DZS Regulus, thinking. She was awaiting the ocular surgery, and was still unable to see. Surrounded by darkness, she began to have doubts.

First and foremost among these was about her allegiance to the Duchy of Zeon. It wasn't that she didn't think the Federation was a boon and deserved to reign supreme in Space. Quite the opposite, in fact. The colonies deserved to be free from the lordship of the denizens of Earth for all the same reasons that were written in the Declaration of Independence of the old United States in the Last Era and that archaic document, The Communist Manifesto. Yet to go about it in this way…

Did the cause of independence justify the sacrificing of the lives of thousands of colonists? And was living under the reign of the Zabi dictatorship really all that much better? It was sort of a choice between the devil you knew and the devil you did not, a veritable Scylla and Charibdis.

But, dammit, she'd sacrificed her eyesight for this regime, and many others had sacrificed a great deal more than that. Did that not mean that there wasn't something worth fighting for here? Additionally, had she not told Commander Gato that she did believe in the practices of the former Duke, Degin? He had called the now-deceased ruler weak, but she had defended his practices. Well, it was better him than his son Ghiren, who saw the soldiers as nothing more than chess pieces in a game of ultimate power.

Hell, this whole situation was so convoluted. All she had wanted to do when she had joined the Zeonic Military at that recruiting station at Von Braun, was to see the Independence of the Colonies. She could've stayed with Michelle and finished school and got a job as a simple pharmacist and never had to worry about politics, but she had chose to play the freedom fighter.

At least now, the war was almost over, and maybe she could get back to some semblance of a normal life. Perhaps she would even find Commander Gato again…no, that didn't seem to likely. He was dedicated to Zeon, first, last, and always.

Did she feel slighted by this? Sort of, but then again, she had always known that was just the way that he was, and to expect anything different from him would have been too much. She wished him well, and hoped he would find happiness somewhere down the line.

As for herself, Naomi had seen enough of Zeon and wanted out. Perhaps if she renounced her allegiance, she would not face the execution squads that the Feds were bound to send in to squelch further thoughts of Rebellion.

Cima Garahau decapitated still another GM and sent a stream of bullets into its back as she turned while flying past. She grinned maliciously as it exploded before her. Even after several hours that kind of shit never got old!

Cima had refrained from ghosting any more Zeon troops for quite some time. She didn't want to attract too much attention to herself and her private revenge. Now though…

Now it was time to pay back those two-timing bastards in the High Command. The ones who had thoughtlessly turned the home of herself and her crew into that horrible Solar Ray. The ones that forced her tow carry out the G3 gas attacks on Sides 1 and 2 and then washed their hands of both the incident and herself.

"Okay you motherfucking sons of bitches! You think you can screw the Lily Marlene, huh? Well, payback's a bitch and I'm taking no prisoners!"

She lit her thrusters and ripped back towards the hastily constructed line on the surface of the fortress. She was going to go for broke: breaking into the main control room and kill that bastard Ghirin with her own hands. She was going to surrender the fortress to the Feds. She was going to demand asylum while the lot of the High Command were taken out a shot like the dogs they were. She was going to…

"Important message!" her radio squawked. Judging by the amount of static, it had to be coming fro the main Control Room itself. "Repeat, important message! Our Commander-in-Chief, Ghirin Zabi has been killed in action. He has fallen at the hands of" a slight pause, Cima wondered what it meant--"at the hands of an enemy pilot, while leading a detachment of the Imperial Praetorian Guard into battle. He fought valiantly and will be remembered by all. Battlefield succession places all remaining forces under the hand of Lady Kyciria Zabi, the next heir to the throne of the Duchy. Repeat, our Commander-in-Chief has fallen in battle. Succession leaves all remaining forces-"

"Lies!" Cima slammed her fists down on the console, "All lies! He never led a detachment of Praetorians before! That would only be done if the base were going to fall. And he didn't have the balls for actual combat, the damned coward!

