When the solar system is dragged into a civil war, can the Equestrian Federation defeat the New Lunar Republic and maintain control of the solar system?
By 1999 AD, the governments of Terra realize that a unified government is needed to manage global crises. This new government is called the Equestrian Federation, as the winning idea for a global government was proposed by the trading superpower known as Equestria. Six years later, the Equestrian Federation starts its space colonization program. The next forty years are spent constructing the first space colonies. By nineteenth year of the Universal Century, the Equestrian Federation has begun moving portions of its massive population into space. These colonists, termed Spacenoids by the Terra-side citizens, are forced to adapt to their new lives and occupations. Universal Century 0069: Political tensions between the Equestrian Federation and the newly established New Lunar Republic, Mars' space and ground colonies unified by former Equestrian Princess Luna, are extremely high. Federation politicians know that any kind of incident could spark a civil war. Universal Century 0079: The New Lunar Republic begins its offensive against the Equestrian Federation. The Solar Civil War has begun. Only one faction can survive this conflict. The one that does will own the solar system.
*********
Rated Teen for mild blood and language. Crossover with Mobile Suit Gundam (the Universal Century timeline)
I took a deep breath, my first one since coming back to Terra. Fresh, clean air filled my lungs. Good air, unlike in the colonies. I smiled, and closed my eyes. “Ahh… I like it here.”
“That’s good,” a voice said, “I’m glad that you still like it here on Terra.”
I turned slightly, and glanced at Celestia, my sister. “Oh, Tia. I didn’t see you standing there.”
Celestia smiled. “Come here, Luna.”
We hugged each other. I, unconsciously, smelled my sister’s mane. Roses?
I looked at Celestia. She looked… tired. “You look tired, Tia.” I said, “What have I missed?”
Celestia sighed. “What do you know of Tenor Y. Minovsky?”
“Dr. Minovsky? I’ve met him once, or twice. Why?”
“Well, as of two days ago, the field of physics has been changed.”
“Oh?”
I was confused. Why was Celestia talking about a scientist who’d been declared a disgrace by his peers?
“The Minovsky Physics Society has discovered what they call the ‘Minovsky Particle.’”
“Let me guess,” I said, “this particle could theoretically revolutionize warfare?”
“Yeah.”
I rolled my eyes. “Wonderful,” I stated, “Simply wonderful. Another useless particle.”
“Luna, come on. This particle could actually do it.”
“I doubt it. Unless this ‘Society’ can prove their particle’s usefulness, I’m not going to support it.”
Celestia smiled, slightly. “That’s the sister I know. Well, come on, it’ll get dark in a few hours.”
I nodded, out of reflex, more than anything. I followed behind Celestia, taking in the city. “You know,” I said, remembering, “I remember Canterlot being a small castle in the middle of a valley that opened to the sea.”
“Yeah. That was a long time ago.”
I nodded again. “Look at it now. Although…”
I paused, stopping in front of an open street, looking toward the library. Towering skyscrapers surrounded it. I snorted. “Of course, keep the library. I like that building.”
“Luna, it’s been forty years since you’ve been here. I have no intention of getting rid of the library.”
I glanced at Celestia. “Right. Make sure you do.”
Celestia sighed. “Come on. There’s something I want to show you.”
I raised an eyebrow at her, but sighed. “Fine, fine.”
Following behind Celestia, I took in the city’s sights. More tall skyscrapers, smaller building housing shops, apartment buildings, and, surprisingly, slums.
I rolled my eyes. Even in the heart of the Equestrian Federation, you still found slums. Pausing in front of one of the smaller shops, I heard an argument start up. Between colts. Not surprising.
I walked closer to the group of colts. One of the colts, a unicorn, said, “Hey, hey, leave him alone.”
The unicorn looked to be of noble birth, judging by his posture and clothing. He was a fan of hair gel, judging by his slicked-back crimson and light blue hair.
The colt he was defending was a pegasus, who was down on one knee. The unicorn spoke again. “Just because he’s from the colonies doesn’t mean he’s bad.”
Oh. Of course. This argument again. Wonderful.
One of the other colts barked, “He’s a dirty Spacenoid!”
“No, he’s a pony like us,” replied the unicorn colt, coolly.
“If he really is a pony like us,” another colt challenged, “then he should defend himself.”
The pegasus, with dark green fur, light pink hair, and blue eyes, stood. “Very well, then,” he said, “if it’s self defense you want, then I’ll do it.”
“Good,” smiled the challenger, an earth pony, who rushed the dark green pegasus.
The pegasus leapt into the air, letting the earth pony slam into the wall behind where the pegasus had been.
The earth pony stumbled back from the wall. The pegasus, descending upon his opponent, slammed the bottom of his shoes into the earth pony’s shoulders, forcing him down to the ground.
The pegasus stepped off the earth pony, before kicking his fallen opponent in the side.
“How’s that?”
The earth pony grunted, “Fine, fine, you win.”
Extending a hand toward the earth pony, the pegasus seemed to be a kind pony. The earth pony took the hand, and the pegasus pulled the earth pony to his feet. “Well,” the unicorn, noticing me, said, “you guys might wanna stop. One of the princesses is watching.”
I smiled, softly. The colts turned to face me. They chuckled, embarrassed. “It’s fine,” I said, waving my hand dismissively. “Run along, now.”
The unicorn and the pegasus stayed behind as the other colts ran off. “Sorry about that,” the unicorn apologized, “not everyone here likes Spacenoids.”
The pegasus shrugged. “I don’t mind. I like it here.”
The unicorn extended a hand. “I’m Blazing Halcyon.”
The two colts turned to me. “Princess Luna,” Wild Breeze said, “I had no idea that you’d be here.”
I smiled again, “As I said, it’s fine. Not very many ponies are aware of my movements. Well, the planetside ones anyway.”
“Oh,” Blazing Halcyon said, “I see. I’d better get going. My parents are going to be cross with me if I don’t get home soon.”
He jogged off, after picking up a duffle bag. Wild Breeze glanced at his watch. His eyes widened, slightly. “I’ve gotta go. Gonna be late for dinner.”
I nodded. Heading back to the shop, I noticed that Celestia had kept walking. Oh no, where she’d go? I didn’t think it was that long.
“There you are, Luna,” Celestia said, from behind me.
I turned around. Celestia stood, slight smile on her face. A unicorn filly stood next to her, cyan eyes looking up at me, curious. “This,” Celestia said, gesturing to the filly, “is Sunset Shimmer, my student.”
I kneeled, wanting to get a closer look at Sunset Shimmer. “Hi,” I said, “I’m Princess Luna.”
She had crimson and yellow hair, giving me the impression that she had a fiery personality. Her cyan eyes seemed a bit out of place, being surrounded by light amber fur.
“I like your hair,” Sunset Shimmer said, smiling.
I smiled, “I like you, Sunset. You’ve got a great teacher.”
I stood, and looked at Celestia. “Well, Celestia,” I prompted, “there’s still a lot you need to show me.”
Terra's Side Two space, New Lunar Republic Musai-class cruiser, Aries
“So,” I prompted, “what’s the plan?”
“Well, Sergeant Cheerilee,” my commander replied, “I see that you cut to the chase. I like that.”
He pointed to the holographic map. “This is Island Iffish. Our orders are to capture it.”
“Alright,” Cloverleaf, a friend of my sister’s and a fellow sergeant, said. “Sounds easy enough.”
“Your squadrons will cover the Zaku I Marine squadron that will capture the colony.”
“We can do that,” I said.
“You can count on us!”
“Very well, now hurry and launch.”
Cloverleaf and I bolted to the hangar. Our MS-06C Zaku IIs, the best mobile suit variant created thus far, stood ready to launch. Cloverleaf glanced at me. “So, you think the Feddies’ll make it easy for us to capture Island Iffish?”
I shook my head. “No. They’ll try, anyway. We’ve got Zakus, they don’t.”
Cloverleaf smiled, her confidence showing through her serious face.
I climbed into the pilot chair of my Zaku. Sliding back in the cockpit, I hit a button on my pilot’s console, closing the cockpit door.
I tapped the side of my helmet, sliding the visor down, and creating a tight seal.
Flipping a few switches on the pilot’s console, I murmured to myself, “This better be easy, we’ve trained for years for this battle.”
I sighed, gripped the control levers in preparation for launch, and reported, “Cheerilee, ready to go!”
The suit lurched forward, indicating that the catapult had been activated. I felt a small smile cross my face. Activating my suit’s thrusters, I launched off the catapult.
************
Flying through space, I felt at ease. I don’t know why I feel this way, but I do.
“Hey, boss, you there?”
As I snapped back to reality, I noticed that we had come up to Island Iffish. “Yes, Icewind,” I responded, “I’m here.”
“As I was saying,” he said, “why haven’t we seen any Feddies yet?”
“You’ve got a point,” I agreed, “usually, there would have been at least one Salamis that we’d have encountered by now.”
“Yeah. What are they doing?”
“Don’t tempt fate, Icewind,” Cloverleaf said, interrupting, “you never know when they’ll show up.”
“I agree,” I said. “They’re planning something. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
“Yeah. But what?”
“I don’t know,” I replied, “in any case, stay sharp. I don’t want to get caught off guard because we’re too busy being paranoid.”
“Roger that, boss.”
The rest of the squadron reported their affirmatives.
I scanned around for the Zaku IBs that we were supposed to cover. Upon spotting the Zaku Is, which had been keep a good distance away from us, I reported to them, “Hey, way’s clear. Get up here.”
“Of course, sergeant,” the squadron leader replied, “thank you for covering us.”
“Thank me later,” I retorted, “the mission’s still not over.”
“Of course.”
I glanced at the colony. Its windows meant that there weren’t as many people in the colony as were in the colonies at Side Three. Which, in turn, means that it should be easier to capture.
I watched as the Zaku Is entered the colony through its access doors. I smiled, softly.
Suddenly, I felt unease enter my heart. “What is this feeling?” I wondered, “Why am I getting this feeling of… uneasiness?”
I got my answer. Each Zaku I fired both of the missiles on the weapon they were equipped with. The missiles streaked toward Island Iffish’s major cities. However, instead of hitting the buildings or the colony wall, the missiles detonated in midair of the cities, releasing a green gas. It began spreading. G3 gas!
I cried out in horror, shaking my head, “No! I didn’t know! I didn’t know anything about the poison gas!”
I frantically scanned around for any Federal Forces vessels within visual range. Upon seeing nothing, I released a pent-up breath. “Mission’s done,” I said, shakily, to the rest of my squadron, “let’s get back to the Aries.”
I frowned, and keyed in the channel for Cloverleaf’s Suit. “Hey, Clover,” I prompted, “what do you think about this?”
Silence. Then she spoke, sounding as if she had been crying. “We’re bad ponies… We’re bad ponies… We’re bad ponies, Cheerilee!”
“I know,” I replied, monotonously, having realized that once the G3 appeared, “I know.”
“Zaku squadrons,” the commander shouted, unfazed by the gassing, “we’ve got an inbound Salamis-class heavy cruiser! Return now!”
“You heard him,” I said, addressing both my squadron and Cloverleaf, “we’ve got to go.”
I turned to face the Aries, and began accelerating through space toward the ship.
“The Salamis has launched Saberfish. Likely in an attempt to sink the Aries,” Icewind reported in that new dull tone of his.
“Well,” I said, “we can’t let the Aries get sunk. That’s our ride out of here.”
“Yep,” Cloverleaf said.
“Zaku I Marines,” I barked, “return to the Aries and prepare to shoot down any Saberfish that get by us!”
“Yes, sergeant!”
I snarled, out of anger toward the Marines than anything else.
“Faust dammit, Federation,” I growled, “why’d you show up now of all times? After we’d completed our mission? WHY?”
Turning to intercept the Saberfish squadrons, which, upon long-range visual inspection, were equipped with anti-ship missiles.
Aiming the machine gun my Zaku was equipped with, I fired a burst at the lead Saberfish of the formation. I was rewarded with the destruction of the Saberfish as its missile detonated beneath it.
I grinned, very subtly. While a Saberfish could kill, and was faster than, a Zaku II, the fighter wasn’t as agile or as quick to accelerate.
I shifted aim and fired another burst. Another Saberfish down.
I continued this systematic destruction of the fighters until I was interrupted by a purple beam lancing through space, drawing my attention to the Salamis. “Cheeky,” I observed, “but, that doesn’t matter. I’ll take you out!”
