Para Bellum, Sequel to Le Jeu Sinistre, Chapter 8/??
Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2004 5:01 pm
Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Panic. This is a parody.
Chapter Eight: We Few, We Happy Few
“Good morning. I trust you all slept well.”
That is how Tessa addressed the assembled pilots and support crews in the hangar of the Excalibur at 6:15 sharp. The sun had only just risen and damn near everyone was rubbing his eyes. A thin cloud of smoke hung like a bad omen over them. Normally, Tessa abhorred cigarettes but since it was right before a dangerous battle, and early in the morning to boot, she said nothing.
A collective groan answered her. Tessa coughed. Her hair was still damp from her shower twenty minutes before and water was dripping on the collar of her uniform. Flanking her on either side were Kalinin and Mardukas. Both, too, had just showered and had not had a chance to comb their hair well.
“Today’s operation, as most of you know, will be to engage and sink the battleship Sandalphon.”
In the assembled crowd, Kaname thought to herself, Ah, so that’s what it is.
“I will not lie to you. Statistically speaking, we have a 20% chance of winning.”
There was a loud groan.
“However,” Tessa said quickly. “As we all know, there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.”
A nervous chuckle.
“Anyway, the expedition will proceed as follows: Upon coming into range of the Sandalphon, we will begin a long-range bombardment aiming at the engines of the ship. After five minutes of sustained fire, we will launch Arm Slaves. Each one is equipped with a booster with enough fuel for an hour of continuous flight. It’s suggested that you check in to refuel every forty-five minutes. Mechanics and technicians will be on duty.
“Once the AS have launched, the Excalibur will focus its fire on the bridge of the Sandalphon while you go in and finish off the engines while eliminating any enemy resistance you encounter. We have limited numbers so it’s suggested that you work in teams of two.”
Sousuke glanced at Kaname and she discreetly flipped him off, pretending to scratch her cheek.
“Once the Sandalphon’s engines are destroyed, it will fall out of the air and we will retreat. Are there any questions?”
No one spoke.
“Right then. Get ready. Operation begins in…” She checked her watch. “Fifty-eight minutes. Move!”
The pilot began to scatter and the three officers were left alone. Mardukas sighed heavily and began to recite:
“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he today who that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile
This day shall gentle his condition.
And gentlemen in England, now abed,
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here;
And hold their manhoods cheap while any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.”
Kalinin and Tessa stared at him strangely. Mardukas smiled sheepishly.
“Shakespeare. Henry V.”
“No, I recognize the passage but… Do you know what today is?” Tessa said slowly.
“October 25th,” Kalinin said just as slowly.
“The Battle of Agincourt,” Mardukas finished, his eyes widening in astonishment.
~
“Chidori.”
Kaname was lounging in her cockpit, flipping through a book. A quick glance at the cover revealed it to be Napolean’s Maxims. She gave no sign that she noticed him, even though Sousuke was standing on the boarding plank right in front of her.
“Chidori,” the soldier said, this time a bit louder.
Kaname started to hum a song under her breath as she read.
“…sore ga ai deshou…”
Sousuke cleared his throat loudly. “Chidori, can you hear me?”
“…namida no kazu no itami wo…”
Sousuke banged loudly on the side of the cockpit with his fist and Kaname still ignored him. He stared at her in exasperation and pretended to walk away. Then, suddenly, he leapt in front of her again.
“Chidori!” he yelled, trying for any kind of response he could get.
“…kimi wa shitteru kara…”
He stood there for a few moments and blinked. Finally, he walked away in defeat.
Sousuke still had a good forty minutes till the beginning of the operation and he didn’t feel like spending it in his cockpit. In fact, he wanted to spend as much time as possible not in the Arbalest and as far away from the Lambda Driver as possible. Seeing it lay waste to an entire city had made him lose whatever taste he had ever had for it.
As he wandered through the hangar, he made note of who all was there: It was a very international force that had been recruited to fight. A group of Israelis were huddled together, their prayer shawls around their shoulders, bowing their heads and reciting the holy scripture in Hebrew. Not far from then, four young Muslims chanted verses from the Quran softly to one another. Next to them was an Asian man, sitting cross-legged, deep in meditation. Across from him were six or seven Catholics and a priest, who was administering communion.
Sousuke had never adhered to any religious sect and never felt the urge to, although he was well versed in the rituals of many. Being able to recite the Quran in flawless Arabic or knowing how to act when one was at a Mass was extremely useful for blending in and getting people to trust him. Most people were more able to trust those who they believed to be of their own religion, Sousuke had realized.
Coming to Kurz’s unit, Sousuke found his friend relaxing, smoking a cigarette and reading the newest copy of Playboy. There was a familiar looking and incredibly large man standing next to him and reading over his shoulder.
“Hey, Sousuke, wanna’ take a look at Ms. October?”
“She’s got some knockers on her!” the big roared in approval.
“You remember Snae-Ulf, right, Sousuke? My dad’s bodyguard. He’ll be piloting with us today.”
Sousuke reached out his hand to shake with Snae-Ulf and the viking grabbed him, slapping him across the back jovially.
“You patch up well! The last time I saw you, you couldn’t even walk!”
“That’s Sousuke for ya’. He makes Superman look like a geriatric monkey,” Kurz muttered, flipping through the magazine.
“Having fun there?” a voice asked suddenly. Kurz looked up… And was promptly kicked in the face. As he flew back, Melissa reached down and caught they magazine.
“Hmm…” she said looking over the spread. “They’re fake.”
~
“Ten minutes till the operation begins,” Tessa said, checking her watch. She and her officers stood in the Excalibur’s war room, surrounding by tactical displays. The floor was actually a large screen that displayed a map of the battlefield and played the attack plan over and over, using small, simulated units.
“Errr, Captain,” Ming Chou said, walking in.
