The Forgotten

Chapter 7

by Dustin

Space was ripped apart as the two large forces collided. Thousands of missiles streaked into the Forgotten suits, destroying several hundred Taurus’, Leos, and Virgos. But thousands more came. Wing Zero suddenly opened fire into the mass, incinerating another ten suits.

The Preventer’s forward units hit the Forgotten mobile dolls. The mobile dolls’ tactics hadn’t been changed at all, so their movements were easy for the Preventer commanders to predict. The Raptors and Taurus’ pushed through the first wave, then fell back to make way for the Gundams as they jetted forward to engage the Geminis that made up the second wave.

Quatre’s voice came over her comm. “Prepare to accelerate.” He counted down, and the Gundams leapt forward. Three seconds later, they reached the appointed speed and pulled their engines back. The Geminis’ missiles rocketed towards them, but Deathscythe’s hyper-jammers effectively threw off their guidance systems. Heero again triggered the two buster rifles slung under his wings and thick yellow energy beams lanced at the enemy. Trowa let loose a volley of missiles that impacted the suits seconds before the Gundams. They smashed into the suits, ripping through the first wave.

They slowly pushed through the line of Geminis, making way for another wave of Preventer forces, who also maneuvered to push the suits to the side. The Peacemillion II lumbered up behind them, energy beginning to build along the sides of its hull, flowing through conduits to the glowing gun-ports. The battleship fired, sending two relatively slow streaks of burning-blue plasma contained in a magnetic field into the fray. They completely incinerated anything they touched, leaving a dust cloud kilometers in diameter, before finally dissipating.

No one noticed that Wraith had fallen back.

Dominique felt bad as she and the other cloaked vessels around her moved past the battle undetected. She didn’t like being sneaky. She almost wished she were back there with the others in the battle. She shuddered slightly though. No, she’d had about enough of battle for right now.

She checked her displays. The other suits’ positions were projected as sensor shadows on the screens, in front of the rapidly growing colony. Mere moments now. If everything went smoothly, she’d just wait until the assault team finished and was ready to leave. If not… she gripped her flight sticks. Hopefully their wing could handle whatever the Forgotten threw at them.

At first no one really noticed her appearance. She moved through the battle following the patterns of the other Gundams in order to be most effective. With a start, she noticed that she could feel Heero’s and Arys’ movements through the Zero system. She pushed down the system’s sudden upsurge.

Duo was the first to notice the unfamiliar suit. He did a double take, thinking he was seeing a mirror of Deathscythe before he picked out the difference. Wider wings, different styling on the torso, the duel ended scythe. He keyed open a channel to the Peacemillion II.

“Colonel, this is Duo. I’m looking at Gundam that’s not one of ours,” he said simply.

There was a pause. “Say again?” Une’s voice only slightly betrayed her confusion.

Arys’ voice came over the comm. “I see it too. It’s definitely a Gundam. And it’s fighting the Forgotten.”

Then Wufei. “I know that Gundam. Deathwing. It appeared when I… during the Barton Foundation’s coup. ” He felt a familiar pang of regret that surfaced whenever he thought of his part in that battle.

Colonel Une turned towards her communications officer on the bridge of the battleship. “Hail it,” she ordered.

The officer complied and a few seconds later, a face popped up on the screen. Colonel Une’s eyes widened in recognition. “You,” she said simply.

Meela nodded. “Colonel,” she said. “I thought I would lend you a hand.”

It had been nearly six months since Une had met Meela in the Brussels Presidential Residence during the Barton Foundation take-over. She didn’t know what to think. “Thank you. Please try and coordinate with Quatre Winner and myself.”

Meela smiled slightly. They were already making requests. Soon it would be orders. But they would figure out that she worked for no one. “Very well,” she said and cut the transmission, turning her attention back to the enemy suits.

Her Gundam was queried by Sandrock and she allowed Quatre to send her tactical instructions. She studied it and nodded to herself. He knew what he was doing. She sent her suit racing forward.

The assault shuttles reached the colony without any major problems. It had been difficult to maneuver through the many work pods swarming around the colony’s axis, but they’d managed. They carefully docked at two maintenance airlocks near the weapon, several levels apart. Calder’s team would figure out how to destroy the weapon, then team two would provide a distraction while they did so.

Captain Roland had served with OZ, then with the Treize Faction. In all his experiences as an elite troop leader, he’d never gone on a mission without a definite plan. It was extremely unnerving to not know what they were going to do once they got on the colony.

Calder pulled himself through the airlock into the passageway, followed by the captain. They’d docked where Calder had guessed the main power systems for the beam were. The curved maintenance shaft they’d entered circled the colony shaft, which housed the complicated electrical, mechanical, and environmental systems that kept the colony running. There was no gravity here in the colony shaft.

Calder glanced up at the piping on the ceiling of the narrow corridor and nodded. “This way,” he said, pulling himself to the right. Soon, he could see where the colony’s hull had been cut away to attach the beam. Thick cables were jury-rigged to banks of electrical systems three meters overhead, tapping into the colony’s vast amounts of power, generated by immense solar panels and four nuclear fusion reactors. Calder thought briefly about how ironic it was that they were using solar power to kill the sun.

