Gundam SEED Fan Fiction ❯ Gundam SEED Awakening ❯ PHASE-1: Warrior Awakening! ( Chapter 1 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Deathzealot 
An Introduction...
Anime/Manga: Gundam SEED Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Sci-fi / Romance / Mecha | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 07.30.2005 | Pages: 2 | Words: 5.2K | Visits: 380 | Status: Completed
An Introduction...
Anime/Manga: Gundam SEED Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Sci-fi / Romance / Mecha | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 07.30.2005 | Pages: 2 | Words: 5.2K | Visits: 380 | Status: Completed
PHASE-1: Warrior Awakening!
Lieutenant Eric Anderson watched with a feral grin as the might of the Earth Alliance soared towards the Coordinator?s homeland of PLANT. A munch smaller fleet moved to intercept them from the PLANT in front of them to defend their pathetic excuse for a homeland. Meanwhile, Eric was safely strapped in his GAT-01 Strike Dagger aboard the 250 Meter Class Ship Noble III. Him and his team were strapped to the decks of the ship since the hangers of the ship were too small for them and were filled with TS-MA2 Moebius Units anyway. So the pilot had a front row seat to the opening barrage of the enemy and the so-called mighty PLANTs beyond that. Something suddenly caught the pilot's eye, which made him turn to see a very small fleet cruising into the center of the two fleets. Suddenly his speakers crackled as a young women's voice comes over the "Guard" Channel.
"Please we must stop this before both Earth and PLANT are destroyed, we of the Clyne Faction are prepared to protect both Earth and the PLANTs from the horror of this war. Please I am begging you to stop this before it gets any worse," the sweet voice told them with sympathy in the tone of the voice. This makes Eric blink in surprise as a memory tries to surface, but he shakes his head to clear it before it could take hold. He then feels himself getting angry at the white ship in the middle of the formation, since it was the Archangel the Atlantic Federation Ship that had joined up with some filthy coordinators and the remaining traitors from the Orb Union. But his mood changed as the Dominion the sister ship to the Archangel appeared in his vision. The Dominion was also the flagship of the fleet he currently was assigned to. Suddenly something as his corner of his eye that made him tear his eyes away from the flagship to see a large canon like device appearing behind the Coordinators last Fortress. His eyes widened in surprise as the canon fired taking out a small group of the EA fleet destroying them. But then the order came in from the Dominion and the Washington, which said to attack. So Eric after shaking his head yet again to clear it, gives the order to launch from the ship and so his team sprang into the battle. Around the EA fleet Peacemaker Divisions and Strike Daggers launch into the fray alongside his own team.
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Pilot Fiona Rose gasped behind her helmet's faceplate as the Alliance fleet instead of retreating after the GENESIS fired like they were told they were going to do, pressed the attack. Then orders came for her to launch from the Nazca Class Frigate Gladiator and so she launched into her first combat battle in her GINN mobile suit. She calmed herself from her fear and threw her Mobile Suit into the battle alongside her fellow pilots who like her had just graduated from the academy only days before. Within a few minutes after the launch her friends were slaughtered by the far more experienced Naturals in their own Strike Daggers Mobile Suits. She was about to join them in death when a white Gundam flew past her small battle and took out all the Strike Daggers attacking her by disabling them by shooting off their arms and legs followed by their heads. This made Fiona blink in surprise and then the full weight of the loss of her friends fell onto her heart.
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Eric smiled as he finished off a GINN by cutting it in half with his Beam Saber. He laughed cruelly as the Mobile Suit exploded into a small fireball adding another new star adding to the others happening around the battle. Eric once he recovered flew off to find his next target. A GINN attracted his attention since it was retreating from the battle heading towards a new Nazca class ship.