“Do you have authorization to be here?” Mardukas asked. Ming ignored him and walked right up to Tessa.
“I have a problem with this,” he said hurriedly.
“Oh? Where’s the problem?”
“There,” Ming Chou said, pointing at the graphic of the Sandalphon blowing up. “Do you know exactly how much that cost to build? We can’t just destroy it?”
“What then,” Kalinin said, stepping in. “Do you propose we do?”
“Anything else! I want it taken intact!”
“Are you give me an order, Mr. Ming?” Tessa asked coolly.
“All I’m saying is that the Sandalphon is worth more than… than…”
“The lives of our men?” suggested Kalinin.
“Yes! I mean-“
That was all it took. Kalinin landed a haymaker that knocked Ming to the floor.
“Gentleman,” Tessa said frantically. “You can’t fight in here! This is the war room!”
Everyone looked at her strangely for a moment.
“Do you really think,” Kalinin said, grasping Ming Chou around the collar and forcing him to his feet. “That we should risk letting that… thing… get away… just because it cost a lot to build? Then why the hell build it in the first place?!”
“Admiral, please stopping choking BlitzCorps representative. It’s bad for business.”
~
Like gargantuan birds of prey, the Arm Slaves took off from the Excalibur’s hangar. One by one, they soared into the wild blue yonder, presumably to touch the face of God or, in the case of the Sandalphon, to kick the ass of an angel.
“Two minutes to target. Be careful of turbulence,” crackled an anonymous voice over Sousuke’s radio. He tried to relax as best he could but that was almost impossible. Although he had flown before, he wasn’t nearly as comfortable in the air as he was on the ground. Fortunately, the controls for an airborne AS weren’t much different than one on land and he was able to get the hang of things quickly.
As the squadron blasted through the clouds, wisps rushing past like melted marshmallow, Sousuke considered trying to talk to Kaname one last time. He doubted he could convince her to fall back but maybe he could give her some tips? No, then she’d just get mad. Besides, he didn’t know which unit she was piloting and he didn’t feel like asking for her in each.
The group of Armored Slaves passed through one particularly large cloud and, as they emerged from it, they saw it.
While living in Japan, Sousuke had once seen reruns of an old cartoon called “Macross” or something along those lines. The title referred to a giant space ship with a vaguely humanoid, robotic form. He was immediately reminded of the Macross when he saw the Sandalphon.
To say it was huge would be an equally large understatement. Although he could accurately tell, it seemed to be well over a kilometer in height and at least three hundred meters in width. It looked a bit like a medieval European knight, heavily decked out with armor. If he squinted, Sousuke could make out the clusters of anti-aircraft emplacements all over the behemoth’s shell.
“My god…” someone whispered over the radio.
The Sandalphon hung, suspended in the air by the huge engines in the oversized, dumpy looking legs. They burned with a blue fire that stretched for a good fifty meters.
Stored on its back, looking like a giant pole supporting the monster, was what Sousuke guessed to be a cannon but one that made even the heavy guns of the Excalibur look like a child’s cap gun.
“Don’t be discouraged,” came Tessa’s voice through the radio speakers. “We can take this thing.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me…” said a feminine voice. Sousuke immediately recognized it.
“Chidori?!” he asked without thinking. She ignored him.
It was at about that moment that the gunfire started and everything went straight to hell.
~
“Edmund, report. They’ve begun the assault?”
Wolfram stood on the bridge of the Sandalphon, actually located in the “head” of the ship. He was surrounded by technicians and officers, all very busy commanding the continuous salvos of the ship. Next to him was a strapping young man, his right hand man.
“Sir, they’ve launched with a force of fifteen or so Arm Slaves. We don’t have exact data on the Excalibur but we don’t expect to have much trouble with this engagement.”
“Excellent.”
“Shall I give the order for Gauron and his AS Squadron to launch?” asked Edmund, pulling his cell phone from his belt. It was easier to communicate throughout the ship that way.
“Not yet. I want to see how things play out,” Wolfram said, his attention focused totally on the battle before him.
“Sir?”
But Wolfram didn’t answer. A small, evil grin twisted itself onto his face.
~
Explosions burst around him as Sousuke flew. The Arbalest spun and tumbled through the air, now close enough to feel the heat from the guns of the Sandalphon. Before they could get to the engines, the pilots had quickly realized, they would have to carve out a path among the anti-aircraft guns that littered the ship.
And so, they had gone to work. Firing fast and hard, the Arm Slaves began to take apart the ship’s defenses piece by piece. And Sousuke was leading them.
“Sagara, I need help over here!”
Sousuke twisted violently, the strain of the pivot putting more and more stress on the joints of the Arbalest. He fired a quick burst of fire that tore apart an air-to-air missile launcher and followed up by drawing his unit’s combat knife and charging forward, slicing deep into a cannon emplacement.
The sweat was pouring freely down Sousuke’s forehead and clung to every cell of his body. The frantic chaos of the battle was taking its toll on everyone but him especially. The Arbalest was better suited for heavy combat than any of the M9’s and Sagara himself was a stronger pilot than anyone else.
Not far from him, Kaname wasn’t doing too badly. Real combat was nothing like a simulator, true, but she took to it naturally. She spun and dodged gracefully, as shells and ordnance screamed through the air. When the AS next to her burst into flames, she only barely avoided being caught in the explosion. As she went sailing from the force of the blast, her M9 crashed into a cluster of machine guns, setting off another explosion.
“God damn it…” she cursed quietly. She opened fire haphazardly, ripping apart cannon after cannon. Dozens blew up in rapid succession. She kicked off of the ship before the rest of the emplacements around her went up in an inferno.
Suddenly, Kaname’s AS shook violently as it was hit from the side. She went tumbling through the air and the cockpit screens shuddered for a few moments. A salvo of missiles streaked towards her and she would’ve been hit and blown to smithereens. At the moment before impact, though, another AS came down, throwing its arm around the M9’s waist and dragged it out of the line of fire.
