Streets of Rosetta

Whoosh!!!

Sora zoomed through the streets of the Imperial City with his Gear at maximum output, making him but a passing blur to the few Union soldiers left in the city. After a few minutes of relentless flight, he reached the entrance to the train station.

Due to his earlier stunt with the princess, the guards had been tripled and were all on alert, which made them even more surprised when he suddenly zoomed past them without so much as a warning.

“Open fire!” the captain of the squad ordered and they immediately turned around, weapons raised, but Sora had already left their field of vision.

Enraged by the disgrace of letting an intruder past him without a fight, the captain sent an order to all the squads inside the station to fire on sight.

Ignoring the shots of the soldiers, Sora burst his way through the train station, smashed the protective glass that separated the rails from the platform, and flew above the rails to the hangar, leaving many enraged soldiers behind.

Once outside, he could see the hue of the battle far off in the distance and he increased his speed, crossing the distance to the hangar Stinger was parked in, in a few seconds. He unequipped the Gear and jumped into his jet, ignoring the apparent relief his body had shown once the Gear came off.

With his thoughts fixated on saving Rosaline, he taxied onto the runway and took off without waiting for confirmation from the control tower.

******

Aboard the Warmonger,

            The door to the bridge slid open, and Rosaline was escorted into the room by the captain who’d saved Crow earlier. Contrary to what she’d expected, there was a relaxed mood in the bridge, totally belying the war going on around them.

            “Damage Report,” O’Reilly ordered. If he had noticed Rosaline, he did not show it and she felt infuriated by the look of indifference he had while slaughtering her people.

            “Gladiator has suffered damages to her engine, resulting in drastic loss to her speed, but she can still fly. All other ships have suffered no damage…” Peters started but O’Reilly cut in.

            “I meant the enemy ships. Remind me to reprimand the captain of Gladiator later. For one of ours to be damaged during such a low-level battle is a disgrace to my fleet,” he scoffed, and Rosaline almost screamed out in anger but the captain clasped his hand and muffled her voice.

            “Enemy mobile suits have suffered heavy casualties. Less than half their original forces are left and two of their forward ships have also suffered heavy damage. Their flagship remains unharmed at this point but it’s only a matter of time before they are wiped out” Peters reported with a smirk in her voice as she glanced over at Rosaline whose eyes were filled with rage.

            “Did you hear that Princess?” O’Reilly asked without turning back to look at her. “I might consider sparing their lives if you tell me what I want to know,” he threatened and Rosaline felt the sudden urge to strangle him on the spot, but she controlled herself.

            “I have no idea what you are talking about,” Rosaline refuted heatedly, but O’Reilly merely chuckled at her defiance.

            “Hundred and thirty seven,” he announced with a vile snicker with a smile.

            “What?”

            “Number of your noble men who have died in their mobile suits,” he informed her, and laughed inwardly when he saw the fear in her eyes. “...Two thousand,” he added after a short pause.

            “What’s that?” she hesitantly asked in a low voice that betrayed her fears.

            “Average number of personnel on one of your ships,” he said as a 3-D hologram of one of the damaged ships appeared in front of him. “I can have them easily killed if you don’t tell me the whereabouts of your father’s legacy.” The hologram exploded into tiny particles and disappeared, leaving a very frightened Rosaline behind. “You have twenty minutes to make up your mind after which I will annihilate your men, then torture my answer out of you.”

            She felt the room get smaller and colder as her choices weighed down, suffocating her. She hugged herself tightly, fighting off the cold despair that gripped her throat.

O'Reilly snorted. "Just another spoiled brat on the throne. The world's really gone to shit when we have fucking babies leading nations."

Despite her growing fear, she dropped her arms to her side and clenched her fists in steeled resolve. Voice shaking, she declared, "I do not know what it is you speak of."

O'Reilly frowned at the new light in her eyes. Had he pushed her too far? It had the opposite effect he had intended. He could not let this newfound confidence foster, else she might even begin to entertain thoughts of suicide for duty.

"Bring up their most damage ship," he ordered.

Peters complied.

A holographic screen popped up, showing a badly damaged ship. Smoke bellowed from its damaged hulls and engines. Continued strikes from enemy Dolls exploded around the ship, men and women screaming as they were tossed out into the unforgiving skies.

"Prepare main cannon."

The crew of the warmonger barked instructions back and forth as the main cannon charged up, drawing on the destructive power of furion cells.

***

Imperium

"Sir!" an officer shouted. "Reading large spikes in energy readings aboard the enemy flagship."

Jacobson's knuckles whitened. "Order Valiance to retreat! Quickly!"

Rachael watched helpless as the ships in front of Warmonger cleared a path for the shot. "It.. it's too late sir."

***

Warmonger

O'Reilly met Rosaline's panicked eyes. A smirk curled up the sides of his lips. "Fire."

A large plasma ball sparking with ionized flurium expanded in front of the Warmonger's main cannon. With an unnerving buzz it blasted forward with unmatched speed.

Every Doll within few feet of the deadly light, melted, then exploded from the heat alone.  It continued undeterred, burning through several Dolls till it bore through Valiance's centre.

The once proud ship was left with a burning hole through its seconds. Seconds passed, then as if just realizing the fate that had befallen it, Valiance exploded spectacularly.

Blood, oil, body parts and debris were swallowed up by the white sea as they fell the clouds.

Rosaline bit hard on her lip, drawing blood. She wanted to cry out, blame someone, anyone, but she couldn't. This was war: a phenomenom brought about by her choices.

In a split second, thousands perished so simply. Their laughs never to be heard by their families again; their various dreams left unfulfilled. Human life was far too fragile.