"Oh no you don't you slime ball you are going down," Eric mumbled to himself as he started for it. As he flew he returned his beam saber to its mount and picked up a beam rifle from a downed Strike Dagger since he lost his early in the battle. He checked the charge as it connected to his MS's hand plug. He smiled to find that it had a half charge left in the Rifles E-Cap. He slyly smiled as the GINN seeing him coming started to fire it's rifle at him but it did so in a panicked matter and so the tracers didn't even find him. Eric grinned cruelly knowing that the pilot was scared of him and so he continued for it.
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Fiona after crying her eyes out started to head for the Gladiator to recover from her ordeal. But her console beeped at her and she saw that a Strike Dagger was heading towards her with Beam Rifle leveled at her thanks to her rear view camera. This caused her to panic and she fired her rifle in a haphazard fashion at the enemy. But the enemy didn't even flinch, but keep coming. The Strike Dagger's CIWS Vulcan's opened up shattering the GINNs mono-eye leaving her blind. For the second time that day Fiona surrendered herself to death, but a thought in back of her head told her that she didn't want to die. She was only eighteen she still had a life to live and boys to date.
"I don't want to die! I don't want to die!" she started to cry out. The Strike Dagger started to point its Beam Rifle at her cockpit. Also the MS using its other arm steadied the GINN so it could fire straight at the cockpit without missing.
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Eric froze as the skin-to-skin communicator activated filling his cockpit with whimpering and crying of a young girl. It was what she was saying that brought a painful memory back.
-Flashback-
A small town in rural Europe was on fire from the attacks of several large man shaped objects marching through the town laying waste to all to what stood before them. Next to a burning house a young man of nineteen kneeled with a young girl about his age in his arms. The boy clothes were ripped and blacked by fire and blood. His usually spiked black hair was messy and dirt filled. While his usual handsome face was smoke stained and bruised, with a pair of lines running down his face from him crying.
"Eric am I going to die?" the girl asked with a flinch since all the blood on the boy was from a large wound her chest and it hurt her...bad. Her own blue eyes were looking into Eric's own green eyes searching for the truth.
"No Sam you are going to be fine the Firemen and Paramedics will be here soon to take care of you," Eric replied to his girlfriend of seven years and soon to be fiancé¥ Samantha Larson. But Sam had not come this far into their relationship without knowing if he was lying or not. This one time he was lying indicated by the tears running his face leaving white trails down his face through the dirt and smoke stains on his face.
"You now Eric you are a very bad liar and you look like right now too," Sam informed him as she weakly touched his face. Her statement made Eric smile sense even at the gates of death Sam still had a sense of humor.
"Right your no better Sam," he replied with a smile that made his green eyes glow in happiness. Indeed Sam did look awful for her usual brown shoulder length hair was caked with so much dirt and blood that it looked black. While her clothes were in about the same shape as her boyfriend's clothes and were caked with blood from her wound. The wound it self was from a large piece of debris that lay nearby, Eric having pulled it from her only moments before.
"Your right Eric I do look like ," she replied with a smile as well. The couple stayed silent for several seconds before Sam looked back into her boyfriend's eyes sensing that the end was near.
"Eric promise me something for me will you?" she asked more weak then before. This brought Eric's head up from its position on her shoulder.
"I will do anything for you babe, just tell me," he said softly looking her eyes now filling with tears.
"Promise... me that won't become a monster... after I die and kill the Coordinators like my own father did in the last war. I... don't want you to become like...him! Promise me this... Eric please..." she managed to get out as her world started turn black. Eric looked down at her and leaned down to whisper into her ear.
"I promise Sam I will never turn into that soulless ," he whispered into her ear and brought a final smile to her face before all she saw was black. Eric leaned back and saw Sam's now dull and soulless eyes staring back at him. He closed his eyes and leaned back down to kiss her lips and closed her eyes for the final time. Then he cried for all the heavens to hear.