“Chidori! Are you okay?” Sousuke yelled anxiously.
“S-sousuke?” she stuttered, twisting around in her seat to get a look at the Arbalest.
“I… I… I don’t need your help!”
“Chidori… Stop this…”
“No! I don’t need your help so-“
An explosion rocked the two Arm Slaves, sending them flying.
“What was that?”
“They’ve launched their Arm Slaves…” Sousuke said grimly.
~
“Gauron, you know the plan… No funny stuff. You push them back and then withdraw,” Wolfram said tersely. He was rubbing his temples in frustration: 20% of the Sandalphon’s defenses had already been knocked out.
“I’ll do as I please,” Gauron replied. His AS dwarfed the other two dozen or so by a good three meters. It was modeled like a giant, medieval warrior, complete with helmet and face guard. Painted a brilliant red, it slowly drew a long Japanese style blade from the sheath at its waist.
“The Trebuchet isn’t just for show, after all…” Gauron said, looking smug.
~
Like horrible birds of prey, the Sandalphon’s AS contingent flooded out of its hangar and set upon the attacking force.
“Shit…” Sousuke muttered. He let go of Kaname’s AS and opened fire on the incoming machines. He destroyed one almost immediately but he soon had to withdraw under the barrage of enemy shells.
Sousuke dodged and avoided the explosions around him, spinning around and returning fire just as well. His shotgun was quickly over heating and, when the last round was spent, he turned it over and smashed the butt into the cockpit of one of the Sandalphon’s M9’s that got too close.
Once he was out of immediately danger, Sousuke scanned the battlefield. The Excalibur units were holding their own admirably in the face of superior numbers. Drawing his combat knife, the young solder was about the rejoin the fray when he noticed a red AS.
Whenever he saw a red AS, Sousuke knew from experience, trouble wasn’t far behind. Nor was Gauron. And, the fact that the red AS had just disemboweled an M9 with an oversized katana seemed to prove this fact.
“Shit…” he cursed again and took off to engage the red Arm Slave.
~
“Gauron!”
The roar went over the radios of every warrior present, including in the Excalibur and the Sandalphon. In the former’s war room, all activity was stopped briefly.
“Things are about to get a lot more interesting…” Mardukas said softly.
~
“I see Kashim has found me…” Gauron said and smiled. The Trebuchet’s katana sliced through another M9 and, kicking the destroyed shell away, Gauron turned to see the Arbalest charging toward him like a bullet train.
Spinning the sword around in its metal hand once, the Trebuchet met the Arbalest and there was a great clash of blade against blade. Sparks flew up as both pilots pushed against one another with all their might.
“I was wondering when you would arrive, Kashim!” Gauron laughed. “You don’t know how happy this make me!”
The Trebuchet kicked the Arbalest, knocking it back and delivered an overhead strike. Sousuke caught and parried the attack and counterattacked, stabbing his knife towards the heart of the offending Arm Slave.
Gauron dodged and started laughing again.
“Your skill have improved, Kashim!”
“My name isn’t Kashim!” Sousuke yelled.
“Sagara…. Is it then?” asked Gauron, mocking him.
“Yes! My name is Sagara!”
The Trebuchet came at him against and Sousuke fended off the unrelenting attacks as best he could. Neither pilot could get a hit in on the other. As they came apart again, Gauron was, yet again, laughing.
“Do you find me sadistic, Kashim?” he asked. “You shouldn’t. You know who I am and you know who you are. Admit it… Right now, you feel more alive than you have in six months!”
“Go. To. Hell!” Sousuke screamed and the two Arm Slaves crashed into one another, slashing and grappling. The Arbalest clawed at the Trebuchet like a wild animal and, Gauron, unable to cut anything, smashed the side of his fist into Soueuke’s AS.
“What are you even fighting for, Kashim? Come join us and you’ll be happier than you’ve ever been. Are you fighting for the Whispered, Kashim?”
The Arbalest drove its dagger into the Trebuchet’s shoulder but Gauron continued.
“You know, they’re the saviors of the world. Humanity is flawed, in and of itself. No other species can organize itself to willfully wipe out itself like we do. No other species enjoys its descent into destruction like we do.”
The two Arm Slaves broke apart again. The Trebuchet’s left shoulder was slashed and the inner circuitry was exposed and crackling. The Arbalest’s head looked strangely like a pug dog’s.
“It’s human nature to have a savior. A messiah. Someone who comes down and sets everything right. You’d like one right about now, wouldn’t you, Kashim? But, the truth is, they don’t exist. It’s all a psychological illusion. Freudian, even.
“But what about the Whispered? That girl you love and the captain and even the one I keep around. Who will save the savior?”
The Trebuchet boosted up and away. Taken by surprise, Sousuke was quick to pursue. They flew through the pitched battle, dodging shots from friend and foe alike. Hellfire burst all around the two.
“That’s you, Kashim! That’s your reason for being born into this world. To save the Whispered. ‘Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children.’”
“What the hell are you babbling about?!” Sousuke demanded and lunged at Gauron. The Trebuchet sidestepped the attack easily and they were at it once again. Their duel continued for another few moments, each attack catching the glint of the sun in the steel, making it look as though the two Arm Slaves were gods, fighting with divine weapons made of a brilliant light.
“This is your destiny, Kashim. To die to save the Whispered and bring forth a new day in the history of this planet. Can you feel the change around us? Something great will happen and it is because of us,” Gauron yelled. He took another swipe at the Arbalest and this time, it went through, opening up a long gash on the side of the metal warrior.
“This is it, Kashim,” Gauron continued. “What we do on this day will be remembered for generations into the new era. This is the ‘New Century Gospel’, Kashim. And you’re our Messiah.”