I accelerated toward the vessel, leaving the rest of the Zaku IIs to destroy the fighters. Because of the heavy armor on the Salamis’ beam turrets, my machine gun wasn’t going to damage them consistently. And I didn't have a bazooka or a Sturm Faust either. I did have one thing that could hurt the cruiser though, a heat hawk. Attaching my machine gun to its rack on my Zaku II’s waist armor, I drew my heat hawk.
Landing on the cruiser’s deck, I was greeted by fire from the vessel’s point defense turrets. However, they were more of an annoyance than anything, as they lacked the penetration value of a beam shot.
Running across the deck, I attacked the first beam turret. Slashing a large hole on the outer armor of the turret, I swapped my heat hawk to my Zaku’s left hand, and drew my machine gun. I fired a burst into the hole, shredding the internals of the turret, taking it offline. “That’s one down, and the only one that could pose a threat to me,” I said.
“Now, for the bridge.”
As I ran toward the twin machine gun turrets mounted on a large strut, I noticed Saberfish out of corners of my vision. “Trying to save yourself, eh? Well, too bad!”
Evading the missiles that the fighters fired at me, I leapt onto the strut, and began attacking them without fear of damage. Delivering a deep slash to one, unintentionally detonating its ammunition bins and singeing my suit’s exterior, I emptied the rest of my machine gun’s current ammo drum into the other turret, destroying it.
“Cheerilee,” a voice said, “watch out!”
“Cloverleaf,” I asked, confused, “what are you-?”
Cloverleaf’s Zaku slammed into mine, shoving it out of the way. A salvo of missiles from one of the Saberfish struck Cloverleaf’s Zaku. I watched as the Zaku’s reactor, whose I-Field had been disabled by the salvo, tore apart the Suit with its explosion. Pink smoke, caused by Minovsky Particles, occupied the space where the Suit had been. “No, no, no, no, NO!”
Tears began running down my face. I hung my head. An object floated lazily through space. Noticing it, I looked at it. A Sturm Faust, one of Cloverleaf’s. Shooting out an arm and grabbing it, I realized that I had somehow lost my Zaku’s machine gun. I aimed at the Salamis’ bridge. “This is for my friend, you Federal-issued scum!”
I fired the Sturm Faust, and watched the rocket strike the bridge and detonate. The resulting explosion tore the bridge apart, leaving only wreckage behind. I laughed at the sight.
“Cheerilee here,” I reported, “I’m returning now.”
************
My Zaku came up to its pilot’s catwalk. I tapped the side of my helmet, sliding the visor up. I opened the cockpit hatch, slid my pilot’s chair forward, and climbed out of my Zaku. “Hey, boss,” Icewind said, having regained a bit of his normal demeanor, “you alright?”
“Yeah,” I nodded, “I’ve had better days.”
Noticing that Cloverleaf hadn’t come up to hug me, Icewind asked, “Where’s Sergeant Cloverleaf?”
I turned away and began walking away from the hangar, shutting my eyes, in a desperate attempt to keep tears from running down my face. “Boss,” Icewind prompted again, “where is she?”
I said, as calmly as I could, “She’s not coming home.”
“‘Not coming home?’ What do you mean by that?”
“Cloverleaf is dead! Alright? She’s dead!”
My response, snarled at the corporal, shocked the stallion. “Boss, I-I…”
I sighed. “It’s fine,” I told him, “just leave me alone, alright?”
Icewind nodded.
************
I entered my room. Closing the door behind me, I pulled my helmet off. My twin-toned pink hair fell down around my head. Brushing it out of my face, I unzipped my pilot suit. I flopped onto my bed, letting my helmet fall to the floor.
For what seemed like an eternity, I stared at the ceiling. Eventually, I turned onto my side. I reached for the drawer of my bed stand and pulled it open. A bottle of whiskey sat in the drawer. “Well,” I mused, grabbing the bottle, “Clover said that I could drink from that bottle if there was a special occasion. I’ve got a special occasion right now. Heh.”
Loum (Terra's Side 5) Space, Chivvay-class Heavy Cruiser, Sunrise
“Hey, Braeburn,” a voice said, drawing me from the holo-map, “what are you doing?”
“Oh,” I replied, glancing over my shoulder, “Caramel. Ah’m just looking over the battleplan fer the upcoming battle.”
I pointed to the map. “Since the Feddies intercepted the fleet, Big Mac wants to show the true power of Mobile Suits to the Feddies.”
“Ah assume that we’ll get a shot at General Silverstar?”
“Probably,” I said, turning to Wensley, “Ah’ve gone over the battleplan. Ah can’t find us anywhere in it.”
“That’s curious,” Caramel observed, “maybe the Admiral is expecting us to use our free will to capture General Silverstar.”
“Probably. Probably,” I agreed.
I tapped the controls of the holo-map, and pointed. “This is the Ananke, a Magellan-class battleship.
“It just so happens that it is the flagship of the fleet. General Silverstar will be on the Ananke, but he won’t join the battle unless we force him to.”
“How are we going to do that?”
I glanced at Caramel, and pointed, “Simple. We need to destroy enough of Silverstar’s vanguard that the good general will have to fight. Judging from the data collected by the recon craft, these Salamis-class heavy cruisers form the general’s vanguard. We destroy all of them. Then, we do enough damage to the Ananke to force Silverstar to evacuate the ship. After that, we capture the escape craft that he’s on.”
“Sounds easy enough,” Wensley commented.
“Yeah. But,” I countered, “as you know, it’s easier to plan something than to actually carry it out.”
Wensley nodded. “So,” I asked, “are we clear on this?”
Caramel gave a thumbs-up. Wensley nodded again. “Well,” I said, “let’s do this.”
************
“That’s another one down!”
I laughed at Caramel’s cheerful laser-com report. “And another one fer me as well,” Wensley reported, “how many more of these ships do we need to destroy?”
“Fifteen at the moment,” I replied.
I emptied my bazooka magazine into the nearest Salamis. “Fourteen now.”
I began reloading my bazooka, and watched as a purple and black with black-grey streak crossed my field of view.
Wensley’s MS-06R-1A Zaku II swung its sole weapon, a giant heat hawk, at the Salamis that Wensley was targeting.
The resulting strike, fusing beam energy conduits and superheating one of the Salamis’ ammunition magazines, caused a chain reaction that tore the cruiser apart.
“Ha! That one went up real good.”
A red streak came from over my Zaku’s left shoulder, heading for one of the other ships in the Federation Fleet. “Blitz,” I murmured.
Blitz’s red MS-06C Zaku II turned around and snapped a quick salute, having noticed my Zaku. I returned the salute.
The Zaku faced the direction it was facing and attacked the nearest ship, a Magellan-class battleship.
I, shaking my head, targeted another of the vanguard ships. I still threw a glance at the red Zaku, though. What are you up to, Blitz?
************
My bazooka shells tore into the Magellan, making the vessel list. I fired another shell into the battleship, striking the main reactor. I smiled as the resulting detonation consumed the ship.
The blast was brighter than the sun, so much so that my helmet automatically dimmed the light coming in. A reflection, my reflection, stared back at me. The upper part of my face was covered by the mask I wore. Cold, emotionless. Like the stallion wearing it. If it weren’t for the smile that was spread so generously across my lower features, surrounded by dark grey fur.
As soon as it appeared, the bright sphere of light from the explosion of the battleship faded, taking my reflection with it.
I scanned for another target, and accelerated toward another Magellan. Landing on the deck, I fired the rest of my bazooka magazine into the beam turret behind my Zaku. The twin HEAA shells made easy work of the armored structure, destroying it.
Reloading my bazooka, I dodged out of the way of the four missiles that the battleship had fired, snarling softly.
The second dorsal turret, mounted above and sternward of the quad-missile launcher, took three shells before detonating.
I landed where the turret I had just destroyed had been mounted. Drawing a Sturm Faust, I smiled. “Time to be the second kill for me, battleship.”
I fired the Sturm Faust at an angle, intending to create a hole large enough for a bazooka shell or two. The jet of superheated gas, burning a hole into the vessel, stopping just before the battleship’s main reactor. I snorted, then put a shell into the exposed main reactor. “Two for mee…”
************
“Hey, Braeburn,” Wensley’s voice crackled, “you see that? Blitz just took out his fourth Magellan!”
“Yeah,” I replied, “but it doesn’t matter.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Caramel’s voice had cut in, drawing a sigh from me.
“We’re going to capture General Silverstar, remember?”
“Oh,” Caramel said, “right.”
“And that’s his fifth…… Okay, how good is that stallion?”
I chuckled slightly, “He’s a veritable ‘Red Comet’.”
“Yeah, Ah’m with you on that.”
Caramel’s Zaku’s Anti-Ship Rifle fired, taking out a Salamis. “That’s all of them,” he said.
On cue, the Ananke, General Silverstar’s flagship, and two Salamis-class cruiser escorts entered the battlezone. “Caramel, Wensley,” I barked, “deal with the two cruisers! Ah’ll take the Ananke!”
“Right, boss!”
“Affirmative.”
The two charged the cruisers while I rushed the Ananke. “Ah’m comin’ for ya, General. You won’t beat us this time!”
I positioned my Zaku behind the battleship and fired a salvo of shells into its engines. As expected, the battleship stopped. Well, stopped relative to me, anyway.
I needed to cripple the vessel, and get General Silverstar to abandon it. Fire from its portside anti-aircraft machine gun turrets drew my attention to them. Smiling, I realized that the ammo feeds linked to each turret could be used to cause damage to the vessel. Targeting the turrets, I let loose a shell for each of them. An alert popped up on the lower left of my helmet’s hud. “Well, looks like Ah’m out of ammo. Won’t make a difference.”
Returning my bazooka to its weapons rack, I drew my heat hawk. Flying up to the destroyed turrets, I grabbed one of them and tore the wreckage away. The ammo feed, now useless to the Ananke, lay exposed to my view. I shook my head. Swinging up my heat hawk, I smiled. I slammed the superheated blade into the feed. Most of the metal in the feed just melted. Oh right. That actually doesn’t work in space.
“Hey, Caramel,” I said, with an embarrassed tone to my voice, “could you take cripple the Ananke? Ah’m, uh, out of ammo. Aheh.”
Caramel laughed, replying, “Sure thing, just let me get a clear shot… There.”
A glowing tracer round tore through the battleship. I smiled. General Silverstar would leave the battleship, very soon. And then, he’d be ours.
The lieutenant, Stahl Licht’s helmsman, replied, “About three hundred fifty kilometers and closing, ma’am.”
I nodded, brushing a purple strand of hair up into its spot in my curled hair. “Maintain current heading and speed,” I commanded, “anything from the forward scouts?”
The operator nodded his head. “No enemy contact yet.”
“Good.”
“Colonel,” the communications officer said, “the Lieutenant General is hailing from orbit.”
“Put her through.”
The screen crackled, then a blonde, orange earth pony mare appeared on the screen. “Ah,” I smiled, “greetings, Applejack.”
The mare rolled her green eyes. “Good to see you, too, Rarity. How goes the operation?”
“No problems. Minor skirmishes with Federal Forces, nothing major yet.”
Applejack nodded. “And Odessa?”
“We’re just under three hundred fifty kilometers out.”
“Good. Ah want that city. Takin’ its mining facilities will hamper the Federation’s means of production.”
“You shall have it,” I nodded, “you have my word.”
“Colonel,” Applejack said, “do not fail me.”
“Of course. I will contact you when Odessa is ours.”
“Ya do that.”
The transmission ended.
I stood. Nodding to my second-in-command, I said, “Moondancer, you’ve got the bridge.”
She nodded. “You’ve got no need to worry about the mission, ma’am. I’ll see to it that we’ll continue the advance.”
Leaving the bridge behind me, I headed to my quarters.
************
Twelve hours later…
Federal Forces Outpost, One Hundred Kilometers from Odessa
“Lieutenant.”
I glanced up, “Yes?”
“The Major wants to see you.”
Sighing, I removed my helmet and adjusted my ballistic vest. “Right,” I said to the soldier, “thank you.”
As I walked toward the Major’s office, I realized how stupid it was to be wearing my tanker uniform with its sleeves rolled up. At least, to others it was stupid. Not that I cared.
What does the Major what me for? Is it about the Republic forces landing over four hundred kilometers out? How close are they?
Running my nose into the door to the Major’s office, I snapped my attention back to the real world. “Ow. I need to stop doing that.”
I knocked on the door. “Yes? Come in!”
Pushing the door open, I entered the office.
The Major turned his chair around to face me, having been looking out his office window. I saluted. “Second Lieutenant Sunset Shimmer reporting as ordered, sir!”
He waved a hand, and I dropped my hand. “I’m glad that you responded so quickly, Lieutenant Shimmer.”
“Just following orders, sir.”