But that was even more reason she could not let her father's weapon fall into the hands of men who could easily take so many lives just to satisfy their own greed.

She murmured a silent prayer for the fallen, reaffirming her vow never to surrender to this mad man. If only not to render their sacrifices vain.

The Princess's newfound resolve displeased the General greatly. He hated the Imperials and their so-called peace. As if one could have peace while the world burned around them.

"How long until the cannon is ready?"

"Fifteen minutes sir."

"Maintain assault. We bring down Valiance next."

"Sir!"

***

The hangar was abuzz with activity. Mobile suit pilots returned for repairs before returning to the skies. Mechanics rushed back and forth, with firefighters on stand-by for any accidents.

Hidden from the focused crewmen, Crow 'strutted' through the hangar. He stayed below buses as he searched for a way out. He spotted a mini-elevator used to pass equipment from one floor to another.

Once he had a clear path, he took flight and dove into the space before anyone spotted him. Soon enough, the elevator descended.

Someone tossed in an oxy-cutter, and several welding tools intended for the hangar.

Crow hopped off once the soldier turned his back.

The room he landed in seemed to be a cross between an armoury and storage. Going from the standard Union fleet blueprints, he should be on the third floor.

The bridge was a floor above while the engine room should be on the same level. Now, how to get there.

He spotted a tiny air vent.... Problem solved.

***

Imperial City

Tsel crouched by a pool of blood in the palace. It was supposed to have been Siegfried's location, but the old man must have evacuated somehow. He readied his gun and walked to the basement.

Tau was also gone, but he spotted the secret passage, most likely left open by the double agent. Finger resting beside the trigger, he ran down the hallway. It took him a couple minutes, but he finally caught up with Tau, whose injuries severely hampered his speed.

The young man clutched his damaged ribs as he struggled up a flight of stairs, his bloodied hands leaving imprints on the wall.

Tsel folded the rifle and holstered it. "Tau?"

Tau turned around and looked wearily at the Turk. "You. You're with the kid right?"

Tsel stiffened. "How do you know that?"

"Blue haired guy shows up with the princess hours after a bold kidnap attempt. There's no way I don't look into him."

"Then you know."

"That you're fugitives? Yes. But I don't work for the Union. I'm not obliged to tell them anything... especially after today."

Tsel relaxed. "Where does this lead?"

"The royal hangar. It's a secret passage to be used for securing the royal family should the country be attacked."

Tau noted the lack of dust on the walls. "You guys keep regular maintenance on this passage?"

"No. It wouldn't be much of a secret if cleaners knew about it." Tau frowned as he too noticed the discrepancy. "That's impossible. The only ones who know of this passage are the royal family and..." His face whitened. "...Gods no."

"And?"

Tau shook his head fervently. "Never mind that. We need to hurry. I have a working Doll in the hangar.  You are a pilot right?"

Tsel raised a brow, impressed. "You researched that far in that short amount of time?"

Tau managed a pained smile. "Do not underestimate us G-men. We may not be liked much, but our information network is second to none."

"True. Here, let me help you. We'll cover more ground faster." He draped the agent's arm over his shoulders and helped him up the stairs.

Tau chuckled. "No flowers and you're already getting all handsy."

"I like my women with a little less red."

***

Outside the Imperial Palace, the battle was nearing its conclusion. The emergence of the near mad Pirate Boa compounded with the retreat of the Union soldiers reduced the four-way to a three-way.

The Revol's had also begun to falter in their attacks. Most had already been wiped out and unlike the Imperials, their numbers were tragically smaller. It was never meant to be a prolonged battle. A snatch-and-grab with however many casualties would have been acceptable by their standards.

None could have predicted the intervention of the Union or they would have committed more bodies to the mission.

Rudolph looked to his boss and recognized the disgusted look on her face. She was bored. But he could see something else in her eyes. A tiny twinkle. Someone on this planet had caught her attention.

Most likely it was the blue haired girl.

He felt sorry for the girl. His captain would hunt her through the Solar System until one of them was dead.

***

Harvard was starting to get irritated. His opponents were quite skilled. And since they weren't particularly trying to kill him, they made no foolish moves he could exploit.

Their only aim was to keep him occupied and they did that with frightening expertise. He laughed in spite of himself. Who said the Imperials had forgotten how to fight? If nothing else, their Captain was at least impressive.

Lesser men would have panicked and ordered him dead, allowing him to easily rout them. This man however had smartly isolated him from combat. It made him wonder what else they had up their sleeves once they ran out of ammo.

Either way, it would be a slight on his record if he didn't produce results soon.

Salvation reached for its longsword, but stopped when the battlefield suddenly changed.

***

Imperium

"Sir! The angels are here."

Captain Jacobson smiled. "That's a lot sooner than expected. Patch me through."

"bzzt, This is Staff Sergeant Robert Birgir, reporting for duty. The angels move unseen through the world."

"Haha, good to hear old friend. Begin in twenty."

"See you on the other side... Initiating countdown."

"Order all troops to retreat immediately. I repeat, order a full retreat!"

***

Warmonger

The Union soldiers ceased their attacks, stunned by the impromptu retreat.

"Sir..."

O'Reilly watched the hasty retreat, but there was no feeling of victory, only an apprehension borne from experience...

Suddenly alarms blared loud and mad all over the ship.

"What's going on!?" O'Reilly screamed, over the irritating noise.

"Sir! Multiple targets picked up on the secondary scan!"

"The magnetic one? Where are they!?"

"Oh my God."

"Speak up!"

"They are directly below us..."

Boom!