“You…” Sousuke muttered. The Arbalest was slowing down. He realized suddenly, in pure horror, that he had less than five minutes left of fuel.
“Are you crazy?!” Sousuke yelled finally, attacking once again, ignoring his rapidly dropping fuel guage. “Or just stupid?!”
This time, Gauron parried Sousuke’s lunge and brought his sword down, slicing through the Arbalest's arm. In a second, it dropped away, taking Sousuke’s only weapon with it.
“You disappoint me, Kashim,” Gauron whispered and raised the blade once more, ready to deliver the killing blow.
“SOUSUKE!”
The scream echoed through the battlefield, jarring everyone who heard it, Gauron included.
“That girl…” he hissed when he saw Kaname’s M9 coming at them, spraying gunfire.
“Sousuke! Get the hell out of here!” Kaname yelled again. She was firing pretty haphazardly but some of her shells actually hit the Trebuchet, who's pilot was too surprised to move.
“Chidori!”
“Sousuke, just go! I’ll hold him off!”
“No, you can’t! This isn’t-“
“Shut up and go!”
Hearing this, Gauron grinned. “Take her advice, Kashim,” he whispered as he took off towards the M9, sword drawn. There was a blinding flash of light as Gauron initiated his Lambda Driver system.
“Chidori!” Sousuke screamed, as loud as he could. “Dodge it!”
“Sousuke!”
It was all over in a second. The shining form of the Trebuchet collided with the M9. Its katana passed cleanly through the AS, slicing it in half perfectly.
And that was it. Sousuke stared, unbelieving, as the M9 stayed still in the air, suspended as if by wires, for the briefest of moments before exploding.
Just like that, Kaname was gone.
“Chidori…” he whispered. The name sounded alien to him now, like something he had never heard before. “Chidori…”
Then, he heard the chuckling. The low, mocking laugh of Gauron.
“Looks like you couldn’t even protect the girl you love. What a pathetic Messiah… Why don’t you just surrender now, Kashim?”
Sousuke was silent. His head was bent and his eyes were wide open, but unseeing. There was no feeling in his body. Only a distant numbness.
“Poor Kashim… You truly are your father’s son. When it comes to the important things, you fail.”
Slowly, Sousuke raised his head. “Al. Start it up.”
“Understood,” replied the computer and the Arbalest took on an unearthly glow of its own.
“Oh? Still have some fight left in you, Kashim?”
“Gauron…” Sousuke said softly, slowly. “I… I have not yet begun to fight!”
Like a corpse reanimated, the Arbalest came alive again and hurtled towards the Trebuchet. The two smashed into each other and the attacker wasted no time, knocking a haymaker into the face of its enemy.
“What the hell?” Gauron yelled, as he went flying back. He attempted to attack with his sword but the Arbalest caught it and, as though it were a toothpick, snapped it in half. Taking the broken half in its hand, the crazed AS drove it into the Trebuchet and continued punching and kicking it.
“Shit…” Gauron cursed. He was totally helpless. He could only watch as blow after blow leveled his armor.
In the Arbalest, Sousuke had just about lost it. The vision of Kaname’s M9 replayed over and over in his mind and all he could think about was revenge. With the elbow of its one good arm, the Arbalest smashed open the faceplate of the Trebuchet, sending circuits and sparks everywhere.
Then, a hideously annoying beeping sound cut through Sousuke’s reverie of violence and retribution. He glanced at the fuel gauge. It was on E. Not E for “enough,” or “excellent” but E for “empty, oh shit.”
Slowly, the Arbalest fell away from the Trebuchet. Gauron didn’t try to pursue and instead, watched solemnly as the AS plunged through the air, gaining speed. It disappeared from sight finally.
“Wolfram,” he said in his radio, pulling up the image of the Sandalphon’s captain on his screen. “We should withdraw now. There’s been a change in plans.”
~
“Captain, the Sandalphon and its forces are retreating. Should we pursue?”
Tessa wasn’t listening. Instead, her attention was focused on the screen before her that showed the status of all units in the battle. If the square representing a unit was green, it was fine. If it was red, it was in trouble. If it was black, it had been destroyed.
The squares representing Kaname’s M9 and the Arbalest were both black.
“No,” she said finally. “Don’t pursue. We’ll withdraw as well.”
Tessa did not sob. She didn’t double over and weep. Instead, she trembled in her seat and held her hands together tightly.
~
Wolfram and Gauron both stood outside the infirmary room where their captive lay. It had been a risky maneuver for Gauron: He had used his Lambda Driver to pry open the cockpit and snatch Kaname out before destroying the M9. He was of the belief that she would be more useful to them alive than dead and Wolfram quite agreed. After all, that had been their original goal, hadn’t it?
“And you’re quite certain the Arbalest was destroyed?” Wolfram queried again. Gauron just smiled.
“It fell. That’s all I can say.”
Wolfram sighed. “Nothing could survive a fall from this height… Right. This battle is almost over.”
“No.”
“No?” Wolfram asked, looking at Gauron, confused.
“This is only the end of the first act,” he smiled. “We’ve yet to see the grand finale.”
“Regardless,” Wolfram said, brushing off Gauron’s comment. “Sagara’s out of the picture. Things should be easier now.”
“Do you think he knew?”
“Knew what?”
“About the girl,” Gauron said, gesturing to the door of the hospital room. “That she’s pregnant.”
End Chapter Eight
Author’s Notes:
The ending is vaguely like Kill Bill. No surprises there.
Tessa’s “You can’t fight in here! This is the war room!” comment was lifted directly from Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Will there be more parallels to this classic film in the coming chapters?! Will Kurz ride an atom bomb like a cowboy?! Stay tuned.
As always, comments are greatly appreciated.
On a completely and absolutely unrelated note, North Korea has just banned cellphones. My question: They actually HAD cellphones? I mean, shit, I thought they were still getting the hole “indoor plumbing” thing down.