He nodded and smiled. “Of course you are, Lieutenant.”
The Major opened his mouth to speak, but a Federation soldier burst into the office. “Sir! Republic mobile suits have been spotted five kilometers out!”
I paled. “Lieutenant,” the Major said, “go. Fight. Then, come find me.”
I nodded. “Yessir.”
************
“Colonel, are you sure you want to be leading this attack yourself?”
“Yes, Moondancer,” I replied, “I am sure. I have committed myself to this battle. I can not fall back now!”
Moondancer did not reply, likely shaking her head and mumbling to herself about me.
I smiled. My mobile suit, a MS-06S Zaku II Command Type, was optimized for ground combat. It was far, far superior to anything the Federation could field.
Cannon shells glancing off of my Zaku’s knuckle shield alerted me to a M61 tank aiming at me. “Hah! You think that you can take me on? You stand no chance!”
I aimed at the tank. Noticing my sudden movement, the tank began reversing. It caught a pair of 120mm shells, tearing it apart. I chuckled softly. “And thus we see the superiority of Mobile Suits over any other ground units.
“Alright, where’s my next target?”
“There are some Guntanks hampering our advance on the right flank, Colonel. They need to be destroyed.”
“Roger that,” I responded, “thanks, Moondancer.”
************
“Lieutenant! You’ve got another Zeke approaching your position! It appears to be different from the others!”
“Right, thanks, sergeant,” I replied. “Hey, Starlight, we’ve got another Zeke incoming. Bring us around.”
“You got it, Sunny. Just make sure to hit the damn thing. I don’t want to die.”
“Yeah, me neither. Stop calling me that.”
Our Guntank began turning beneath me. I was our Guntank’s gunner, and Starlight was the driver. We were a great team. Slapping my head, I began turning the upper torso of our Guntank to target the incoming Zeke. Starlight stopped turning the lower section of the tank. I spotted the Zeke, running at us, light glinting off its silver painted armor.
The lock-on reticle appearing on my HUD centered on the Zeke, and began shrinking. That Zeke looks different from the others, I thought, why’re they running straight at us?
The reticle shrunk to size of the artillery crosshair. The combined reticle turned bright red, and two words appeared under it.
TARGET LOCKED
I pressed the triggers on my fire control sticks, a vicious smile forming on my face. A pair of 180mm shells erupted from the twin shoulder mounted cannons of our Guntank, tearing through the air toward the silver Zeke.
Midway through the shells’ flight, the realization struck me. The Zeke ignited its foot and back thrusters, shoving it right. The Zeke landed, skidding along the ground, came to a stop, and rushed our Guntank. “Starlight,” I shouted, “this Zeke’s an ace!”
“WHAT?! Oh hell!”
“Reverse! Reverse!”
“I know! I know!”
Sixty tons of Guntank lurched backwards as Starlight threw the mobile suit into full reverse. The loud series of clangs announcing that the autoloaders for the main cannons had completed their reloads snapped me out of my panic. I fired the main cannons, not aiming out of desperation. The shells missed, and the Zeke’s counter fire, a twenty-five shell burst of 120mm AP shells, made its way up the front of our Guntank, one of the shells taking half of the left main cannon’s barrel with it, as another punched through a weak spot and jammed the right main cannon’s autoloader. “Left cannon’s useless! Right cannon’s jammed!”
I heard Starlight swear loudly, cursing the maintenance crews for a lousy maintenance of the autoloaders.
The quad-barreled Bop Missile Launchers, mounted one per arm, began firing, intent on driving the Zeke back. The Zeke, in response, had thrown up an arm with a shield mounted to it once the first missiles began impacting its armor.
After two minutes, the missile fire stopped, smoke rising from the launchers. I asked, “Did we get it?”
My response was the Zeke driving an axe with a superheated blade into the shoulder of our Guntank.
It pulled the blade out of its impact wound, and readied another strike. A scared whimper escaped my lips, and tears began streaming down my face. “No,” I whimpered, “no, please. Please.”
The axe slammed down into my cockpit, and my world went black.
************
I opened my eyes, slowly, blinking multiple times to adjust to the bright lights of the room I was in. “About time you woke up,” a voice said, “I was starting to think that you’d slipped into a coma.”
I sat up, and looked around. I was in a medical room. Starlight sat on a stool staring at me. “Where am I?”
“Paris. It’s been about two weeks since Odessa. How do you feel?”
“Tired,” I replied, “really tired.”
I folded my arms across my chest, intending to make a snarky remark. Well, my right arm, anyway. Realizing that my left arm hadn’t moved, I looked at it. In place of an arm covered with light amber fur attached to my shoulder, white bandages were wrapped around my shoulder. I stared at the bandages in shock. “When did this-?”
“Happen? That silver Zeke did that. You’re lucky that your arm’s the only thing you lost. Some of the doctors have suggested that we fit you with automail to replace it. I wanted to talk to you about it.”
I frowned, but said, “Do it.”
“What? Just like that? Why?”
“I still want to serve the Federation, Star. If I have to have automail fitted to me to do so, then I’m okay with it.”
Starlight nodded. “Alright, I’ll tell the docs that.”
Terra, outskirts of an Equestrian Federation airbase
I frowned. Glancing down at my pilot’s console, I tapped my finger against it. Today was my first day as an official Mobile Suit Pilot. Heh, I thought, kinda funny. I’m a Lieutenant Junior Grade, and this is my first battle.
The team, as in Master Chief Petty Officer Lucky Clover and I, had been “selected” to run a spec-ops mission prior to the first drop of Republic troops on Terra.
“Reactor,” I murmured to myself, flipping a few switches, “online.”
“Sensors… online.”
“Mono-eye… online.”
“Black box and mission recorder… online.”
My MS-06F Zaku II, the latest Zaku II designed for space combat, rose from its kneeling position. “Hey, kid.”
Lucky’s voice crackled over my radio, slightly distorting due to the nine-percent Minovsky Particle density. “You ready?”
I snorted, shaking my head. “Yes. I am.”
“Good.”
His MS-05B Zaku I came into view in front of me. He hefted up the suppressed ZMP-47D that his suit had been issued. “Can’t believe that they actually fitted a suppressor to these things and gave me one.”
He preferred the H&L-SB21K Bazooka over a ZMP. I nodded in understanding, then hefted up my ZMP-50D, also suppressed. “I’ve got more spare ammo than you, ‘cause I didn’t bring a bazooka.”
“Yeah. True. But I’ll be able to take out any land battleships that show themselves.”
“Yep.”
I pointed toward the airbase. “Let’s go. The Lieutenant General wants this place under our control by the time she brings in the cavalry.”
He walked off, heading for his objective. This was a “stealth” mission. Yeah, no. Mobile Suits are far from stealthy. You’d have to be deaf and blind to not hear one of these things coming. I began walking, toward the airbase itself.
Taking care to not knock over any trees, I scanned around. Nothing on thermal.
Wait.
A M61 tank sat three meters from my Zaku’s foot. I looked at it. No heat radiating from the engine. Smiling, I brought the massive metal foot of my Zaku down upon the M61, crushing it. “Caught them napping,” I reported to Lucky, “they’re idiots.”
“Yeah,” Lucky responded, “I agree with you.”
I advanced, keeping an eye out for any dormant M61s, crushing the ones I found. A rippling detonation off in the distance drew my attention. The airbase’s fuel depot had been hit. By something big. Lucky snarled, “Dammit!”
“What?”
“There’s a land battleship,” Lucky reported, “Big Tray-class, it spotted me.”
“They know we’re here now.”
“Yeah. Get ready for a fight, and I’m ditching this ZMP!”
“Very well! Engaging!”
Removing the suppressor on my ZMP, I fired a burst at the guard tower closest to me, shredding the structure. “Lucky, get as close as you can to that Big Tray.”
“Why? Do you want me to die?”
“No. You’re the one with artillery markers.”
“Oh. Oh! Right! Got it!”
I laughed. For a veteran pilot, Lucky sure acted dense sometimes.
Shells glanced off of my suit, drawing my attention to a previously dormant M61. It retreated as fast as it could, firing its twin cannons at me. Dodging its shots, I aimed at the tank. Haphazardly firing a burst of four rounds, I advanced on the tank. I could only imagine the sheer terror that a Zaku instilled in the Federal Ground Forces.
I put a pair of rounds into the topside of the tank, ripping it apart from the inside as its ammunition load detonated. I smiled. “Hey, Lucky,” I quipped, “planted the markers yet?”
“No,” his response was immediate, “I’d have to throw them. I’ll get nailed if I get close.”
I frowned. “Alright,” I commanded, “find cover and wait for me there. We’ll find a way to deal with it.”
“Right.”
Running down the tree maze, I scanned for any other M61s. If they got a shot into the thinner rear armor of my Zaku, I’d be done for. There weren’t any that I saw, at least not any near me.
In my way there was a standard chain-link fence barring my way into the airbase. If I were on foot, this would have been a problem. Not so for my nearly sixty ton death mech.
I simply moved the control sticks forward, and the fence was crushed beneath the armored feet of my mobile suit.
************
Directing my MS-05B Zaku I to hide behind a hangar, I scanned around for the Lieutenant. The air traffic control tower, a tower extending from the top of a building. Four explosions appeared on the tower’s exterior. After six minutes, the cause of the explosions came into my field of view. A pea green MS-06F Zaku II, with a dark olive torso, and a commander’s spike antenna coming off its head, turned its pink mono-eye toward my suit. “Ah,” The Lieutenant said, “there you are.”
“Hey, sir.”
“You find that Big Tray?”
“Yeah,” I responded, “it’s sitting on the end of the runway over there.”
“I see.”
The Lieutenant fell silent, thinking about what to do.
“Alright,” he said, finally, “a Big Tray has a trio of triple-barreled secondary gun turrets to support the main cannon, which has a fixed-forward firing arc.
“If we destroy the turret that’s closest to us, that will leave that side undefended and allow us to cripple the warship.”
“Think that’ll work?”
“I’m not sure,” The Lieutenant replied, “but it’s the only chance we got. There won’t be any flights leaving the airbase, but the Commander wants that Big Tray destroyed or crippled, as he hopes that doing so will show the worth of the Midnight Fenrir Corps.”
I smiled, slyly, and said, “Commander Blade wants to impress the Lieutenant General? Ambitious.”
“Yeah. Yeah. I know. I don’t much care for politics in the upper echelons, so let’s get going.”
“Yep.”
The Lieutenant’s Zaku II pointed toward the edge of the hangar. “We’ll go around the edge of the hangar, and attack that turret.”
Letting The Lieutenant take the lead, I went around the corner of the hangar. The Big Tray, painted tan and gray-green in a crude attempt at camouflage, was unaware of us. “Alright. Now!”
The Lieutenant’s ZMP let loose bursts of five rounds with a pause between them. Aiming my bazooka, I frowned. “Lieutenant, conserve your ammo. Let me destroy the turret. You take the bridge.”
“Aye!”
Emptying the entirety of my bazooka’s magazine into the turret, I noticed The Lieutenant holster his ZMP on the hip armor of his Zaku, and draw his heat hawk. Once the turret was torn apart by the rockets, The Lieutenant rushed the land battleship, heat hawk blade glowing red-hot. Igniting his suit’s thrusters, The Lieutenant leapt at the bridge of the land battleship. He yelled, driving the heat hawk into the bridge, “For the New Lunar Republic!”
I merely shook my head, and reloaded my bazooka.
************
5 hours later…
An orange earth pony mare walked toward the soldiers assembled around a table in the mess hall.
As she came nearer to the assembled soldiers, she heard one of them, likely one of the Midnight Fenrir say, “And that’s when Lieutenant Breeze leapt at the Big Tray, and slashed his Zaku’s heat hawk into the bridge, yelling ‘For the New Lunar Republic!’”
“What did you do, Chief?”
“I shook my head and reloaded my bazooka,” the pilot replied, “I’d have just shot it. Lieutenant Breeze here has enough ham to cover for both of us, when he wants to be hammy, anyway.”
“Shut up! You’re hammy, too!”
“Not as much as you are, sir.”
“I am not that- Lieutenant General Applejack!”
Breeze snapped to attention, bringing his hand up into a salute. Applejack proceeded to laugh, amused by the pegasus’ reaction. “At ease, Lieutenant. You don’t need ta salute me if we’re in the mess hall.”
“Of course!”
Breeze dropped his arm to his side. He asked, “So why are you here, ma’am?”
“Ah just wanna congratulate the soldiers under mah command that allowed us ta capture this airbase.”
“Oh! Thank you!”