"I was supposed to kill him! I needed to kill him! It was because of his orders that the Solar Ray was built; he commanded that the colony be destroyed!"

Cima didn't care about being patient for revenge anymore--she lashed out at whatever was closest to her. Within seconds of hearing the disheartening news, four Zakus, two GMs, and a Musai class cruiser had all fallen before her. After expending herself in such a violent manner, she was able to see lucidly again; she had to escape. The Lily Marlene had to get as far from A Baoa Qu space a possible before word of her treachery became widespread. They had to leave now.

There was one place that came to her mind as her cool manner returned. It was sort of out of the way, and sort of ramshackled, but they should be able to make it there. Plus, if the rumours were to be believed, it already had a large number of fellow Zeons in living as refugees in the wake of the Solomon debacle.

'Yes,' she thought to herself as the Zeon Stronghold at A Baoa Qu began to disintegrate, 'we will go to Axis indeed…'

It was the greatest battle of the One Year War. The fighting at A Baoa Qu dwarfed any and all prior human engagements both in magnitude and casualty rate. Thousands of soldiers on both sides met with untimely demises, and many more were seriously wounded.

Karen Joshua, commanding officer of the 107th Space GM suffered several major shrapnel wounds to her shoulder and collarbone, but was able to pull through with minimal effort thanks to modern medicine.

Duo Maxwell, of the same unit, received ocular transplants due to scarred corneas and damaged retinas. He is still in the process of recovering.

Trowa Barton was recovered, after being flung into the vacuum and spending nearly an hour in it. He suffered from minor oxygen depravation to the brain, and as a result, suffered a slight stroke that left him unable to walk. No surgery is yet available to treat this ailment, and it is feared that the damage may be permanent. He was not reunited with his teammates, but instead was sent to Side Six to finish recovering.

Due to the stress of battle, and other emotional strain, Hilde Schbeiker's leg began to bother her again, shortly after the Victory was declared. She forcefully removed the cybernetic prosthesis, and suffered minor cuts, bruises, and shocks as a result.

Yu Kajima, commanding officer of the Blue Destiny Corps suffered from massive physical and mental exhaustion after the battle and lost consciousness not long after returning to the Azure Wind.

Gene D'ark, another member of this unit, was KIA in battle with an enemy Mobile Armour.

Intelligence Officer Alice Miller was lauded for her capture of the alleged spy, Dr. Michelle Bannock. The two of them are currently en route to Konpei Island (formerly Solomon) where Dr. Bannock will face a military Court Martial.

Sam Younge, Terry Sanders, Amy Bauer, Leon McDaniels, Alex Kincaid, and Kiyone Shinegori all survived the fighting with minimal injuries.

On the side of the now Defunct Duchy of Zeon, Kelley Layzner, pilot of the Mobile Armour Val Varo, lost his arm in combat against the Federations Blue Destiny Corps. He was offered the option of prosthesis after being rescued by occupying Federation Doctors, but declined fervently. Ultimately, he was released after minor surgery to prevent infection of the wound.

Naomi Sterling was likewise offered treatment by the occupation forces, but she chose to accept. After the procedure was completed (it was an identical one to that of Maxwell), she forsook her allegiance to the Duchy and was granted immunity. She would be sent to a small out of the way colony in Side One with other expatriots where they would be kept under constant Federation scrutiny (the colony in question was decided to be the Thirtieth Colony of the Side, colloquially know as Thirty Bunch).

Anavel Gato and his new mentor and commanding office Aguille Delaz escaped the Federal Forces and went into hiding. Their whereabouts are, as of yet, unknown, but it is suspected that they may have reached one of the Lunar cities.

Cima Garahau and the forces of the Lily Marlene made the voyage to Axis, where their welcome was somewhat less than warm…

Silent Requiem This fanfic is complete.

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Silent Requiem

Chapter 20: A Baoa Qu: Requiem