Chapter Eight: We Few, We Happy Few
“Good morning. I trust you all slept well.”
That is how Tessa addressed the assembled pilots and support crews in the hangar of the Excalibur at 6:15 sharp. The sun had only just risen and damn near everyone was rubbing his eyes. A thin cloud of smoke hung like a bad omen over them. Normally, Tessa abhorred cigarettes but since it was right before a dangerous battle, and early in the morning to boot, she said nothing.
A collective groan answered her. Tessa coughed. Her hair was still damp from her shower twenty minutes before and water was dripping on the collar of her uniform. Flanking her on either side were Kalinin and Mardukas. Both, too, had just showered and had not had a chance to comb their hair well.
“Today’s operation, as most of you know, will be to engage and sink the battleship Sandalphon.”
In the assembled crowd, Kaname thought to herself, Ah, so that’s what it is.
“I will not lie to you. Statistically speaking, we have a 20% chance of winning.”
There was a loud groan.
“However,” Tessa said quickly. “As we all know, there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.”
A nervous chuckle.
“Anyway, the expedition will proceed as follows: Upon coming into range of the Sandalphon, we will begin a long-range bombardment aiming at the engines of the ship. After five minutes of sustained fire, we will launch Arm Slaves. Each one is equipped with a booster with enough fuel for an hour of continuous flight. It’s suggested that you check in to refuel every forty-five minutes. Mechanics and technicians will be on duty.
“Once the AS have launched, the Excalibur will focus its fire on the bridge of the Sandalphon while you go in and finish off the engines while eliminating any enemy resistance you encounter. We have limited numbers so it’s suggested that you work in teams of two.”
Sousuke glanced at Kaname and she discreetly flipped him off, pretending to scratch her cheek.
“Once the Sandalphon’s engines are destroyed, it will fall out of the air and we will retreat. Are there any questions?”
No one spoke.
“Right then. Get ready. Operation begins in…” She checked her watch. “Fifty-eight minutes. Move!”
The pilot began to scatter and the three officers were left alone. Mardukas sighed heavily and began to recite:
“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he today who that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile
This day shall gentle his condition.
And gentlemen in England, now abed,
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here;
And hold their manhoods cheap while any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.”
Kalinin and Tessa stared at him strangely. Mardukas smiled sheepishly.
“Shakespeare. Henry V.”
“No, I recognize the passage but… Do you know what today is?” Tessa said slowly.
“October 25th,” Kalinin said just as slowly.
“The Battle of Agincourt,” Mardukas finished, his eyes widening in astonishment.
~
“Chidori.”
Kaname was lounging in her cockpit, flipping through a book. A quick glance at the cover revealed it to be Napolean’s Maxims. She gave no sign that she noticed him, even though Sousuke was standing on the boarding plank right in front of her.
“Chidori,” the soldier said, this time a bit louder.
Kaname started to hum a song under her breath as she read.
“…sore ga ai deshou…”
Sousuke cleared his throat loudly. “Chidori, can you hear me?”
“…namida no kazu no itami wo…”
Sousuke banged loudly on the side of the cockpit with his fist and Kaname still ignored him. He stared at her in exasperation and pretended to walk away. Then, suddenly, he leapt in front of her again.
“Chidori!” he yelled, trying for any kind of response he could get.
“…kimi wa shitteru kara…”
He stood there for a few moments and blinked. Finally, he walked away in defeat.
Sousuke still had a good forty minutes till the beginning of the operation and he didn’t feel like spending it in his cockpit. In fact, he wanted to spend as much time as possible not in the Arbalest and as far away from the Lambda Driver as possible. Seeing it lay waste to an entire city had made him lose whatever taste he had ever had for it.
As he wandered through the hangar, he made note of who all was there: It was a very international force that had been recruited to fight. A group of Israelis were huddled together, their prayer shawls around their shoulders, bowing their heads and reciting the holy scripture in Hebrew. Not far from then, four young Muslims chanted verses from the Quran softly to one another. Next to them was an Asian man, sitting cross-legged, deep in meditation. Across from him were six or seven Catholics and a priest, who was administering communion.
Sousuke had never adhered to any religious sect and never felt the urge to, although he was well versed in the rituals of many. Being able to recite the Quran in flawless Arabic or knowing how to act when one was at a Mass was extremely useful for blending in and getting people to trust him. Most people were more able to trust those who they believed to be of their own religion, Sousuke had realized.
Coming to Kurz’s unit, Sousuke found his friend relaxing, smoking a cigarette and reading the newest copy of Playboy. There was a familiar looking and incredibly large man standing next to him and reading over his shoulder.
“Hey, Sousuke, wanna’ take a look at Ms. October?”
“She’s got some knockers on her!” the big roared in approval.
“You remember Snae-Ulf, right, Sousuke? My dad’s bodyguard. He’ll be piloting with us today.”
Sousuke reached out his hand to shake with Snae-Ulf and the viking grabbed him, slapping him across the back jovially.
“You patch up well! The last time I saw you, you couldn’t even walk!”
“That’s Sousuke for ya’. He makes Superman look like a geriatric monkey,” Kurz muttered, flipping through the magazine.
“Having fun there?” a voice asked suddenly. Kurz looked up… And was promptly kicked in the face. As he flew back, Melissa reached down and caught they magazine.
“Hmm…” she said looking over the spread. “They’re fake.”
~
“Ten minutes till the operation begins,” Tessa said, checking her watch. She and her officers stood in the Excalibur’s war room, surrounding by tactical displays. The floor was actually a large screen that displayed a map of the battlefield and played the attack plan over and over, using small, simulated units.
“Errr, Captain,” Ming Chou said, walking in.
“Do you have authorization to be here?” Mardukas asked. Ming ignored him and walked right up to Tessa.