Breeze’s blue eyes shone with pride. A do-rag covered his pink hair, presumably to prevent the “helmet hair” that mobile suit pilots ended up sporting after battle. Other than the scar on his left cheek, there was nothing of note about his dark green fur.
“Well,” the other pilot, Master Chief Petty Officer Luck Clover, if Applejack remembered correctly, said, “thanks, I guess. I just wish we had more mobile suits for this mission. Probably would’ve been easier.”
“You know,” another voice, tired and in pain, mused, smugly, “this was to prove the worth of our unit to the Lieutenant General. I knew you could do it with a full six mobile suit force. I sent out only you two because I knew you two could do it.”
Clover stood, and saluted. “Commander Blade, sir!”
The white unicorn smiled, waving his left arm in a dismissive manner. Clover dropped his arm to his side.
Applejack looked at the unicorn, raising an eyebrow.
His left arm, hidden by his uniform sleeve and glove, had been replaced by an automail prosthesis. Similarly, both of his legs from upper shin down had also been replaced by automail. The only visible prosthesis was his right eye, which seemed tired somehow. His horn, marred by deep gouges from his injuries, shined slightly in the light. “Commander,” Applejack said, “how are you walking? Ah thought the recovery time was six months at the least.”
Blade chuckled lightly. “Can’t keep me down.”
Clover agreed, “Indeed!”
Applejack cleared her throat. “Anyway, we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us. Y’all go get some rest.”
Mars Orbit, Side 7 space, New Lunar Republic, Musai-class light cruiser, Falmel
“It’s funny,” Ardent Blitz mused, “that we missed a Federation outpost in our own space.”
“Well,” a voice behind him replied, “that’s what happens when you forget to do reconnaissance of your space.”
Blitz sighed. “Hello, Blast.”
Blitz turned around to look at the pony, a unicorn. His brooding seafoam green eyes reflected a dark, troubled past. Surrounding these eyes was ice blue fur. His deep blue hair, styled like crystals, had a pair of strands sticking out in front of his face that resembled insectoid antennae.
Blitz raised a hand to cover his mouth, laughing very softly. Blast frowned and asked, “It’s my ‘antennae’ isn’t it?”
Blitz nodded. Blast shook his head, sighing.
“Anyway,” Blitz began, turning back toward the large window looking out into space, “I’ve sent Squads Denim and Ash to investigate this outpost.”
“Think they’ll find anything?”
“They might,” a second voice said, “if they look carefully.”
Blitz turned, again.
The only crystal pony, to Blitz’s knowledge, serving in the New Lunar Republic Military, Sanguine Quartz, was staring at him. Confused, the crystal pony asked, “What?”
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
“Alright. I’ll be on the bridge. You know, fulfilling my duties.”
With that, the crystal pony left.
***
Sanguine Quartz sat at his console, staring at his automail arm, pondering how the prosthetic’s maker had been able to get it to shine like the coat of his kind. “You know, Blast,” he remarked, “you don’t need to shadow me. You are my superior.”
He turned his to look at the unicorn. Those brooding eyes staring at him held a quizzical look. “How are our guys doing?”
Quartz shrugged. “Doing good, I guess. It’s too early to tell.”
He turned back to his console, put his headset on, and stated, watching one of the monitors, “Gladius, the feed from your mono-eye is getting interference.”
In response, the pilot brought one of his Zaku’s hands up and tapped the mobile suit’s head. The feed cleared up almost immediately. “Good. The feed’s all clear now.”
“Now,” Quartz mused, talking to no one in particular, “we wait.”
************
Federation “Outpost”, Side 7 space
Ninety minutes later…
“Scootaloo!” A young mare’s voice called out, “Scootaloo! I’ve brought you dinner!”
“I’m coming!”
Sweetie Belle sighed. Entering her friend’s dining room, she sat in an empty chair.
Scootaloo entered the room, wearing a jacket that reached down to her knees. One of her dad’s. Probably. Sweetie Belle sighed, shaking her head at the sight of Scootaloo, who was less concerned with her appearance than Sweetie Belle was. “Sweetie Belle! Sweetie Belle!”
A robotic voice chirped Sweetie Belle’s name. “Hi, Haro.”
The little green robot hovered into the unicorn’s lap. In response, Sweetie Belle began rubbing Haro. The robot began purring, pleased. “Whatcha bring?”
“Spaghetti with meatballs,” Sweetie Belle replied, “Mom made it.”
“Sounds good,” Scootaloo said, smiling, and sitting down on a chair.
The pegasus began eating the spaghetti on the plate that Sweetie Belle had prepared for her. The voraciousness of the pegasus mare surprised Sweetie Belle, as Scootaloo was never one for heavy eating. “When was the last time you ate?”
Scootaloo looked up at her friend. “This morning,” she replied, “why?”
Sweetie Belle shook her head, rolling her eyes. “Nevermind,” she said, dismissively, “not that it matters now.”
“Okay,” the pegasus said, “okay.”
Scootaloo shook her head, putting a hand to her left temple.
Sweetie Belle cocked her head to the side and asked, “You alright, Scoots?”
“Yeah, yeah,” the pegasus replied, waving a hand dismissively, “but I’ve got this feeling that something bad’s gonna happen. Something really bad.”
Sweetie Belle frowned. “I guess I’ll be going now. See ya later.”
“See ya!”
************
Six Zakus entered through an access hatch in the Federation station. Denim frowned, wondering how the Federation had got a station of this size here. “Alright. Gladius,” he said, “stay here. If this mission takes a bad turn, get out of here and put a mayday out to Lieutenant Commander Blitz on the ship.”
Gladius’ Zaku nodded. “Gem,” Denim continued, “you’re with me.”
“Ash Squad, scout the left!”
“Yes sir,” Ash reported.
“Master Sergeant!”
“What?!”
“If we happen to encounter the thing, should we destroy it?”
“Negative! This mission is recon only.” Denim responded, “Right now, the Lieutenant Commander wants information, not action.”
Denim racked the charging handle on his Zaku’s hyper rifle and barked, “Move out, Gem!”
Pulling the blast door in front of the squad open, five Zakus hopped down into a large chamber. The environment inside the chamber was a rocky area, with metal structures that looked as if they’d been hit repeated by vulcan fire. A single observation tower rose out of the center of the chamber, overlooking the entire area.
“Ricochet-proof walls,” Denim observed, “observation tower. Just what is this station?”
“Master Sergeant!”
Denim headed to the left, toward Gem’s Zaku. The mobile suit was crouching next to a fallen mobile suit. “It’s an old model mobile suit,” Ash reported.
Denim frowned, the fallen mobile suit was a Federation Guncannon-type unit. “Looks like it was destroyed by some kind of heat-ray weapon. Get some pictures of the impact plane.”
He looked over to the right. “There’s more,” Denim said.
Gem looked in the same direction. “That’s a Federation Guntank. I think.”
Denim scoffed. “It must have been used as a mock target.”
He gestured, sweeping his Zaku’s arms wide, continuing. “Look at all this… It’s like a graveyard for old mobile suits.”
He looked at the downed Guntank, and noticed one of its cannon’s barrel. “It’s been shorn off by an intense heat ray…”
This one, too…
“Gem,” Denim inquired, “do we have any mobile suit portable beam weapons with this level of firepower?”
“Negative, sir.”
“So,” Denim mused, “this is the Federation’s new armament.”
A terrified shriek came over the radio. It was Ash.
“What is it, Ash?!”
“Sir! Enemy sighted!!!”
***
Ash saw multiple flashes appear. Seconds later, tracer rounds slammed into the ground around the trio of Zakus, detonating and throwing up rock debris.
“They’re firing vulcans! We’re going to engage!”
“On the way,” Master Sergeant Denim said, “Sergeant Ash!”
Ash’s squad returned fire with their hyper rifles, the 140mm HEAT rounds exploding on and around the hostile. After ninety seconds, the trio stopped firing.
“Did we get ‘em?!”
“Sergeant Ash!!”
Ash zoomed in with her Zaku’s mono-eye on the hostile’s location. She gasped, “What the?!”
A realization dawned on the mare. Her eyes widened. “Master Sergeant! Master Sergeant!”
Her breathing began to quicken. “My hyper rifle didn’t do a thing!! It’s coming! The bogey’s coming this way!”
The hostile emerged from the smoke cloud, smoke coming off its large shield. “It’s the Federation Forces’ new mobile suit!!”
The Zaku trio opened fire again.
The Federation mobile suit brought up its shield in a half-hearted attempt to block the incoming fire. Not that it mattered. The rounds were doing very little to its armor.
On the right side of its torso, Ash noticed two letters followed by four numbers.
RX-78-01
The designation number stood out on it’s yellow body.
The mobile suit continued advancing.
The Master Sergeant’s voice barked over the radio, “What’s coming?! Sergeant Ash, respond! Say it again! COME IN!!”
A cannon on the yellow mobile suit’s shoulder swung down into an aiming position. The cannon fired.
The shell landed between Ash’s Zaku and one of her subordinates. Ash snarled, “New armament, my ass!”
She began firing at the mobile suit.
Realizing that the shell missed, the yellow mobile suit swung up its right arm. In its hand was an unidentified rifle-type weapon. The mobile suit pulled the weapon’s trigger, and a purple beam lanced out and tore the head off of Ash’s Zaku.
The energy imparted from the impact staggered the Zaku. Ash glanced at her pilot’s console, noticing that the hit had also disabled the I-Field surrounding her mobile suit’s reactor. Sighing, the sergeant closed her eyes.
Five seconds later, the Zaku’s reactor tore it apart as the core detonated.
The pilot of the yellow mobile suit grimaced. “Two more to go,” he said grimly.
“Lieutenant Wisp! Do you copy?”
“I copy, Control!” Wisp replied, “This is not a training exercise! Zakus have infiltrated the station!”
“Zakus?!”
“Yes! I’m about to eliminate them!”
One of the Zakus, having drawn a heat hawk, swung it down at the RX-78-01. Wisp brought the mobile suit’s shield up to block the blow. The Zaku grappled the RX-78-01 and brought its heat hawk down again, slicing the shoulder cannon’s barrel in half.
Wisp growled in anger. He noticed the other Zaku aiming its hyper rifle at his mobile suit. Bringing his beam rifle up to shoot the Zaku, Wisp realized that he and the RX-78-01 weren’t going to survive a double core detonation at point-blank range. He fired anyway.
************
“Well,” Quartz said, quietly to Blast, “we’re down three pilots.”
Blast frowned and sighed, murmuring something beneath his breath. “Well done,” Blitz said, “Corporal Gladius.”
The pegasus frowned. “So the Federal Forces do have a new mobile suit?”
“That will do, Gladius! Now return to ship! You’ll be debriefed later!”
“Color me surprised,” Blitz’s second-in-command mused, “to think that Denim couldn’t keep his squad in line…”
“Daisy,” Blitz commanded, “detach the ship and approach the station.”
“…To arms, sir?”
“The Federation’s violated the treaty,” Blitz replied, grimly, “and we will make them pay dearly for it.”
************
“Ah ha!”
Gem’s Zaku stepped through the opening it’d created in the side of the colonial sector of the station. “Master Sergeant,” Gem reported, smiling, “I’ve spotted the target! This time, it’s a white one!”
“GEM!!”
Denim’s Zaku emerged from the same opening. He snarled at his subordinate over the radio, “Gem, you bitch!!”
************
Scootaloo opened her eyes, still slightly dazed by the impact of the transport her father had been standing on.
Pushing herself up with her arms, she glanced around. All of the other ponies she’d been with were… She stood, wiping the edge of her mouth. Th-they’re dead…?
She looked up and froze. A pea green mobile suit stood seven meters away from her, firing on the Colonial Defense vehicles. She frowned, slightly. “So… So this is a Lunar Republic Zaku?!”
More of the vehicles exploded, and Scootaloo was knocked over by the shockwave. Falling onto her front, she heard a female voice call her name. “Scootaloooo!”
The orange pegasus raised her head and looked to her left. It was Sweetie Belle. She’d hopped over the safety rail where her family were gathered along with other civilians. Scootaloo couldn’t tell what her friend’s family were saying, but she guessed they were warning the unicorn to stay with them.
“Scootalooo! Are you okay?!”
A flash, erupting from behind Sweetie Belle, sent the unicorn tumbling through the air. She landed a couple of meters from Scootaloo.
Scootaloo stood. “Sweetie Belle!”
She ran over to the unicorn, calling her name.
Grabbing Sweetie Belle and pulling her up slightly, Scootaloo whimpered softly. Sweetie Belle’s pale green eyes looked up into the pegasus’ grayish purple. “There ya go,” Scootaloo said, “you okay?”