-End Flashback-
Back in his cockpit of his Mobile Suit Eric opened his eyes as tears started fill his eyes. He silently wept for he had become what he had promised he wouldn't become. He had become like Sam's father David Larson a man who would shoot at his own wife to kill his one time enemy behind her. After the death of Sam he had walked with her body in his arms to the staging point for the refugees from his town and there he had found that his parents had died as well. Their death along with several other deaths of friends and family he become a cold-hearted killer ready to kill at the drop of the hat, even soldiers that have become helpless or had surrendered.
"Sam I am sorry, but I have broke my promise to you. But I promise you this I will not allow people like your father and my former self to exist any longer, this I promise you," Eric said to his girlfriend that was no longer on this earth. Suddenly he opened his eyes once more when his console started to beep at him. He turned with eyes wide to see a Gundam unit pointing its rifle at him. Cursing he grabbed his thruster pack and a medical kit before blowing the hatch and jumping out right in time as a ruby red beam passed through his Mobile Suit before exploding. He watched as the left arm still holding the shield floated away. Frowning he turned his attention back to the GINN and saw that it was still were he had last seen it. Eric frowning saw that one of the arms had been blown off, while it was pitted and scared from his exploding Mobile Suit. Sighing when he saw the hatch opening and its pilot exiting with her own thruster pack on. He quickly made his way over to her to inspect her injuries, but she then started to head for a ruined hulk of an Escort Ship. He followed her as she made her way there.
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Fiona frowned when she finally realized that she was not dead yet and so with speed that only a Coordinator could manage she switched her camera to one of the secondary cameras via her MS's control keyboard. She was just in time to see the Strike Dagger exploding. She flinched and closed her eyes as the enemy Mobile Suit exploded pitting her MS with debris. Finally she opened her eyes after all the shaking and such was over to see that she survived. She then took her controls again to make her way to the ship yet again but then realized that her controls were not responding. Frowning she inputted a brief command into the keyboard and saw an error message blinking to life on her HUD. Sighing she slip on a Thruster Pack and equipped herself before opening the hatch and jumping from the unit. Once outside in the void of space she looked around and saw a ruined Alliance Escort Ship but looked still intact. So she made her way to the ship with a resigned sigh.
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Eric with a frown entered the Escort Ship via a gash in the ship still following the ZAFT pilot. As the pilot made her way through the eerily and dead ship Eric followed with a frown. Finally the pilot made it to a compartment that still had oxygen and took off her helmet revealing brilliant locks of bright purple hair. Eric inhaled in shock at the pilot?s beauty. The woman... no the girl sighed and sniffled before sliding down the wall to sit down.
?Yeah you all right?? he managed to ask with what he hoped was a friendly smile. The pilot with reflexes that only a Coordinator could manage leveled a pistol at him. Eyes widening in shock when she saw his Pilot Suit the pilot let her other hand travel to the gun. Surprised Eric threw up his hands showing that he was unarmed.
?Hold it I am not going to hurt you at all,? he said as he started to move towards her with his smile again.
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Fiona cursed herself for letting the Natural get close to her, but once she saw no weapon on him she lowered her sidearm to inspect him. He was indeed a Natural for he wore the blue and white Pilot Suit of OMNI Enforcer.
?What do you want Natural?? she asked with a frown as he sat in front of her crossed legged which look funny in Zero Gee of the ship.
?I just want to help for I was the one who nearly blasted your GINN away, and for that I do apologize,? he answered with eyes that were sad and confused. Frowning Fiona brought her sidearm up again but something inside of her told her not to shoot, for it felt like she knew this guy.
?You were the pilot of that Strike Dagger weren?t you?? she asked with a frown wondering what changed, for it was only minutes ago this guy wanted to blast her away now he was having a decent conversation with her. The other pilot nodded and turned away from her.
?So what stopped you from killing me?? she asked in return very confused right now for here they were talking when they were enemies.
