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Mobile Suit Gundam Vindicator

Prologue

Space; dark side of the moon

The moon loomed over the colonies, hiding them from prying eyes on Earth. From the belt of junk that surrounded the humongous structures, a group of scattered asteroids tumbled towards the nearest colony in a strangely organized formation.

"All combat systems check. Weapons are loaded with armor-penetrating rounds."

"Psychoframe connections are stable; running at an average of 79.5%."

"Internal power is maintained"

"Acknowledged; Proceed."

One by one, the asteroids ignited tiny thrusters, propelling them onto a parallel course with the colonies. With a soft click, nuclear fuel containers locked on behind the pods.

"Nuclear thrusters are ready, sir."

The commander smiled drily underneath his helmet.

"This is your commander. Commence operation!"

The pods burst into incandescent flames as they suddenly accelerated, propelled by plasma streaming from the miniature reactors.

*****

"Hey! What the hell is that?" the controller asked, leaning over the consol, which was bleating a quiet alarm. A few dozen dots had suddenly appeared on the sensors and were flying rapidly towards the relatively small outpost colony. "Heat sources that are flying on a parallel trajectory with us..." his colleague muttered. "It's some kind of fighter squadron, only much faster, and the heat signatures are too large... Raise a line to the nearest military command; I think we might have an invasion here."

*****

The leading asteroids burst into a shower of sparks, and the hollow, rocky shells drifted off. From in between the discarded shells, metallic pods emerged, one from each "asteroid." The pods, in turn, ignited their own thrusters, sending themselves hurtling along the surface of the moon. Lights flickered in the colonies as defense weaponry began to activate, sending defensive fire crackling across the cold void.

"Release all mobile suits!"

The metal shells cracked open, restraining bolts flying in every direction as large, dark humanoid shapes began to rocket out of them. On each mobile suit, the radios were tuned into the colonies' military broadcast.

"We have their radio encryptions hacked to hell now. All hail the geeks back planet-side; now let's roll, boys." The commander said. With the answering acknowledgements, thrusters began to kick in on every mobile suit. Streams of fire licked the emptiness of space as each task force of twelve fell back into the V-shaped formation much-preferred by geese. A swarm of missiles rocketed out from the colonies along with a blistering barrage of linear cannon shot, particle beams and conventional bullets. The mobile suits broke ranks and flew apart, soaring with insane agility, conserving no fuel as they streaked towards their quarry. The already marred surface of the moon burst into clouds of white dust, mauled by the desperate defense of the colony. Effortlessly and gracefully, the mobile suits slid through the empty space, rifles chattering and pouring heavy pellets of lead into the hapless space station. A missile launcher, riddled by shot, burst into a bright ball of blue flames, while several CIWS stations cracked and broke down, their barrels mangled and magazines shattered. Soon, bright blue flames engulfed the entire of the void that was the battlefield.

"Colony killer has been loaded." A corporal said stiffly.

"Then fire the damn thing and get it over with." The commander replied as he swerved away from a barrage of CIWS bullets. The corporal grunted in disgust.

"Yes sir."

His suit fell back, hissing as it stabilized its spin. A large bazooka barrel detached from the suit's back and fell into its hand. A sniper scope closed over his eye, and the glowing crosshairs centered on a point in the middle of the colony. Another suit zoomed by with another bazooka, and fired a massive missile at the colony. It struck with tremendous force, shattering a wide circle of armor. The corporal sighed and pulled his trigger.

"Colony killer...away..."

As the suit teams watched, a blue and white ball of plasma streaked towards the colony, growing brighter by the moment. Sensing its doom, the colony's anti-missile defense desperately tried to intercept it. The ball flew with incredible speed and smashed into the hole in the armor that was just made, and the radio monitors exploded into static.

A few seconds later, the colony burst into white flames, sending huge chunks of armor flying into space.

*****

PHASE I: 0th

A.D. 27XX

United Nations of Earth, Mobile Suit Corps 53rd Division Pilot Quarters

"RAIDEN!" a shrill female voice called. "RISE AND SHINE!"

A pillow struck Raiden Takeshi's face. He sat up, groaning loudly. "Damn it, Ayame. I'm trying to rest. How did you get in my room to begin with?" He muttered. The girl standing in the doorway frowned. "Meany." She pouted. The young man rolled his eyes. "Answer my question." He ordered. The girl blew a loud raspberry at him. "No way; you've been so mean to me. I'm not talking to you any more today!" She turned and marched out of the room, pausing only to flick her miniskirt up at Raiden. He smiled fondly and stood up just as the door swished shut behind her. Well...I haven't been on her good books lately. Too sullen for her tastes...just when did she last give me a kiss?' He cracked his neck. "Oh...what's that...huh? Ouch! Watch it, Haro!" The violet ball ran into his head again, tiny jets flaring. "Wakey, Wakey!" it squealed, and then knocked him down completely. "Don't be a lazy asshole, don't be a lazy asshole!" Seemingly humming to itself, the robot floated away happily, opening the door and dashing out, trailing a bright streak of light behind it. "Oh damn it, Haro; stop using your rockets! You're eating up my paycheck, buddy! Do you know how expensive your fuel is?" he roared after the fleeing ball.