Sweetie Belle nodded. She looked over her shoulder, toward the refugee line. Where there had been six dozen ponies of various races, there was a smoking crater. Bodies of ponies lay where the shockwave from the blast had thrown them. “M-mom…”
Scootaloo shot a glance at the figure running away from the carnage. Good girl. Keep running.
She glanced down at her hands. Her palms and fingertips were blood-stained. Where had the blood come from? “Right… When a friend of yours falls to her hands and knees in a pool of blood, you can’t help but get some on you. I wonder how I look-”
An explosion drew her attention to the Zaku firing on the Colonial Defense forces that still remained. “Right. Musing later, action now.”
Bolting toward the mobile suit transport that had fallen off its rail, Scootaloo knew that the Zaku was eventually going to annihilate the Colonial Defense forces it was fighting. “I need to be in that mobile suit Dad was working on before then,” Scootaloo said, “after that, I’ll be able to destroy those Zakus.”
She smiled and happily stated, “This might actually be fun!”
Climbing onto the transport, Scootaloo noticed writing identifying its cargo. She read the writing out loud, to herself. “RX-78. Mobile Suit Gundam.”
“Gundam. So that’s what Dad and his team named it? I see.”
Walking up to the Gundam’s foot, Scootaloo stared at the mobile suit. “There should be an access panel somewhere here.”
Climbing onto the mobile suit’s right foot, the pegasus spotted the access panel immediately. Pulling it open, she saw a connector port for an adapter plug. “Awesome! Now, how do I-?”
Scootaloo glanced down at her left forearm. Her PIP-Boy 3000 Mark IV had an adapter plug on its underside. Scootaloo rolled her eyes and connected her PIP-Boy to the Gundam. A message appeared on the screen.
>ENTER PASSCODE
>4837291560
Behind Scootaloo, a hatch opened on the mobile suit’s torso. Scootaloo looked behind her and saw the open hatch. “Hey, hey! It opened!”
She climbed down off the foot and walked and climbed toward the open hatch. Scootaloo noticed that the Zaku was still engaging the Colonial Defense forces. Turning her attention back to the hatch, she climbed into cockpit of the Gundam.
************
With the vehicles that had been firing on her annihilated, Gem turned her attention to the white mobile suit. She radioed her commanding officer. “Master Sarge, I’m taking out this white one!”
************
“Gundam, begin start-up sequence!”
In response to Scootaloo’s command, the mobile suit began activating. “Oookay… Didn’t think that would actually work.”
She gripped the control sticks of the mobile suit. Pushing them forward, she smiled.
************
Gem took aim at the white mobile suit, but paused to consider where she could deal the most damage. She smiled. “Ha! Cute. So scary! Honestly, I’ll be doing the Federation a favor…”
“Hold it, Gem!”
Denim’s irritated bark made Gem sigh. “If that thing’s just a bunch of parts somewhat assembled on a carrier, don’t destroy it. Seize them and-”
“Master Sergeant! Those aren’t just parts! Someone’s in there! It-It’s moving!”
The white mobile suit’s head pivoted up to look at Gem’s mobile suit. Gem raised an eyebrow. A burst from the white mobile suit’s vulcans impacted against the armor of Gem’s Zaku. “So it’s a live one, eh?”
Getting a foot planted on the ground next to its carrier, the Federation mobile suit continued rising, snapping the cables that were tying it to the carrier. Intrigued by the mobile suit, Gem watched as her target rose to full height.
Standing tall, the white mobile suit shined slightly in the light.
************
“So,” Scootaloo said, excited by getting the Gundam to stand, “I got the vulcans to fire, what other weapons do I have?”
On the pilot’s console, Scootaloo noticed a readout, listing the Gundam’s hardwired weapon systems.
“Alright,” Scootaloo said, in a commanding tone, “switch weapon triggers to that of the machine cannons. They seem like the best for anti-mobile suit attacks.”
A confirmatory beep signaled the switch.
Scootaloo smiled, darkly.
************
“Careful, Gem!” Denim cautioned, “If it’s anything like the one that took out Ash’s team, it’ll shrug off hyper rifle bullets!”
“If vulcans are its only weapons,” Gem replied, sneering, “I’ll be able to bring it down, even with its nigh-invulnerability!”
The Gundam raised its arms and locked onto Gem’s Zaku. At Scootaloo’s press of the firing triggers, the Gundam’s arm-mounted machine cannons opened fire.
Gem’s eyes widened in fear as the first of the 85mm rounds began penetrating her Zaku’s armor. She called out to her commander, “Master Sergeant, I need-!”
Her transmission went dead as one of the rounds found its way into her cockpit and decapitated her.
Pilotless and riddled by 85mm rounds, Gem’s Zaku collapsed, releasing pink smoke from vents on its back.
Denim found himself gapping at the power of the Federal mobile suit. He growled and drew his Zaku’s heat hawk and ran at the Gundam.
“Gundam pilot, use a beam saber!”
Scootaloo gasped in surprise but did as the voice who signaled her over the radio said. Tilting her wings back and flapping them once, Scootaloo told the Gundam to leap backwards.
Denim watched as the Gundam leapt backwards, grabbing one of the cylindrical devices coming off of its backpack. A snap-hiss and a long, pink blade of plasma erupted from the cylinder.
Denim smiled, and laughed, “So, you’ll fight mobile suit? Very well! We fight!”
Scootaloo shifted into a defensive stance with the Gundam and blocked the strike of Denim’s Zaku’s heat hawk.
Both blades remained locked for five seconds before the heat hawk melted from the higher heat of the beam saber.
Denim’s eyes went wide from shock, but narrowed upon Denim remembering his first realization during his training. There’s always someone better than you at something.
He pulled out a picture. Four ponies were the subject of the picture. Denim, his wife, and his twin daughters. Pressing the picture to his helmet’s visor, Denim sighed, a single tear running down his cheek.
The earth pony grabbed a container from underneath his pilot’s chair. A simple aluminum bottle. He tucked the picture inside of it, along with his dog tags and butterfly knife. Closing the bottle, Denim sighed.
Scootaloo watched as the cockpit door of her opponent’s mobile suit opened and the pilot inside threw a small cylindrical object out of the cockpit.
The Gundam’s left hand came up and caught the object. Bringing the hand up to her cockpit hatch, Scootaloo opened the hatch. She moved far enough forward to grab the cylinder, an aluminum bottle. Sitting back in her seat, Scootaloo closed the hatch and placed her wings back inside their control binders.
The Gundam stood, and lunged at Denim’s Zaku.
************
“Lieutenant Commander! I just lost contact with Master Sergeant Denim! He’s gone!”
Daisy paused and looked over at Lieutenant Commander Blitz. The dark grey pegasus frowned. “To think,” he said to no one in particular, “that I lost almost two squads of Zakus in a single mission… I’m going to be in hot water with Admiral McIntosh.”
He sighed. “It’s not easy to admit to the folly of one’s youth…”
Federation Pegasus-class Assault Carrier, White Base
“That Musai’s firing on us!”
The Captain sighed. “Well, so much for the treaty. We’ve no choice but to engage.”
She rose from her chair and began heading for the bridge’s exit. “I’ll go. Bring out a gunboat.”
“Captain!! That’s unwise! We’re up against a cruiser!”
“We have to buy some time,” The Captain replied, “until the Gundam makes it aboard.”
“Lieutenant Junior Grade Bright!”
The unicorn stood at attention and responded, “Yes, ma’am!”
“Take the bridge until I return.”
Bright paled slightly and asked, “Me? Er… Me, ma’am?!”
“Yes. Your grades in command training were outstanding.”
“B-but ma’am…”
“Of course, I doubt the White Base will leave port under your command. Fear not.”
The Captain left the bridge, leaving Bright to have the bridge.
************
The gunboat launched from the White Base. Streaking out into space, The Captain cautioned those in the gunboat with her. “We’ll hit them once and pull back. We only need to draw their attention. Don’t try to take it down.”
On the bridge of the Falmel, one of the crew members reported, “Lieutenant, they’ve sent out something.”
Daisy replied, “Whatever it is, it’s not very big.”
She raised a pair of binoculars up to her eyes and looked at the craft. “A torpedo gunboat. Swat it.”
A swarm of interceptor missiles erupted from the Falmel, heading toward the gunboat.
“Dammit!!”
Babs Seed grunted as the shockwaves from the detonating interceptors impacted the gunboat.
“The first vessel I ever captained was a torpedo gunboat,” The Captain said, matter-of-factly.
“Take this!”
Babs Seed fired a salvo of torpedoes at the Musai’s underside.
The torpedoes stitched a line across the Musai’s underside. As the gunboat streaked past the explosions, Babs Seed looked back at The Captain and asked, “That hurt ‘em, yes?!”
“No,” The Captain replied, “it looks like the angle was too shallow.”
Babs Seed tsked in response.
Coming back around for another pass, The Captain saw that the Musai’s bridge would be on their course. She commanded, “Fire everything we’ve got at their bridge!!”
Babs Seed nodded.
The gunboat’s remaining torpedoes stitched a line up the Musai’s hull to the bridge, where several detonated.
Fire from the Musai’s rear point-defense turrets lanced out at the gunboat. The gunboat shifted as the fire hit. The gunboat’s pilot called out, “The left engine’s hit!”
Babs Seed threw a glance into the direction of the engine. “Back then,” The Captain said, “the boats weren’t nearly as agile…”
She coughed, blood splattering onto her visor. Babs Seed cried out, “Captain!!”
The Captain waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. The boat can still fly. We have to give the White Base more time…”
Babs Seed shook her head. “We don’t have any more torpedoes! We have to get back to the ship! Ma’am! Please hang on!”
************
In the White Base’s gunboat hangar, there was a flurry of activity around the crashed gunboat. A pair of medical personnel rushed over to the gunboat, carrying a stretcher. “We need a blood transfusion ready in the med-bay!”
Laying on the stretcher, The Captain looked up at Babs Seed and said, “Thank you, sergeant. What… was your name again?”
Babs Seed saluted and replied, “Ma’am! Babs Seed, ma’am!!”
The Captain looked away, and smiled. “Take care of the rest. The refugees… and the Gundam…”
“Aye aye, captain!!”
************
The Gundam approached the elevator. The personnel on the ground noticed and one of them radioed the White Base, “Come in, White Base! This is elevator site! The Gundam made it here, walking by itself! We’ll collect it ASAP!”
“So, we load it from the stern deck, then?!”
“Yeah!”
************
“That’s a relief,” The Captain sighed, “so the pilot made it… Who’s piloting 02?”
Bright replied, “It should be Lieutenant Junior Grade Wild Fire.”
The Captain nodded. “Contact her.”
The viewscreen activated, and was filled with static for a few seconds, then the picture resolved itself, showing a young orange mare. Bright blinked. The Captain asked, “What is it?”
“Ma’am, it… it’s a kid… Ma’am, there’s a kid in the Gundam’s cockpit!”
“I’m not a kid!” The mare snapped, “I’m fifteen years old! My name is Scootaloo Windchill!”
Bright, rather flustered, questioned, “Where’s Lieutenant Junior Grade Fire? And what are you doing in there?!”
“I don’t know anything about the designated pilot!” Scootaloo replied, “But I’ve been piloting it and took out two Zakus! Don’t like that?!”
Bright froze, looking moderately pale. He looked at a pair of officers near him. They, too, were pale.
“Lieutenant Junior Grade Bright,” The Captain said, “worry about the details later… Just get the Gundam aboard.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Scootaloo!!”
Sweetie Belle looked relieved to see Scootaloo. A light gray pegasus had entered the bridge with Sweetie Belle, as well. He was holding a medical kit. He appeared to be one of the colony’s volunteer medical personnel.
“Sweetie Belle!” Scootaloo said, happily, “You made it to the ship!”
“Scootaloo! What’s with that getup? Where are you?!”
The light gray pegasus asked, “The Gundam pilot is another friend of yours?”
“Wha-?! Er, yes,” Sweetie Belle replied, “she’s a neighbor… Wait… Gundam pilot?!”
“All right! We’ll hear you out later, Scootaloo!” Bright commanded, “We’ll get the Gundam into the hangar via the stern deck! Follow the instructions of the crew there!”
“Yes, sir!” Scootaloo responded, “Oh… And what’s your name? The unicorn who just gave me orders.”
Bright snorted, and responded, “This is Lieutenant Junior Grade Bright Bulb!”
“Yes, sir, Lieutenant Junior Grade Bright Bulb!”