?I will tell you later, but we need to get our buts out of here before someone decides to blow this hulk up to get to something else,? he said getting up and handing her helmet back. Fiona frowned and followed him while putting her helmet back on. They then made their way to out of the ship right in time for a storm of Machine Gun rounds blew through the ship and into the compartment were they were only seconds ago. She gulped and continued to follow the Alliance Pilot, she didn?t know why she was following him but she felt deep in her heart that this guy was telling the truth and that she should follow him.
?Ahhhh... Just our luck!? he cried and Fiona turned from her inspection of him to see that he was moving towards a MBF-M1 Astray Mobile Suit, which was remarkably intact. As they approached she saw that the cockpit was open and a pair of figures were floating nearby. Frowning she turned to inspect them to find that one was a Orb Pilot, most likely the Astray?s Pilot, while the other was a ZAFT pilot whose MS was no were in sight. Both were dead, she heard the other pilot call for her and she turned to see the man standing on the open hatch waving towards her. Once again Fiona sighed and floated over to him who took her hand and helped her into the MS.
?By the way my name is Fiona Rose,? she said as she entered the cockpit with his help. He was shocked but nodded as he to entered the cockpit.
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Eric sighed in relief as the green suited figure of Ms. Fiona Rose was finally safely in the Astray?s cockpit. He smiled at her and then took his place on the control seat to see that the MS was truly in good condition, and that thankfully the controls were similar to his Strike Dagger. So after a few moments getting used to the controls, he brought them away from the ruined ship. Fiona then slipped into the small space next to the seat. He looked around to realize that after the death of his Mobile Suit the fighting headed towards the PLANTs themselves. On his way he picked up his totaled Strike Dagger?s Shield started to head for the large white ship fighting off the black colored Dominion. Just then the large canon GENESIS fired again spearing its way through the Alliance fleet and hit the large Earth Alliance Ptolemaeus Lunar Base on the Moon making yet another crater on the already crater filled landscape, and the same time destroyed the Alliance reinforcements on their way. He heard Fiona gasped in surprise at his side, at first he thought it was the blast from the canon but he was proved incorrect when a group of Moebius Armors blasted past him towards the PLANTs with large nuclear missiles carried on their undersides. He growled and dashed towards them and took the first few with the last shots from the Astray?s beam rifle, then moved to finish the last with his beam saber even though the Mobile Armors were trying to kill him with their Vulcans. Once the last exploded into a miniature nova of particles he moved back on course to the Archangel.
"I haven't asked you your name yet and why you're doing this?" Fiona asked him from her position. He turned in his seat to regard her and then went to his piloting.
"My name is Lieutenant...excuse me former Lieutenant Eric Anderson and the reason why is that when you started to cry out 'I don't want to die!" it brought a memory to surface and so I can say that I awoke from a very bad nightmare," he informed her with a sad grin. Fiona seemed to accept this and so Eric turned his attention back to piloting the newly acquired Mobile Suit.
"So what was the memory if you mind me asking?" she asked him and the memory came back and he quickly decided to share it with her since some how he was more at ease when he close to her.
"Yes you may, when ZAFT started to land on Earth for their invasion the small town that I lived in was not far from one of the drop zones. So the next day we awoke to find GINNs walking down our streets towards the base on the other side of the mountain from us. The ZAFT pilots were very careful not to damage any property in the town and were just using the town as a direct route to the base. So along that they weren't bothering anybody we didn't care since most of us didn't particular care for the Earth Alliance. What we didn't know was that our town harbored a small group of Blue Cosmos supporters and they didn't take it to kindly that the GINNs showed up. So they decided to take matters in their own hands and attacked the ZAFT mobile suits with handheld rockets and heavy machines guns. They also called the airbase that the GINNs were going to attack and within a few seconds my town was battlefield. I and my girlfriend were just running out of her house when a flaming Alliance fighter crashed into her house killing her little brother and sending shrapnel our way. One small piece of it found its way to her and impaled her through her torso. She died a few minutes later after I pulled the piece out, but before she died she made me promise that I wouldn't become a monster and become like her father, who had been sent to prison for killing his wife to get to his long time enemy behind her. So I carried her body to the staging point for the refugees and found that my parents were killed as well. Soon after this I joined the Earth Alliance OMNI Enforcer and become a Mobile Armor Pilot for while then the Strike Daggers were finally brought around and I became a MS pilot. When this happened the final straw in my sanity broke when a letter arrived to say that the rest of my family we're killed back in Europe. So I broke my promise to her and I became a cold blooded monster," he finished with tears started fall down his face. But he now felt better by telling her all about it and he turned to see that she was speechless and he smiled to reassure her. He didn't expect she would hug him when she recovered from shock. This surprised him but he returned it with a smile pleased how good it felt to be close to this girl.