“I have a problem with this,” he said hurriedly.
“Oh? Where’s the problem?”
“There,” Ming Chou said, pointing at the graphic of the Sandalphon blowing up. “Do you know exactly how much that cost to build? We can’t just destroy it?”
“What then,” Kalinin said, stepping in. “Do you propose we do?”
“Anything else! I want it taken intact!”
“Are you give me an order, Mr. Ming?” Tessa asked coolly.
“All I’m saying is that the Sandalphon is worth more than… than…”
“The lives of our men?” suggested Kalinin.
“Yes! I mean-“
That was all it took. Kalinin landed a haymaker that knocked Ming to the floor.
“Gentleman,” Tessa said frantically. “You can’t fight in here! This is the war room!”
Everyone looked at her strangely for a moment.
“Do you really think,” Kalinin said, grasping Ming Chou around the collar and forcing him to his feet. “That we should risk letting that… thing… get away… just because it cost a lot to build? Then why the hell build it in the first place?!”
“Admiral, please stopping choking BlitzCorps representative. It’s bad for business.”
~
Like gargantuan birds of prey, the Arm Slaves took off from the Excalibur’s hangar. One by one, they soared into the wild blue yonder, presumably to touch the face of God or, in the case of the Sandalphon, to kick the ass of an angel.
“Two minutes to target. Be careful of turbulence,” crackled an anonymous voice over Sousuke’s radio. He tried to relax as best he could but that was almost impossible. Although he had flown before, he wasn’t nearly as comfortable in the air as he was on the ground. Fortunately, the controls for an airborne AS weren’t much different than one on land and he was able to get the hang of things quickly.
As the squadron blasted through the clouds, wisps rushing past like melted marshmallow, Sousuke considered trying to talk to Kaname one last time. He doubted he could convince her to fall back but maybe he could give her some tips? No, then she’d just get mad. Besides, he didn’t know which unit she was piloting and he didn’t feel like asking for her in each.
The group of Armored Slaves passed through one particularly large cloud and, as they emerged from it, they saw it.
While living in Japan, Sousuke had once seen reruns of an old cartoon called “Macross” or something along those lines. The title referred to a giant space ship with a vaguely humanoid, robotic form. He was immediately reminded of the Macross when he saw the Sandalphon.
To say it was huge would be an equally large understatement. Although he could accurately tell, it seemed to be well over a kilometer in height and at least three hundred meters in width. It looked a bit like a medieval European knight, heavily decked out with armor. If he squinted, Sousuke could make out the clusters of anti-aircraft emplacements all over the behemoth’s shell.
“My god…” someone whispered over the radio.
The Sandalphon hung, suspended in the air by the huge engines in the oversized, dumpy looking legs. They burned with a blue fire that stretched for a good fifty meters.
Stored on its back, looking like a giant pole supporting the monster, was what Sousuke guessed to be a cannon but one that made even the heavy guns of the Excalibur look like a child’s cap gun.
“Don’t be discouraged,” came Tessa’s voice through the radio speakers. “We can take this thing.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me…” said a feminine voice. Sousuke immediately recognized it.
“Chidori?!” he asked without thinking. She ignored him.
It was at about that moment that the gunfire started and everything went straight to hell.
~
“Edmund, report. They’ve begun the assault?”
Wolfram stood on the bridge of the Sandalphon, actually located in the “head” of the ship. He was surrounded by technicians and officers, all very busy commanding the continuous salvos of the ship. Next to him was a strapping young man, his right hand man.
“Sir, they’ve launched with a force of fifteen or so Arm Slaves. We don’t have exact data on the Excalibur but we don’t expect to have much trouble with this engagement.”
“Excellent.”
“Shall I give the order for Gauron and his AS Squadron to launch?” asked Edmund, pulling his cell phone from his belt. It was easier to communicate throughout the ship that way.
“Not yet. I want to see how things play out,” Wolfram said, his attention focused totally on the battle before him.
“Sir?”
But Wolfram didn’t answer. A small, evil grin twisted itself onto his face.
~
Explosions burst around him as Sousuke flew. The Arbalest spun and tumbled through the air, now close enough to feel the heat from the guns of the Sandalphon. Before they could get to the engines, the pilots had quickly realized, they would have to carve out a path among the anti-aircraft guns that littered the ship.
And so, they had gone to work. Firing fast and hard, the Arm Slaves began to take apart the ship’s defenses piece by piece. And Sousuke was leading them.
“Sagara, I need help over here!”
Sousuke twisted violently, the strain of the pivot putting more and more stress on the joints of the Arbalest. He fired a quick burst of fire that tore apart an air-to-air missile launcher and followed up by drawing his unit’s combat knife and charging forward, slicing deep into a cannon emplacement.
The sweat was pouring freely down Sousuke’s forehead and clung to every cell of his body. The frantic chaos of the battle was taking its toll on everyone but him especially. The Arbalest was better suited for heavy combat than any of the M9’s and Sagara himself was a stronger pilot than anyone else.
Not far from him, Kaname wasn’t doing too badly. Real combat was nothing like a simulator, true, but she took to it naturally. She spun and dodged gracefully, as shells and ordnance screamed through the air. When the AS next to her burst into flames, she only barely avoided being caught in the explosion. As she went sailing from the force of the blast, her M9 crashed into a cluster of machine guns, setting off another explosion.
“God damn it…” she cursed quietly. She opened fire haphazardly, ripping apart cannon after cannon. Dozens blew up in rapid succession. She kicked off of the ship before the rest of the emplacements around her went up in an inferno.
Suddenly, Kaname’s AS shook violently as it was hit from the side. She went tumbling through the air and the cockpit screens shuddered for a few moments. A salvo of missiles streaked towards her and she would’ve been hit and blown to smithereens. At the moment before impact, though, another AS came down, throwing its arm around the M9’s waist and dragged it out of the line of fire.