The viewscreen deactivated. Bright sighed. “Uh,” one of the crew members, the one sitting at the helmsman’s station, said, getting Bright’s attention, “Lieutenant Junior Grade Bright…”
“Yes?”
“There’s something wrong with the controls,” the crew member said, “I can’t control the ship.”
“What do you mean you can’t? Aren’t you the helmsman?!”
“I’m just auxiliary staff… The regular helmsman was caught in the dock explosion. And this ship is a new model, so the simulations weren’t really…”
“Alright,” Bright said, “I get it.”
“Lieutenant.”
Bright turned to look at the voice’s owner. A pale, light green pegasus mare stood a few feet from the bridge’s entrance. “I’ve got a license to helm a space cruiser,” she said. “Could I be of service?”
Bright inquired, “And you are?”
“My name is Merry May, sir.”
“Ah,” The Captain said, “of the May Family!”
“It’s been awhile, Captain Cipher. My father was looking forward to seeing you… But on the way to a shelter…”
“I see,” Cipher replied, “We’ve lost a great pony. Lieutenant Junior Grade Bright, Miss May might be young, but it’s not like the Federal Forces haven’t had outstanding female officers.”
She pointed at herself, smiling. “Let her take the helm.”
Bright saluted, “Yes, Captain!”
“Thank you for your confidence, Captain,” Merry said, “I’ll do my best to live up to it.”
“Then we fight to avenge your father.”
Bright facepalmed, murmuring derisively under his breath.
Bright, now sitting in the Captain’s Chair, nodded, “What’s it like in the colony now?”
“Oxygen concentration has dipped below 20 percent. It’s a lost cause.”
“But the bay is functional?!”
“Yessir! We have permission to launch!”
Bright closed the comms-link. He looked up at the operators behind him. “Operator! Where is our bogey?”
Both operators reported. “The Musai is at 14 degrees past 3 o’clock, sir!”
“Twenty kilometers away!”
Bright nodded. “Alright. Our helmsman is new to this. Supply directions with plenty of time!”
He opened a comms-link to the entire ship. “Check the airlocks on every block! We are exiting the docking bay!”
Closing the comms-link, Bright sighed. We don’t have much of a choice if it’s come down to this…
************
“The enemy’s launched.”
“Do you copy,” Blitz inquired, “Daisy?”
“Yes,” the lieutenant replied, “I copy.”
“Equip my Zaku, Gladius’, and Lieutenant Blast’s R-2 with Type 1 Gear and prepare to launch us along the laser line.”
“Yes, sir!” Daisy paused, and then she asked, “So-- you’re going to deploy, sir?!”
“Yes,” Blitz replied, “and I imagine they will as well. If not, it won’t be much of a fight. I’ve given them plenty of time… I’m not usually so patient.”
“Bearings set! Open the hatch! Prepare to launch Zaku units!”
Blitz smiled, slightly.
************
Scootaloo watched with interest as the various maintenance personnel worked on the Gundam.
“Vernier test, green!” The launch officer announced, “Equipment load complete! Pilot! Board the unit, now!”
Scootaloo climbed into the Gundam’s cockpit. Two maintenance personnel came over to the open hatch. “Make sure that you don’t overheat the gatling vulcans. If you burn the barrels out, it’ll take twelve hours for us to swap them out with new ones,” the one on the left said.
The one on the right picked up the slack. “The shoulder magnums have a limited amount of ammo, so use them carefully! Any questions about the beam rifle?”
***
Merry, from her station, called out, “Gate sensor all clear 360 degrees! Exiting bay!”
“Gundam pilot Scootaloo, come in!” Bright barked, “Are you on standby?”
Scootaloo nodded, and responded, “Yes, sir! I’m strapped in!”
“You’ll be launched thirty seconds after we exit the bay. Stay within a ten kilometer radius and defend the ship!”
Sweetie Belle blinked, and looked at Bright, a look of worry on her face.
Bright continued, “At this time, the White Base’s firepower is slightly less than a Musai’s. Even with our better shields, that Musai will overcome us. Understand?”
“Yes,” Scootaloo responded, “I understand.”
Bright nodded, smiling. The light grey pegasus strode from Captain Cipher’s bedside. Bright, Sweetie Belle, and Merry watched him stride over to the communications officer’s station. “Lieutenant Junior Grade Bright! The communication officer’s station is empty, isn’t it?”
Bright nodded. The pegasus sat in the communication officer’s chair. He picked up the headset and put it on. “I’ll take care of comms with the Gundam, so please concentrate on running the ship, sir.”
Bright, surprised, nodded.
“Scootaloo, you got the rundown on your equipment, yes?”
“Yep!”
“Just remember to make your beam shots count. You don’t have as many as you’d probably like.”
“Yep! I’ll keep that in mind!”
Bright sighed, then sat straight in his seat. “ALL ANTI-AIR BLOCKS,” he commanded, “GEAR UP FOR INTERDICTION! RAISE SHIELDS IN THIRTY SECONDS AND RELEASE MINOVSKY PARTICLES AT BATTLE DENSITY!”
***
“Cargo hatch open! Catapult ready!”
Scootaloo gritted her teeth.
“Ten seconds to launch! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five!”
Scootaloo braced herself.
“Four! Three! Ignite Catapult!”
The catapult launched forward, and Scootaloo found herself pressed into her seat by the g-force. After a few seconds, she felt the g-forces stop, and she released a breath she hadn’t known she was holding.
***
One of the operators called out, “Gundam out! High-heat sources approaching!”
The other one called out, “Large missiles from the Musai! Evasive action, twenty degrees left, eight degrees down!”
Bright glanced at Merry, and barked, “Merry!!”
The pegasus nodded, and began manipulating the controls on her console. Bright facepalmed, a worried expression crossing his face. He knew that the White Base wasn’t going to dodge the missiles. They would punch through the shields and deal heavy damage to their impact points.
“Copied that!”
Bright looked up. Scootaloo had said that. “I can shoot down the missiles, right? Let me try!”
Five tense minutes passed as the ponies on the White Base’s bridge watched the Gundam turn to get a firing line on the missiles, and fire one shot in each missile’s direction. Two explosions erupted in the void of space. All watching released a pent-up breath. “Wow!” One of the operators exclaimed, “She took out both missiles!”
The other one called out, “Seven more objects approaching! They appear to be mobile suits!”
“But the speed…”
“Two of them are faster than the norm! One is approaching at three times normal speed! The other is approaching at twice the normal speed!”
“It’s… It’s Blitz…”
Bright blinked, and turned his head slightly to look at his captain.
“It’s the Red Comet!”
Bright turned his entire upper body to look at Cipher. “Captain! Did you say something?!”
Cipher, looking very pale, nodded and said, “It’s him… Blitz, the Red Comet!”
Expressions of shock and horror spread across the bridge crew. Cipher continued, fear creeping across her face, “At the Battle of Loum, Blitz single-handedly scrapped five of our battleships… T-TURN BACK AND RUN!! ”
***
Blitz’s Zaku sped toward the Federation supply ship. The pegasus looked at his target through a zoomed in display. Let’s see what it can do…
“The Federal Forces’ touted new mobile suit…”
He smiled, slightly.
***
“SCOOTALOO, GET OUT OF THERE! YOU DON’T STAND A CHANCE AGAINST THAT RED ZAKU!!”
“No! I can do it! I already took out two Zakus without the beam rifle! I can do it!”
The Gundam took aim. You won’t get to me!!
A purple beam of condensed plasma erupted from the beam rifle. The Red Comet’s Zaku dodged the beam and returned fire. His attacks impacted the Gundam’s shield.
Blitz blinked. A direct hit. But…
Ah, its shield…
Blitz smiled, again.
The Gundam targeted Blitz again and fired, only for the ace to dodge out of the way. “Come on!” Scootaloo snapped, “Let me hit!”
She fired a third time, and, for a third time, her target evaded her attack. “This… is combat?!”
Even with the superiority of the Gundam, Scootaloo felt fear begin to creep throughout her body.
She targeted the red Zaku again, only for the impacts of her target’s attacks to throw off the Gundam’s aim.
Impacts stitched themselves up the Gundam, and then the feed from the Gundam’s main camera cut out, becoming static. “He shot out my main camera?!”
Scootaloo pressed a button her pilot’s console and the static on the monitor was replaced by the feed of the Gundam’s sub-camera. Terror spread across her face, and she shrieked in terror. The right foot of the red Zaku was rushing at the Gundam’s torso.
Blitz smiled as his Zaku’s kick connected with the Gundam. He followed up with a trio of quick kicks. “You’re still wet behind the ears, Fed pilot!”
Scootaloo, groaning from the repeated impacts to her mobile suit, glared up at her target.
Blitz noticed six other Zaku units approaching. He grinned.
“Ah! There you are, Gladius and Blast! Are the rest of the pilots ready for this?!”
“Yes,” Blast reported, “as ready as they’ll ever be!”
“Good! Gladius, take his back! Blast, with me! Everyone else, pick firing positions! We’ll destroy that mobile suit, and then that warship!”
***
“They’ve got Scootaloo pincered,” Bright said, “this is bad!”
Sweetie Belle covered her mouth with her hands. Bright barked over the comm-link to the Artillery Bridge. “Artillery Command! Arm the starboard mega-particle cannons! We’ll support the Gundam!!”
***
“Losing on mobility when I’ve got the new model?”
Scootaloo sneered, “That can’t be!! I won’t let that happen!”
She smiled, and put her impromptu plan into action.
***
Blitz opened fire on the Gundam, rounds impacting into its shield. He paused as he noticed that there was nothing behind the shield. “What?!”
A feeling of dread crawling down his back, which he’d felt before, alerted him to the Gundam aiming at him. Dodging out of the way, he sighed in relief as the Gundam fired at his previous position. Narrowly dodged that one…
“Commander! Sir,” Gladius said over the radio, slightly distorted by the Minovsky particle density, “that’s it, sir! The weapon that took down Sergeant Ash in a single shot!!”
“If we never get hit, it’s no more than a pea shooter. COVER ME, GLADIUS!”
“Yes, sir!”
The corporal opened fire on the Gundam, drawing its attention.
Blitz complemented the pilot, “That’s it, Gladius. Keep its attention!”
***
Scootaloo murmured under her breath as she turned her attention to the Zakufiring on her. Getting a targeting lock, she aimed at the Zaku. “THERE!!”
She fired.
***
Gladius’ eyes widened in surprise and fear as the Gundam’s weapon fired, a purple beam lancing out and punching through his mobile suit’s gut. His Zaku’s reactor detonated, tearing the suit apart.
Blitz, keeping his distance from the pink cloud of Minovsky particles, found himself actually surprised. Gladius…
“So that thing has a beam rifle with the power of battleship’s main guns…”
A blue and white blur drew his attention to Lieutenant Blast rushing the Gundam, a heat hawk drawn.
The Gundam reacted quickly, raising its left arm to block the attack. Blast quickly backed off before another purple beam lanced through the spot where his R-2 had been. “Blast! Be careful!”
Sub-lieutenant Quartz, acting as the Falmel's operator, having remained quiet until this point in the battle, suddenly barked out commands, “You need to be careful! Work together with the Commander!”
“Roger that!”
Twin purple beams, fired from the Gundam’s carrier, destroyed two of the supporting Zakus. “Wonderful,” Quartz said, sarcasm in his voice, “that supply ship is firing, too. Make sure to not get hit by it, either.”
Both pilots began their team attack, coordinating their moves over the radio.
Blast rushed in, attacking with his heat hawks, and backed off before the Gundam fired. Blitz threw off its aim with well-timed bursts from his hyper rifle. For several minutes, the pair continued this attack pattern.
The Gundam’s pilot, obviously irritated by both pilots, snapped off two quick shots, one for each pilot. The two dodged the attack with ease.
Their support, on the other hand, didn’t react in time. They were clipped by the shots, and their suits exploded.
***
A low beeping drew Scootaloo’s attention to a bar on her pilot’s console. The last light on the left was pulsing red. “I’ve used up the charge in the beam rifle. Wonderful.”
***
Blitz noticed the Gundam holster its primary weapon on its skirt armor.
The white mobile suit began tracking the twin Zakus, both arms raised, intent on using its machine cannons.
Blitz and Blast, about to begin a second round of attacks, were interrupted by Quartz calling out, “Commander! Lieutenant! Fall back! We’ll lose one of you eventually!”
Blitz sighed in irritation, but complied. “Affirmative!”
Blast agreed, as well.
Blast, following his commander, heard something over his radio, obviously picked up by the enhanced communications gear attached to his Zaku. He adjusted a few dials and froze upon hearing the exchange, between the enemy mobile suit and its carrier. “Scootaloo… Enemy retreat… Return to… at once!”