"I'm sorry Eric and it was my voice that awoke you from this monster?" she asked him with a smile as they broke away from each other. Eric didn't get a chance to reply as they arrived into a firestorm that was the main battle. Fiona quickly sat down as Eric junked and dodged away from GINNs, CGUEs, and the new GuAIZs heading towards the ship of hope the Archangel, which right now fitted her namesake perfectly. Since the Beam Rifle was out of power he had to cut his way through the masses of ZAFT units and even Earth Alliance units that were enough to get in his way. All through this never once got hit for he used his new Mobile Suit awesome speed to his advantage as he speed towards the ship, which demonstrated to the young Fiona that Eric was indeed an awesome pilot. Once he reached the eye of the storm the Archangel herself he switched his radio over to a general channel and tried to contact the ship before him.
"This is Enforcer Lieutenant Eric Anderson of the Earth Alliance OMNI Enforcer Division to Archangel, I wish to defect and I need landing clearance," he said and within seconds a young girl of about sixteen in a pink female enlisted uniform sprang up on his main monitor.
"This the Archangel Lieutenant Anderson, may I ask why your defecting?" she asked with eyes that made her older then she looked, ones that have seen death itself.
"Because this is madness and clearly you guys are the only sane people here. I also picked up one of your Astray Units and I'm returning it as well," he said simply dodging fire from a pesky GINN on his tail. The girl of the screen nodded and signed off briefly before she came back on.
"Alright you're cleared to dock Lieutenant and welcome to the Clyne faction sir," she replied with a smile that reassured him. He smiled and flew up to the now opening recovery hatch. Once inside he saw another Astray getting repaired, so Eric locked his own Astray to one of the repair cradles against the wall. Once the hanger was pressured he saw mechanics storm into the bay. Making sure that everything was shut down and locked up he popped his hatch to get out. He kicked off the Astray and Fiona followed him fully aware of the glances she was getting. The two pilots then landed on the catwalk not far from the open cockpit of the Astray. Waiting for them was a slightly older man in an orange tech uniform.
"Welcome to the Archangel Lieutenant I'm Mister Murdoch the lead tech on this ship, my men will get your suit ready for action in no time. It looks like it just needs some small repairs," the tech said warmly to Eric who smiled in return shocked that it was his suit now. Just then the tech saw the green suited figure trying to hide behind Eric.
"Now who's this young lady?" Murdoch asked with a warm smile that quickly reassured Fiona and Eric.
"Pilot Fiona Rose, Xavier Squadron ZAFT sir," she reported with a frown not sure what response she was going to get. But she was surprised by the warm smile of Murdock and some his techs who heard it near by.
"Don't worry the crew of the Archangel, and the Clyne Faction itself doesn't care that you're a Coordinator, in fact we have a few pilots in the Faction who are Coordinators like yourself. There's Kira Yamato the pilot of the Freedom Gundam, earlier in the war he piloted the Strike Gundam off this vary ship even though it was an Earth Alliance vessel. Along with him we have Athrun Zala and Dearka Elsman a couple of former ZAFT pilots like yourself, not to mention as the entire crew of our flagship then Eternal" Murdoch replied with a smile at her that made her more welcome then before. She had heard about those two pilots for they were part of the group that stole the Earth Alliance Gundams that started all this mess.