“Chidori! Are you okay?” Sousuke yelled anxiously.
“S-sousuke?” she stuttered, twisting around in her seat to get a look at the Arbalest.
“I… I… I don’t need your help!”
“Chidori… Stop this…”
“No! I don’t need your help so-“
An explosion rocked the two Arm Slaves, sending them flying.
“What was that?”
“They’ve launched their Arm Slaves…” Sousuke said grimly.
~
“Gauron, you know the plan… No funny stuff. You push them back and then withdraw,” Wolfram said tersely. He was rubbing his temples in frustration: 20% of the Sandalphon’s defenses had already been knocked out.
“I’ll do as I please,” Gauron replied. His AS dwarfed the other two dozen or so by a good three meters. It was modeled like a giant, medieval warrior, complete with helmet and face guard. Painted a brilliant red, it slowly drew a long Japanese style blade from the sheath at its waist.
“The Trebuchet isn’t just for show, after all…” Gauron said, looking smug.
~
Like horrible birds of prey, the Sandalphon’s AS contingent flooded out of its hangar and set upon the attacking force.
“Shit…” Sousuke muttered. He let go of Kaname’s AS and opened fire on the incoming machines. He destroyed one almost immediately but he soon had to withdraw under the barrage of enemy shells.
Sousuke dodged and avoided the explosions around him, spinning around and returning fire just as well. His shotgun was quickly over heating and, when the last round was spent, he turned it over and smashed the butt into the cockpit of one of the Sandalphon’s M9’s that got too close.
Once he was out of immediately danger, Sousuke scanned the battlefield. The Excalibur units were holding their own admirably in the face of superior numbers. Drawing his combat knife, the young solder was about the rejoin the fray when he noticed a red AS.
Whenever he saw a red AS, Sousuke knew from experience, trouble wasn’t far behind. Nor was Gauron. And, the fact that the red AS had just disemboweled an M9 with an oversized katana seemed to prove this fact.
“Shit…” he cursed again and took off to engage the red Arm Slave.
~
“Gauron!”
The roar went over the radios of every warrior present, including in the Excalibur and the Sandalphon. In the former’s war room, all activity was stopped briefly.
“Things are about to get a lot more interesting…” Mardukas said softly.
~
“I see Kashim has found me…” Gauron said and smiled. The Trebuchet’s katana sliced through another M9 and, kicking the destroyed shell away, Gauron turned to see the Arbalest charging toward him like a bullet train.
Spinning the sword around in its metal hand once, the Trebuchet met the Arbalest and there was a great clash of blade against blade. Sparks flew up as both pilots pushed against one another with all their might.
“I was wondering when you would arrive, Kashim!” Gauron laughed. “You don’t know how happy this make me!”
The Trebuchet kicked the Arbalest, knocking it back and delivered an overhead strike. Sousuke caught and parried the attack and counterattacked, stabbing his knife towards the heart of the offending Arm Slave.
Gauron dodged and started laughing again.
“Your skill have improved, Kashim!”
“My name isn’t Kashim!” Sousuke yelled.
“Sagara…. Is it then?” asked Gauron, mocking him.
“Yes! My name is Sagara!”
The Trebuchet came at him against and Sousuke fended off the unrelenting attacks as best he could. Neither pilot could get a hit in on the other. As they came apart again, Gauron was, yet again, laughing.
“Do you find me sadistic, Kashim?” he asked. “You shouldn’t. You know who I am and you know who you are. Admit it… Right now, you feel more alive than you have in six months!”
“Go. To. Hell!” Sousuke screamed and the two Arm Slaves crashed into one another, slashing and grappling. The Arbalest clawed at the Trebuchet like a wild animal and, Gauron, unable to cut anything, smashed the side of his fist into Soueuke’s AS.
“What are you even fighting for, Kashim? Come join us and you’ll be happier than you’ve ever been. Are you fighting for the Whispered, Kashim?”
The Arbalest drove its dagger into the Trebuchet’s shoulder but Gauron continued.
“You know, they’re the saviors of the world. Humanity is flawed, in and of itself. No other species can organize itself to willfully wipe out itself like we do. No other species enjoys its descent into destruction like we do.”
The two Arm Slaves broke apart again. The Trebuchet’s left shoulder was slashed and the inner circuitry was exposed and crackling. The Arbalest’s head looked strangely like a pug dog’s.
“It’s human nature to have a savior. A messiah. Someone who comes down and sets everything right. You’d like one right about now, wouldn’t you, Kashim? But, the truth is, they don’t exist. It’s all a psychological illusion. Freudian, even.
“But what about the Whispered? That girl you love and the captain and even the one I keep around. Who will save the savior?”
The Trebuchet boosted up and away. Taken by surprise, Sousuke was quick to pursue. They flew through the pitched battle, dodging shots from friend and foe alike. Hellfire burst all around the two.
“That’s you, Kashim! That’s your reason for being born into this world. To save the Whispered. ‘Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children.’”
“What the hell are you babbling about?!” Sousuke demanded and lunged at Gauron. The Trebuchet sidestepped the attack easily and they were at it once again. Their duel continued for another few moments, each attack catching the glint of the sun in the steel, making it look as though the two Arm Slaves were gods, fighting with divine weapons made of a brilliant light.
“This is your destiny, Kashim. To die to save the Whispered and bring forth a new day in the history of this planet. Can you feel the change around us? Something great will happen and it is because of us,” Gauron yelled. He took another swipe at the Arbalest and this time, it went through, opening up a long gash on the side of the metal warrior.
“This is it, Kashim,” Gauron continued. “What we do on this day will be remembered for generations into the new era. This is the ‘New Century Gospel’, Kashim. And you’re our Messiah.”
“You…” Sousuke muttered. The Arbalest was slowing down. He realized suddenly, in pure horror, that he had less than five minutes left of fuel.