“Copy that…! Returning…!”
Despite the distortion, Blast could hear full well the youthfulness in the enemy pilot’s voice. The pilot was a mare, a pegasus judging by the faint inherent accent in her voice. But, the real kicker was that she was only a teenager. Fifteen, maybe.
Fear crept onto his face. Why is that mobile suit’s pilot a teenaged mare? What in Tartarus were we going to do if we’d gotten the upper hand? Kill her?
Doubt and suspicion spread across his face, his eyes narrowing. “Commander,” he swore, “I’ll kill you if you kill her. This I swear on my honor as a Blizzard.”
Babs Seed stood near the hangar entrance connecting to one of the corridors of the White Base. She was waiting for the hangar to pressurize so she could assist in the repairs of the Gundam. And raise her normal suit’s visor. “Hey, miss soldier! Lemme help!”
Babs Seed turned. A lean cream coated pegasus walked toward her down the corridor, followed by her cousin, Apple Bloom. “Oh. Featherweight. Hold up. It’s not safe. The hangar’s not fully pressurized yet.”
The pegasus chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head. “Don’t worry, though,” Babs Seed said, “I like that attitude!”
Featherweight murmured his response.
The door to the hangar opened, signaling that it was fully pressurized. “Come on,” Babs Seed encouraged, “I’mma find you something to do.”
The Gundam, walking to its spot in the hangar, looked battered. “Jeez,” Babs Seed commented, “looks like it got the tar beat out of it.”
“Maintenance, move it!”
Featherweight leaned over and told Apple Bloom, “Did you hear? They say that Scootaloo’s piloting that mobile suit.”
“Wha?! She is?!”
Featherweight shrugged, turning to follow the older mare, and mused, “I suppose that those two are a good match.”
************
“Lieutenant Commander! The laser comm circuit is open, sir! Admiral McIntosh is on the line!”
“Alright,” the red earth pony stallion said, “what’d ya do?”
Blitz paled, slightly. The admiral continued, “Last evenin’, Ah was all ready to celebrate the completion of yer mission. But…”
The pegasus continued to pale. “‘Cause of yer dawdlin’ about, the banquet that Ah ordered was totally wasted. WELL?!”
Blitz nodded, and reported, “My mission’s results more than make up for the loss of the banquet, sir. We’ve now got a clear picture of the Federation’s Operation V.”
The admiral raised an eyebrow, intrigued. Blitz continued, encouraged by the admiral’s response. “Tanegashima Station was, in fact, a mobile suit research and development facility. The prototypes are already complete… And that ‘supply ship’ you told us to observe has state-of-the-art weapons. It’s probably an assault carrier type warship. However, it looked under equipped for ship of its size.”
McIntosh nodded, a smile forming on his face. “That’s a fine intel load. Ah knew that the Red Comet could do it. So, whaddya need?”
Blitz paled, very slightly. “I… Well… We paid a steep price for that intel. The full details are in my report.”
McIntosh took a clipboard from one of his subordinates. He scanned over the report. “Ah see,” he acknowledged, “ten Zaku IIs and their pilots. However, considerin’ that those two prototypes have hand-held beam weapons, Ah’m okay with this. It’s a good thing that you took out at least one of those prototypes.”
Blitz titled his head to the right. “Ah’ll send ya replacement suits.”
Blitz saluted, snapping his right hand up to the edge of his helmet, the fire in his eyes hidden by his mask. “My men and I will seize the remaining prototype mobile suit. But the ship will burn. Those Federals won’t reach Terra.”
McIntosh’s smile grew wider. “That’s more like it, Blitz!”
************
“White Base will be heading to the Luna II asteroid base!”
Bright’s barked orders echoed throughout the vessel. “All crew members, continue with your assignments! Remember to take breaks in turns!”
He glanced over at the door, and paused. Sweetie Belle and the light grey pegasus glanced over, too. Sweetie Belle wore a happy expression. The light grey pegasus seemed to smile, slightly.
Scootaloo and Babs Seed stood in the doorway. Scootaloo’s jacket was off, and she was holding it in her left hand. Babs Seed had removed her normal suit’s helmet, and had placed her left hand on the younger pegasus’ back.
Sweetie Belle said, “Scootaloo!”
Scootaloo replied, “Sweetie Belle!”
Bright heavily pressed the button to the ship-wide intercom. The sound drew Scootaloo’s attention. Her expression adopted a somewhat stern look. Bright’s expression grew very serious.
Merry looked over her shoulder at the new arrival. Captain Cipher commented, “So, it’s you. You’re the pilot…”
The clicking of shoe heels against the bridge floor alerted the ponies to Bright walking toward Scootaloo.
Scootaloo’s expression became sterner. Bright noticed Babs Seed’s expression become one of confusion. He scrutinized Scootaloo.
Her shirt seemed to be bigger than it needed to be, as most pegasi were slim, but shorter than unicorns. Bright also knew, as most ponies do, that most pegasi mares weren’t endowed as well as those of the other races. He extended his arm with the intent to shake Scootaloo’s hand, forcing himself out of his thoughts.
The young mare took his hand and shook it. She noticed a slightly sinister smile form on Bright’s face. Her wings twitched involuntarily as she realized that Bright knew that she was hiding something.
“You’re good,” Bright complimented, “I wasn’t expecting a young mare to be such a good pilot.”
Scootaloo smiled, slightly. “Thank you,” she said, “but I was making it up as I went.”
Bright nodded, “I understand. That’s what I’ve been kind of doing, too.”
Scootaloo nodded in understanding. “But,” Bright said, his smile fading, “you must use the Gundam more effectively in battle.”
Scootaloo blinked. Did Bright just…? She asked, “What?”
“The Gundam is a highly advanced prototype. We have little spare parts available for replacements. You cannot be reckless in battle with it.”
Sweetie Belle looked at Scootaloo. The telltale signs of stress began showing on her face. The pegasus’ eyes narrowed slightly, mouth turned up into a slight snarl, along with her feathers ruffling.
Sweetie Belle hurried to Scootaloo’s side, hoping to defuse the confrontation. “Hey, hey,” she said, shakily, “why don’t you and Babs Seed go and get you a space suit for later sorties?”
Babs Seed glanced at Scootaloo, then at Sweetie Belle, then at Bright. She raised an eyebrow. Bright nodded. “Scootaloo,” Babs Seed prompted, cutting through the tension in the air easily, “why don’tcha come with me?”
Scootaloo gravely nodded. “Yeah,” she responded, “let’s do that.”
The two mares turned and walked away. Sweetie Belle and Bright sighed in relief. Then Sweetie Belle backslapped the Lieutenant.
Recoiling from the slap, Bright growled, “What the hell was that for?”
Sweetie Belle replied, “Being a mobile suit pilot is more stressful than it looks, you know. Especially since Scootaloo is piloting the Gundam, she is probably a lot more stressed than she looks.”
Bright walked over to the captain’s chair and sank into it. He gave a short chuckle. “Yeah. A lot more ponies are more stressed than they look.”
The dark, brooding tone in Bright’s voice gave Sweetie Belle pause and sent a shiver up her spine.
************
Falmel, Mess Hall
Blizzard Blast walked into the Falmel’s mess hall, looking for someone in particular. Scanning around the room, the pony he was looking for was nowhere to be seen. He tsked in disapproval.
Approaching the serving case on the far side of the room, he realized that he had a perfect opportunity to eat a full meal before his boss called him to do something around the ship. He grabbed a full meal: a well-done piece of steak, a generous amount of mashed potatoes with gravy, a small mound of corn, green beans, a glass of milk, and a glass of apple cider.
Levitating the ensemble in his magic, he found a table occupied only by a member of the mobile suit maintenance personnel. Setting his meal down, Blast nodded to the smaller unicorn. The other pony nodded in return. Having sat down, Blast picked up the glass of apple cider and poured the cider on his steak. The maintenance unicorn asked, “Why are you pouring apple cider on a steak?”
Blast cut out a piece of the steak and put it in his mouth. Once he was done chewing the piece, he swallowed and replied, “It tastes better that way.”
The other pony whickered in response to the pilot’s answer. “So,” Blast prompted, “where’s Sub-lieutenant Quartz?”
“In the hangar.”
Blast nodded, “Thank you.”
***
“Sub-lieutenant Quartz!”
Quartz turned at the calling of his name. He snapped a salute as he saw that the voice’s owner was Lieutenant Junior Grade Blast. “Sir,” he asked, “what can I do for you?”
Blast returned the salute. “Nothing at the moment,” he replied, dropping his hand.
The crystal pony nodded, dropping his hand and relaxing slightly. “So,” Blast continued, “what are you doing?”
Quartz adjusted his glasses, by the bridge and with his right index and middle fingers, Blast observed. His glasses seemed to shine a bit once they were resting with their bridge between his eyes. “I’m having the maintenance personnel mount my mobile suit with ERA.”
“ERA?”
“Explosive Reactive Armor. It was used in the late 20th century and early 21st century as a countermeasure against shaped charge munitions.”
“But why are you mounting it now?”
“I’m sure that we’ll run into some Federal mobile suits once we rendezvous with our resupply ship at Deimos, since, you know, there’s that new Federal warship.”
“At least one of the mobile suits has a beam weapon. How’s ERA going to help against that?”
“A shaped charge munition creates a superheated jet of metal to punch through armor. The energy from the penetrator punching through the outer plate triggers the explosive sandwiched between the twin metal plates of the armor. The resulting blast disperses the energy of the metal jet. Today’s mega-particle weapons and beam weapons use a jet of superheated plasma to tear through armor. So, the penetrator material is different, but the basic principle is the same. The ERA I’m using is a heavier variant, allowing for more energy to disperse a beam shot.”
Blast nodded. “So,” he began, nodding toward the five mobile suits in the hangar, “which one’s yours?”
Quartz smiled proudly, as he raised his left arm in the direction of his suit. A mobile suit, vastly different in appearance than the Zaku I and Zaku II type suits that were standard in the New Lunar Republic Military. Ghost white, with a pair of crimson stripes on its head, alongside the top of mono-eye track. A strip of metal bisected the mono-eye track, with a commander’s spike attached to it. Ash grey bricks of ERA were being attached to the mobile suit’s armor, slowly covering up the mobile suit’s color.
“What is it?”
“It’s a EMS-10 Zudah. Originally, the series went by a different designation.”
Blast raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Yep. It used to go by EMS-04 Zudah.”
“What led to the name change?”
“Back in U.C. 0075, four companies competed to get their mobile suit design accepted. Zeonic and the Zaku I, Zimmad and the Zudah, and two others that I can’t remember off the top of my head.
“The Zudah was, and still is, an overall superior mobile suit when compared to the Zaku I. Good power plant, a well-rounded armament, and unprecedented thrust and acceleration.”
“What happened, then?”
“The engine that the Zudah units mounted then was the Mercury. A prototype.”
“Which meant?”
“If the Mercury was overexerted,” Quartz replied, rubbing his right shoulder subconsciously, as if the shoulder connection for his automail ached, “the vibrations it gave off would shake a Zudah apart.”
“Ah,” Blast said, nodding in understanding, “so this critical structural failure when overexerted is how the Zaku I, which lacked the Mercury, to win the competition.”
Quartz nodded, gravely, “However, Supreme Commander Blueblood decided that the Zudah would make an excellent rear-echelon mobile suit, once changes were made to it.”
“Such as?”
“Fitting the greatly improved Saturn engine, a movable left shoulder shield, and including the updated weapons of the Zaku II, including a 135mm Anti-Ship Rifle.”
Blast shook his head, slightly. “Something wrong, sir?”
Quartz sounded concerned. Blast shook his head, “No, no. It-it’s fine. I’ll be going back to my quarters if anyone starts looking for me.”
Quartz, unsure of what to make of his superior’s sudden change in attitude, nodded. “Of course.”
As Blast walked away, he heard Quartz bark, “OI! Watch what you’re doing with that I-beam!”
Somehow, Quartz’s comment made Blast smile slightly.
***
Blast entered his quarters and issued a command, “Computer, lock the door to my quarters and let me know if I get any visitors.”
“Yes, Lieutenant,” the automated voice responded.
Sighing, Blast removed his uniform jacket and tossed it onto his bed.
He walked over to his bathroom and placed his hands in front of the sink, staring his reflection in the face. “Hello again, Blast,” his reflection stated, “how are you?”
“I wish I didn’t have to deal with you,” Blast replied, coolly.
“But you do,” his reflection pointed out, smiling slightly, “and you soldier on. Just as you have since Mom and Dad died.”