There was sudden movement from further down the corridor. Calder drew his pistol just as three armed soldiers rounded the bend. Calder fired once and the first guard dropped. The other two barely raised their weapons when they were cut down by quick bursts from the Preventer soldier’s assault rifles.

Calder turned his attention back to the ceiling. He frowned as he followed the cables away into the darkness of the weapon‘s housing. He wasn’t sure he trusted his vision. He pulled himself up with rungs on the side wall and looked closer. Yes, he‘d seen correctly. Two figures floated, tangled in the cables, dead. Otherwise, the weapon’s housing they’d seen from the outside was empty.

The Peacemillion’s bridge shuddered as fire pelted its gundanium hull-plating. Une was listening to a transmission from the assault team as she watched the tactical situation.

“It looks like the components were removed shortly after they attached the weapon, once we couldn’t see exactly what they were doing,” Calder reported. “They left only the shell. Judging by the dead guards, I’d say that the main components were stolen by another party.”

Une pursed her lips. Who? Someone within the Forgotten perhaps? “So we don’t know where the components for the weapon are then?” she asked. “They might already be off the colony?”

Calder hesitated. “Possibly. But I don’t think they would have had time yet to pack all of the weapon’s components into freighters. We’ll split up and move to the docking bays.”

“Acknowledged,” Une said and cut the channel. She turned her tactical officer. “Get some suits into position to intercept anything that tries to leave the colony. And sensor buoys capable of detecting cloaks.”

“Yes ma’am.”

The two assault teams had split up into four-man groups. They moved through the access tunnels into the colony sublevels, where the six docking bays were. Calder’s group had already inspected one of the bays and found it deserted. They were approaching the second one they were supposed to inspect. It happened suddenly. The corridors were deserted, then upon rounding a bend, they were full of armed soldiers. Both groups froze for a split second on seeing each other, then in on smooth motion, Calder pulled a concussion grenade from its clip, primed it, and tossed it into the Forgotten soldiers’ midst. His team took cover behind support struts along the corridor as the grenade detonated.

He peeked around the corner, seeing several soldiers sprawled on the floor, unmoving. The rest had taken shelter. Both groups opened fire from their positions. Calder strained to see past the gun flashes into the bay. He could make out figures moving crates into freighters. He keyed open his comm.

“This is Calder. Bay five is crawling with hostiles. Looks like they’re loading freighters.”

Captain Roland’s voice replied. “The other bays were deserted. I’m moving everyone to your position.”

“Roger,” Calder said, closing the channel and drawing his sidearm. He glanced back over his shoulder. Two men had set up a rear guard to cover them from behind. Now all they had to do was sit tight and wait for their reinforcements. Yeah, simple, Calder thought, as bullets sparked off the metal beam just above his head.

Meela moved backwards through a squad of Leos with easy grace, firing her Vulcan cannon’s ahead of her and on another screen, finding targets behind her, knocking off suit after suit with her scythes. Reaching the edge of the battle, she reoriented herself and rushed a group of Geminis. She slightly felt the Zero System beneath her consciousness and she could still use it to bolster her reflexes. She parried a beam saber blow and moved just enough to avoid an energy beam, launched a flat, sharp disk into the optics of one Gemini and decapitated another. She quickly assessed the other pilots’ positions then moved forward again.

Heero felt Meela’s plan shift and he reacted to pinch in a small squadron of Geminis trying to flank the Peacemillion. He had just reached them when he realized their mistake. Twelve more Geminis rushed them from several directions. Heero fired his buster rifle, disabling two of them, then dropped the cannon and attacked with his beam saber.

Meela took out two suits on either side, then was snapped against her restraints as she was hit by a heavy beam weapon. She glanced around. The other pilots were too busy to help them. She moved in sync with Heero, trying to keep from being pinned. They took out several more suits, but the Gemini’s gundanium armor made them difficult to disable. They were being pummeled into a tighter and tighter area, limiting their maneuvering options. Heero thought with slight irony how aggravating it must have been to their enemies to have such tough opponents. He spun to keep his engines from being damaged, parried a beam saber blow, knocked another suit away with his shield then blocked an energy blast a split second later. Both his and Meela’s movements were blurred, their reactions almost occurring before the event. But they were starting to be overwhelmed with superior numbers.

Dominique’s threat warning went off suddenly, making her jump in her seat. Her eyes flew over her screens, trying to find the problem. Her brain kept locking up as she tried to remember what the readings meant from her brief training. Something to do with the cloak on her Taurus. Noin’s voice broke into her thoughts.

“There’s something interfering with the cloaks. Prepare for incoming!”

Dominique felt a lump build up in her throat and she waited for enemy suits to descend on them. She waited some more. Then her sensors went dead. Noin’s voice came over her speakers again, distorted and becoming harder to understand as she spoke. “We’re in… field… power down… radio silence… if we…” and she faded into static.