*****

United Nations of Earth, Mobile Suit Corps, 0th Mechanized Division, Briefing Room 304

"Bonjour, men," Colonel Jacqueline Arceneau said stiffly. "I believe that all of you here are courageous, skilled fighters, because those of you who aren't will not survive." The assembled soldiers muttered. "Quiet!" the woman ordered. The soldiers standing behind her snickered among themselves while the trainees sweated. "You all know who I am, right?" she continued. "While you are all still here, I expect you to give me your best, and fight with some semblance of skill, courage and honor. Training begins tomorrow at 0750 hours sharp; DIS-MISSED!" With a swish of her waist-length blond hair, she strode out of the briefing room.

"Damn! That was one stuck-up sister, yo!" a humongous, pitch-black man cooed the moment the Colonel was out of the door. "But she such a damn fine woman; a real foxy mama." The crowd burst into laughter, while the veterans winced.

"Fool..." One man whispered to his neighbor, who nodded with a pained look. The black man was still tossing jocular comments at his neighbors about the various aspects of Colonel Arceneau's body parts when, with a hiss of a false wall opening, the Colonel herself stepped back into the room behind the recruits. With a hiss, a rapier sliced through the air, barely nicking the man's Adam's apple.

"Any other helpful comments, Corporal?" she asked coldly. The veterans smiled at each other as the man gulped. "Nah-No...No, sir!" he stammered.

"Oh shit...this newbie is royally fucked." One lieutenant whispered. "He did not just call her sir.'"

With a clack, the Colonel sheathed her sword. Before the man breathed a sigh of relief, however, the scabbard was off her belt. The whole room flinched when the heavy ceremonial sheath smacked the man across the face, sending his two hundred-kilos body crashing down a good meter away.

"Unless you are not aware, monsieur, a woman is properly termed ma'am," she informed him. "Good day."

As the heels of her boots clacked down the hallway, not one person moved a muscle, except the downed recruit, who groaned. "Yes, ma'am," he gasped in between huffs of pain.

Raiden watched the other recruits help their comrade up with a smile playing over his face. Ayame nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. "Is that our new commander?" she asked. "She's no fun at all!" Raiden glanced at her. "Colonel Arceneau was the Major who destroyed three UNE mobile suit platoons with only a few companies of space-based fighters."

Ayame's eyebrows shot up. "You mean those old fighters? How'd anyone beat a Sentinel I platoon with those piles of junk?"

Raiden shrugged. "She's a military genius; the UNE took her in, gave her a promotion and stuck her here with the 0th Division."

Ayame shook her head. "Stuck with 0th? What officer in this world wouldn't give an arm and a limb to be with the 0th Division? I mean, it's, like, the best of the best! The first mobile suit army ever! I never thought I'd see the day when I'd get into the 0th!" She rambled on happily, ignoring the raised eyebrows from nearby soldiers. Raiden poked her gently. "Quiet. People are staring." He admonished. With a sigh, Ayame fell silent, gazing fixedly at a light fixture, a daydreaming look in her eyes. Raiden smiled fondly at her generous figure. Cute,' he thought. And fucking deadly, too...'

*****

"F-PMS-001 Sentinel I Space Type, the first successful mobile suit to ever exist; first deployed in the last war with immediate success by the United Nations of Earth against the Colonies. The mobile suit's humanoid shape allowed it to have multiple maneuvering jets that gives it agility unparalleled by fighters or space tanks, and its size allows it to hold a massive amount of firepower. A single squadron of mobile suits can wipe out an entire outpost Colony. Today, they are obsolete vintage machines, outstripped by the F-MS-001B Sentinel III Multi-Environment Type that all of you are familiar with. However, each one of you had better respect this thing, because it was the mother of all mobile suits, including the limited production models for which you have been trained for." Colonel Arceneau whirled around. "Today, we start in-cockpit training with the Mitsubishi-SFMS-002 Virgil. All pilots to your machines!"

The silent, manila-colored machines loomed over the group of comparably tiny, awed humans. Their green, almost gem-like eyes stared emptily into space. Bright yellow trims flickered in the light, and the pneumatic cockpit hatches hissed smoothly open.

*****

"This is Sergeant Raiden Takeshi. Authorization code AX600109ZMS."

"This is F-MS-002 Virgil; welcome, Sergeant." The machine's computer said in a sweet, feminine voice.

Jesus...these things have a girl's voice, too?'

*****

One by one, the Virgils shot through the launch chute, white-hot thrusters flaring in the frigid dawn air.

"This is Sergeant Raiden Takeshi; Virgil. I'm taking off!"

*****

Ayame smiled as she settled into the seat. Mmm...it's nice and comfy.'

"Corporal Ayame Kyoko here; Virgil, let's go!"

*****

Raiden hovered, testing the feel of his new suit. It handled like a dream, almost intuitively predicting his moves.

"Sweet! So the politicians back home are finally loosening their purse strings?" someone commented over the intercom.

"And about time they did, too. Ohh, wouldn't every grunt in the UN give an eye and a limb to pilot this baby..." another wise-ass decided to say.

Three seconds later, both of their suits were spinning out of control, their displays blinking red with a message: "DEAD" and lines of text explaining why they had just been shot out of the sky and what the damage to the suits were.

The Virgils spun around, and froze.

"Oh...shit."

END PHASE I