Blast’s mouth became a thin line. “The medication helps, too.”
The reflection sighed, and nodded. “Yeah, and it keeps me away.”
“Which is the point of the medication in the first place.”
The reflection huffed, and rolled his eyes. “Alright, alright. I’ll be here for when you decide my… advice… is better than having me under control.”
Blast said nothing, but popped a pill into his mouth and washed it down with a quick gulp of water. He watched as his reflection slowly returned to being his reflection, not a manifestation of his… other… self.
Blast shook his head and sighed. Leaving his bathroom, he frowned. He lay on his bed, and sighed again.
Deep down, in his heart, Blast knew that his other self was right.
************
White Base, Pilot Suit Storage
Scootaloo sighed, and watched Babs Seed rummage through the suit locker. “Babs… Hurry up. I’ve got to do other things. And put my clothes back on.”
“You know,” Babs Seed replied, “if your assets weren’t as big as they are now, the first suit I gave you woulda fit.”
“S-shut up! It’s not my fault I’m this big!”
Babs Seed shrugged. “Here, found one that should fit you.”
Babs Seed tossed a white pilot’s suit at the younger pegasus. Scootaloo caught the suit and pulled it on. Zipping up the suit, finally managing to get the zipper past her chest, Scootaloo smiled with pride. “Yes! It’s actually pretty comfortable.”
“Yeah, and it’s got a passive enchantment that makes you look like a normal pegasus, asset-wise anyway.”
“Well,” Scootaloo mused, “at least I’ll stay this size once I’m an adult.”
“Nah. You’ll get bigger.”
“What?!”
“Mmm-hmm. You’ll be about as big as I am.”
Scootaloo’s eyes widened and she gave out a squeak. Babs Seed began giggling, which soon turned into full laughter.
“All pilots! Report to the briefing room!”
Bright’s bark over the ship intercom snapped the two mares to attention.
“Right,” Babs Seed said, grabbing an orange pilot’s suit, “I wonder what the Lieutenant wants.”
“Why the orange suit?”
“Simple,” Babs Seed replied, “your suit is a new model, issued to the pilots of the Gundam-type suits. The rest of us have to do with the standard-issue orange.”
Babs Seed zipped her pilot suit up and picked up her helmet. Shoving Scootaloo’s helmet into the pegasus’ gut, Babs Seed said, “Come on, kid. Let’s go see what the Lieutenant wants.”
Knocking drew Scootaloo’s attention to the door of her quarters. “Come in,” she called out.
The door opened, and the light grey pegasus from the colony entered the young mare’s quarters. “Hey,” Scootaloo said, sitting up.
“Hey.”
The young stallion smiled, with strain lines appearing on his face.
Scootaloo patted a spot on the bed next to her. “Come here,” Scootaloo said, “you look like you need a break.”
The other pegasus nodded in agreement, and sat down next to Scootaloo where she had indicated.
Scootaloo prompted, “What’s your name?”
“Shockwave,” the young stallion replied, “Shockwave Melt.”
Scootaloo giggled. “I like your name.”
Shockwave nodded, out of instinct, it seemed.
“Now,” Scootaloo said, pulling Shockwave into a hug and swinging around to sit on his lap, “how’s about I help you relax?”
Shockwave said nothing, but his wings flaring out, making a pomf sound, was all the encouragement Scootaloo needed.
Scootaloo giggled, again.
************
22 hours later…
Falmel, Briefing Room
A lone stallion sat in one of the chairs in the Falmel’s briefing room, watching the recorded videos from the previous engagements with the Federation’s newest mobile suit, light from the vidscreen reflecting off of his glasses.
He wiped a strand of scarlet hair out of his face. “Reverse and hold at 38.5.”
The video stopped, rewinded, and held at the designated time. The Federation’s newest mobile suit, was staring down the Zaku II whose feed the scarlet-haired stallion was viewing. “A demon…”
The door to the briefing room opened, admitting another stallion, a unicorn. The scarlet-haired stallion turned his head to look at the newcomer. Curiosity shone in his violet eyes, surrounded by teal fur. “Yes,” he prompted, “Lieutenant Blast?”
“Figured I’d find you here,” Blast replied, “Sub-Lieutenant.”
Quartz nodded, and gestured at the screen. “Just reading up on my enemy, sir.”
“Really?”
“I’d like to be as well informed as I can. I’ve been compiling a list of… quirks… our enemy has.”
“Do you feel that you are ready to face it?”
Quartz shook his head, rising to his feet. “No. No, I am not ready to face it. Something like this… It’s like something Tirek himself would make.”
“How so?”
Quartz responded, beginning to pace. “Fast. Faster than anything we have in mass production at this time. Your R2 is the only mobile suit we have that can match that thing in acceleration and speed.
“Powerful. Able to annihilate a mobile suit with a single shot, and rendering mobile suit armor useless.
“Tough. No weapon we’ve used against it have actually inflicted real damage, at least, no rapid-fire weapon anyway.
“And look at it… It looks like a demon, all clad in white.”
“So what do we call it, then?”
“Based on its performance and its appearance, I’ve named it ‘White Devil.’ Rather appropriate, I think.”
Blast nodded. “I’ll bring it up with Commander Blitz about giving that mobile suit an official nickname. See what he says.”
Quartz nodded, “You do that.”
Blast left.
Quartz made a sweeping motion with his automail arm in front of the vidscreen. The device shut off, like that of the first telescreens Quartz had read about he was younger, more naïve.
Tapping a number sequence on the holographic pad on the briefing table, Quartz retrieved a rectangular device from the table. He turned it over in his hands and tucked it into a pouch on his utility belt.
He left the briefing room, intending to make one last stop at the mobile suit hangar and his Zudah in particular.
************
One hour later…
White Base, Briefing room
Murmuring filled the room as the assembled pilots waited for Lieutenant Bright to brief them on their mission. “Alright,” Bright announced to the room, “here’s the mission.”
He tapped the controls to the briefing table, bringing up a holographic representation of Deimos, Mars’ smallest moon. “This, as most of you likely know, is Deimos, the smallest moon of Mars. In a normal situation, there’d be no reason to stop at Deimos on a route to initiate an interplanetary jump. However, this is not a normal situation. As you know, we have been tailed by one of the New Lunar Republic’s best pilots, the Red Comet and his Musai-class light cruiser.”
A few button presses, and a representation of the White Base and the Red Comet’s Musai, with the Musai following behind the White Base, appeared.
Bright continued, “During this period, the Red Comet has lost two-thirds of his mobile suit squadrons. Six of these casualties were due to their reconnaissance of Tanegashima Station. The other four were due to the engagement about a day ago. Within thirty minutes of that engagement, our sensors picked up another signature.”
Another sequence of button pressing and another ship appeared. “This is a Papua-class supply ship. Apparently, the Red Comet has squawked for resupply, and he has been answered.
“Now, this is what we’re going to do. When the Red Comet rendezvouses with this Papua, we’ll destroy both the Papua and the Musai, taking out the Red Comet!
“Most of our mobile weapons are crewed. We just need a crew for the last Guntank we have, Unit Three. Any volunteers?”
Babs Seed shot her arm up, and responded, “I’ll be the driver, I just need a gunner.”
Another arm shot up, covered in pale olive fur. “Ah’ll be the gunner! It shouldn’t be too hard! ...Right?”
“Well,” Bright said, suppressing the urge to facepalm, “there’s our last crew.”
He sighed, and continued, “Is Scootaloo here?”
An orange hand shot up from the crowd as the pegasus came forward. Dressed in her pilot’s uniform, Scootaloo looked rather nice, in Bright’s opinion. “Yes, Lieutenant?”
“I want you and the Gundam on standby, so you can support the rest of the strike force if needed.”
“Yes, sir!”
Bright nodded in approval. “Good, good. That’s it for the briefing!”
The pilots left the briefing, with Bright following close behind.
************
Falmel, Mobile Suit Hangar
Sanguine Quartz chuckled as he thought about how the pilot of the White Devil would react to his Zudah.
Shaking his head, he lowered his helmet’s visor. Reaching forward and flicking a switch on his pilot’s console, he began his flight check.
“Reactor… check,” he held down a button on his console, “and… online.”
“Sensors… check,” he flicked a couple of switches, “and… online. Not that they’ll help much what with the Minovsky Particles being poured into the crater… Guess it’s the thought that counts.”
“Mono-eye… check,” pressing a button on his console, he continued, “and… online.”
A few minutes later, and Quartz was ready to launch. He reported, “Alright! Everything checks out! Ready for launch!”
“Good,” Blitz barked over the radio, “good! Now, launch!”
“Yes, Commander! Launching!”
Closing his eyes, Quartz felt the launch catapult activate, sending his mobile suit down the track and out into space. I’m flying again, he thought. I’ve missed this feeling.
He opened his eyes, a smile having crossed his face.
************
The ash grey Zudah landed, crouching. Blitz, in his red Zaku Commander, nodded in approval, and barked, “Come along, Sub-lieutenant! Gemstone will not wait forever!”
“Of course, Commander!”
Quartz’s Zudah rose to full height and hefted up its Anti-Ship Rifle. It took a few ponderous steps forward, then bounded over to the edge of the crater. Quartz, smiling wide, reported, “Vertigo here. I’m in position.”
Blitz nodded, “Good, good!”
Switching channels on his radio, Blitz told the older mare, “Captain! We’re ready!”
“Excellent, Commander! Let’s get this started,” Gemstone responded, “so it can be done with. This crater’s so thick with Minovsky Particles that I’m afraid I’ll drown…”
************
White Base, Starboard Mobile Suit Hangar
Featherweight pulled at his pilot suit’s collar, attempting to make his collar more comfortable. Sighing, he waited for his turn on the launch catapult.
Over the radio, he heard one of the other Guncannon pilots report, “Private First Class Fiery Glass piloting Guncannon Unit Two here, launch complete!”
“Alright,” Fiery Glass said, “Private Featherweight, it’s your turn!”
“Hooo boy,” Featherweight murmured to himself, “it’s now or never, I guess.”
Following what he’d been told by Fiery Glass, Featherweight directed his Guncannon over to the launch catapult and dropped it into a crouch. “Private Featherweight here,” he reported, “ready to launch!”
The Guncannon lurched forwards as the catapult shot forward to shoot the Guncannon out into space. Featherweight felt himself be shoved into his seat by an invisible hand. “Pull the lever, Featherweight,” Fiery Glass barked, “pull the lever on your console! Pull it or you’ll crash into the surface!”
Featherweight pulled the lever, but managed to slam his Guncannon into the surface of Deimos, and the mobile suit bounced, doing a clumsy cartwheel in a lazy arc.
Babs Seed murmured under her breath and sighed. “In planetside gravity, he’d have gone down in flames.”
Apple Bloom, seeing her friend fail at piloting a mobile suit, was trembling. “Hey, Bloom,” Babs Seed said, “don’t worry! We get to take it easy!”
Babs Seed pushed the control sticks of the Guntank forward. A smile crossed her face as she saw Featherweight stick the landing from his Guncannon’s cartwheel.
************
Daisy stared out at the two Koumusais perform maneuvers that looked as complex as a pegasus mating ritual. She shook her head, clearing out those thoughts, shuddering slightly. “I’ll never get used to this double Kom business.”
“Lieutenant! We’re transferring over the Zakus now!”
Daisy nodded, and responded, “Thank you, Captain! You are delivering ten Zakus as promised, right?”
The older mare nodded, “Yep. Ten MS-06F-2 Zaku units, along with additional spare parts for the EMS-10, MS-06R-2, and MS-06S units attached to the Falmel.”
“I see. Thanks for coming all the way out here for us.”
“De nada, lieutenant,” Gemstone replied, “it’s nothing that a Papua captain like me can’t handle.”
“Lieutenant Daisy!”
“Yes, ensign?”
“We’ve got unidentified contacts closing in! Eight of them!”
Daisy’s eyes narrowed, “Mobile Suits.”
“Captain Gemstone!” The lieutenant barked, “How long until the transfer is complete?!”
“Four, maybe five minutes!”
“Alright, then! Commander Blitz, you and our remaining mobile suits protect the ships for around five minutes!”
***
“Affirmative, Daisy! RED COMET TEAM! PROTECT THE PAPUA AND THE FALMEL!”
“Of course,” Blizzard Blast responded, getting excited for the engagement, “Commander!”
The other two Zaku pilots replied, sounding very zealous.
Sanguine Quartz sighed, and murmured to himself, “Pilots these days……….”
Shaking his head and smiling, he reported, with a chuckle in his voice, “Vertigo here, I’m ready to go!”