Dominique shut off her speakers as all her systems began to lose power. She closed her eyes and tried to steady her breathing as her lights faded and she was washed in darkness.

“Ma’am, the assault shuttles and the Elites have lost their cloaks!” a crewman called to Colonel Une. She whirled.

“Why?”

“Some kind of power build-up from the colony. Scanning.” There was a tense pause. “I can’t tell where its coming from. Its just a large ion field emanating from the colony. I’m losing sensor coverage of the area.”

Une turned towards the helm officer. “Turn us to bearing 196 mark 355. Move us into that field. Try to get sensors back. Find out what’s going on.”

Arys noted the sudden increase in radiation and looked towards the colony. For a second her sensors began to pick up the signatures of the now visible assault unit, but they quickly faded along with everything near the colony. Finally the colony itself faded from her sensor screens, replaced by a static haze. For a moment, the battle slowed as every pilot surveyed his sensors in confusion. Arys didn’t pause for long though, as the relentless mobile dolls continued to fight.

Colonel Une’s voice came over the comm. “Be ready to intercept anything trying to escape the colony,” she ordered. “We think something has happened and the weapon is being moved.”

“Acknowledged,” Arys said, followed by the others. She fired her Shiv rifle at an exposed mobile doll, the half-moon shaped blast severing the suit. The Archangel shuddered as fire pelted its armor. Arys spun around with her two pale blue sabers blazing, disabling two more dolls. She parried blows from a pair of Geminis, then backed off, as a pair of missiles from a Raptor streaked in and struck the two suits. With lightning velocity, she moved in and hit the Gemini’s weak points with precise hits of her sabers, her own version of the Zero System giving her motions speed and precision that matched Heero’s and Meela’s. Speaking of which…

She swept the area and quickly located them. Her heart leapt in her throat as she gauged the situation. Heero and Meela were smothered in over thirty Geminis. They were moving with incredible speed, but she saw that they would soon be overrun. She kicked her engines forward and her voice strained under the G’s as she opened a channel. “Wufei, Trowa, with me. Heero and that girl need help.”

The two closest pilots fell into place at her flanks and they rushed the mass of suits. Missiles streaked from Heavy Arms’ shoulders and struck the mass, scattering suits. Arys opened fire, pounding more suits until they broke off or exploded. Seconds later, Wufei came in range and launched his fang arm straight into the group, shoving more away until there was a clear path to the other two Gundams. Trowa broke off and began harassing the outer edge with his gatlings while Arys and Wufei moved to Heero and Meela, covering their backs and helping them move outwards.

Calder reloaded his gun and fired into the docking bay as he and the assault team inched their way closer. He darted across a gap, fired thrice, hitting one guard and sending two more behind their cover, then sliding behind a crate as fire tracked him. Captain Roland motioned to two of his soldiers and they laid down effective suppression fire. Three more team members moved closer to the doors.

Suddenly the roar of automatic rifles became deafening and the Preventer forces ducked for cover. Two were hit and dropped like stones. Another was grazed at the leg and managed to slide into cover. Forgotten soldiers advanced on the Preventer team from behind. Roland quickly reoriented his team to deal with the new threat, but they’d accomplished their goal. Alexia Slandovich, Brooks and three other soldiers moved towards the bay doors, which were beginning to close. Calder sighted his mother’s retreating back, but was forced to duck again. He swore as he tried to find a way through the crisscrossing lines of fire. He met Roland’s eyes and gave him a signal. Roland responded and signaled his team. The doors were six seconds away from locking them out.

Roland tossed Calder his assault rifle, and the Preventer team came out from their cover, using all the ammunition they had left to suppress the enemy fire. Calder and Roland leaped from their cover and sprinted for the door. Calder dove forward, underneath the line of bullets still slipping through the narrow opening and into the hanger as the door banged closed behind him, locking Roland out.

He rolled to the left, still firing the assault rifle upwards. He spent the clip just as he reached cover and fire sparked off the container he was behind. Tossing aside the useless rifle, he pulled out his handgun again and charged an explosive round. Darting his head out he fired it almost without aim. He ducked back before it exploded lest his head do the same. Then as fire slackened, he looked out and quickly isolated two targets, hitting them squarely in their chests before ducking for cover again. Then the fire suddenly slackened. He peeked over the container to see the freighter doors closing and the soldiers slipping into them. They were about to decompress the bay and open the doors.

He jumped up and sprinted at his considerable speed for the bay’s control room, hyper-ventilating as he went. There was a rushing wind and air began to rapidly empty from the bay. Calder emptied his lungs as the pressure from within him became unbearable and felt chill spread through his limbs. His vision was blurry and his limbs shaky as he reached the air-tight control room door and wrenched it opened. Air rushed out as he pulled himself through. He strained to close it behind him and finally managed to as the air pressure slackened. He struggled to breath as the room slowly refilled with air and winced as his lungs painfully re-inflated. He managed to slow his breathing and clear his vision and checked the control panel. Someone had shot it several times, effectively disabling it. Breathing out, he slammed his fist against the console.