“Are you crazy?!” Sousuke yelled finally, attacking once again, ignoring his rapidly dropping fuel guage. “Or just stupid?!”
This time, Gauron parried Sousuke’s lunge and brought his sword down, slicing through the Arbalest's arm. In a second, it dropped away, taking Sousuke’s only weapon with it.
“You disappoint me, Kashim,” Gauron whispered and raised the blade once more, ready to deliver the killing blow.
“SOUSUKE!”
The scream echoed through the battlefield, jarring everyone who heard it, Gauron included.
“That girl…” he hissed when he saw Kaname’s M9 coming at them, spraying gunfire.
“Sousuke! Get the hell out of here!” Kaname yelled again. She was firing pretty haphazardly but some of her shells actually hit the Trebuchet, who's pilot was too surprised to move.
“Chidori!”
“Sousuke, just go! I’ll hold him off!”
“No, you can’t! This isn’t-“
“Shut up and go!”
Hearing this, Gauron grinned. “Take her advice, Kashim,” he whispered as he took off towards the M9, sword drawn. There was a blinding flash of light as Gauron initiated his Lambda Driver system.
“Chidori!” Sousuke screamed, as loud as he could. “Dodge it!”
“Sousuke!”
It was all over in a second. The shining form of the Trebuchet collided with the M9. Its katana passed cleanly through the AS, slicing it in half perfectly.
And that was it. Sousuke stared, unbelieving, as the M9 stayed still in the air, suspended as if by wires, for the briefest of moments before exploding.
Just like that, Kaname was gone.
“Chidori…” he whispered. The name sounded alien to him now, like something he had never heard before. “Chidori…”
Then, he heard the chuckling. The low, mocking laugh of Gauron.
“Looks like you couldn’t even protect the girl you love. What a pathetic Messiah… Why don’t you just surrender now, Kashim?”
Sousuke was silent. His head was bent and his eyes were wide open, but unseeing. There was no feeling in his body. Only a distant numbness.
“Poor Kashim… You truly are your father’s son. When it comes to the important things, you fail.”
Slowly, Sousuke raised his head. “Al. Start it up.”
“Understood,” replied the computer and the Arbalest took on an unearthly glow of its own.
“Oh? Still have some fight left in you, Kashim?”
“Gauron…” Sousuke said softly, slowly. “I… I have not yet begun to fight!”
Like a corpse reanimated, the Arbalest came alive again and hurtled towards the Trebuchet. The two smashed into each other and the attacker wasted no time, knocking a haymaker into the face of its enemy.
“What the hell?” Gauron yelled, as he went flying back. He attempted to attack with his sword but the Arbalest caught it and, as though it were a toothpick, snapped it in half. Taking the broken half in its hand, the crazed AS drove it into the Trebuchet and continued punching and kicking it.
“Shit…” Gauron cursed. He was totally helpless. He could only watch as blow after blow leveled his armor.
In the Arbalest, Sousuke had just about lost it. The vision of Kaname’s M9 replayed over and over in his mind and all he could think about was revenge. With the elbow of its one good arm, the Arbalest smashed open the faceplate of the Trebuchet, sending circuits and sparks everywhere.
Then, a hideously annoying beeping sound cut through Sousuke’s reverie of violence and retribution. He glanced at the fuel gauge. It was on E. Not E for “enough,” or “excellent” but E for “empty, oh shit.”
Slowly, the Arbalest fell away from the Trebuchet. Gauron didn’t try to pursue and instead, watched solemnly as the AS plunged through the air, gaining speed. It disappeared from sight finally.
“Wolfram,” he said in his radio, pulling up the image of the Sandalphon’s captain on his screen. “We should withdraw now. There’s been a change in plans.”
~
“Captain, the Sandalphon and its forces are retreating. Should we pursue?”
Tessa wasn’t listening. Instead, her attention was focused on the screen before her that showed the status of all units in the battle. If the square representing a unit was green, it was fine. If it was red, it was in trouble. If it was black, it had been destroyed.
The squares representing Kaname’s M9 and the Arbalest were both black.
“No,” she said finally. “Don’t pursue. We’ll withdraw as well.”
Tessa did not sob. She didn’t double over and weep. Instead, she trembled in her seat and held her hands together tightly.
~
Wolfram and Gauron both stood outside the infirmary room where their captive lay. It had been a risky maneuver for Gauron: He had used his Lambda Driver to pry open the cockpit and snatch Kaname out before destroying the M9. He was of the belief that she would be more useful to them alive than dead and Wolfram quite agreed. After all, that had been their original goal, hadn’t it?
“And you’re quite certain the Arbalest was destroyed?” Wolfram queried again. Gauron just smiled.
“It fell. That’s all I can say.”
Wolfram sighed. “Nothing could survive a fall from this height… Right. This battle is almost over.”
“No.”
“No?” Wolfram asked, looking at Gauron, confused.
“This is only the end of the first act,” he smiled. “We’ve yet to see the grand finale.”
“Regardless,” Wolfram said, brushing off Gauron’s comment. “Sagara’s out of the picture. Things should be easier now.”
“Do you think he knew?”
“Knew what?”
“About the girl,” Gauron said, gesturing to the door of the hospital room. “That she’s pregnant.”
End Chapter Eight
Author’s Notes:
The ending is vaguely like Kill Bill. No surprises there.
Tessa’s “You can’t fight in here! This is the war room!” comment was lifted directly from Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Will there be more parallels to this classic film in the coming chapters?! Will Kurz ride an atom bomb like a cowboy?! Stay tuned.
As always, comments are greatly appreciated.
On a completely and absolutely unrelated note, North Korea has just banned cellphones. My question: They actually HAD cellphones? I mean, shit, I thought they were still getting the hole “indoor plumbing” thing down.
And seems you're pulling refs