"Now Lieutenant my men well repair any damages on your unit and recharge your beam rifle, after that the Captain wants you out there. I will also give you a new IFF so neither you nor the other Faction pilots will shoot each other. As you wait the Captain wants to talk to the two of you," he said as he started to float over to the rest of his crew going over the Astray. Eric nodded and grabbed Fiona's hand as he started to head for the exit to the hangar bay. There they meet up with a young man in glasses in a Blue Earth Alliance Enlisted Uniform, the man... no boy started to lead them to the bridge of the mighty vessel. He got them to the bridge in only a few minutes; once the doors opened he could hear the sounds of a ship at war.
"Bring us about on a heading towards the Dominion helm, once we are in range give them a taste of the Lohengrin canons if you please Weapons since we have to repay them for that nasty trick they pulled in their last battle with us," Eric heard a woman ordering her crew into action. Eric had noticed since coming aboard the ship the little shakes around the ship of a ship under attack, he now noticed a much larger shimmer then before that knock Fiona into his arms and him against the wall. Around him monitors blew up and he swore that the ship groaned as something hit it. Once he recovered he kicked off and started to float over to the command platform above the main C&C Fiona was right behind him. As he flew over to the platform he saw the women... no girl that had answered his hail. Once there he finally saw the women behind the scenes the one who commanded the mighty ship beneath him.
"Captain, Lieutenant Eric Anderson reporting ma'am," he said with a salute at the women in the chair. The women took her attention away from the ship before her and turned to regard the young man and young women coming up beside her.
"Pilot Fiona Rose ma'am reporting," Fiona said too with a salute. The captain looked both pilots over and then returned their salutes.
"Well Lieutenant, Pilot I'm Captain Murrue Ramius the Captain of the Archangel I will ask you this again since you have already told young Miri at the COMM station, but why have you joined us?" she asked them that key question again. Eric sighed remembering his new promise and looked at the intimidating sight of the clone of this very ship he now stood on.
"Ma'am out there everyone is crazy fighting for no apparent reason, its madness. It affected me as well int'l I came upon the Pilot here. Her cries reminded me of why I joined the EA in the first place and an old promise that I had broken. So I quickly decided to join up with the only sane people left in this world once I awoke from my so-called nightmare," he replied with a sorrow filled voice and eyes filled with sadness and regret. Captain Ramius nodded seeing the truth in his eyes and in his words. She also saw that the young woman at the Lieutenant's side was looking over at him with an admiring glance.
"Alright Lieutenant I want you to take command of a group of Strike Dagger that like you had defected, but in mass to the Orb Battleship Kusanagi. They had lost their commander and his death woke up the fact that this battle was crazy, so they decided to defect, you are going to take command of these men Lieutenant," she ordered him and Eric nodded in understanding.
?One more thing, I get to keep the Astray?? he asked confused. She turned back to him with a smile.
?Yes for we have no one pilot it right now, so it is yours,? she answered, he nodded and then saluted her and started to leave the bridge but Fiona stopped him.
"Please Eric don't die," Fiona said with emotion that Eric didn't think she had for him. He numbly looked down at her in surprise and saw her smile; this made him smile in return, because something about her drew him in for some strange reason.
"I promise I won't Fiona and that is one promise that I intend to keep," he said with an equal emotion and affection towards her. He then rushed out of the bridge heading towards the hanger.
TBC.... Â
Lieutenant Eric Anderson watched with a feral grin as the might of the Earth Alliance soared towards the Coordinator?s homeland of PLANT. A munch smaller fleet moved to intercept them from the PLANT in front of them to defend their pathetic excuse for a homeland. Meanwhile, Eric was safely strapped in his GAT-01 Strike Dagger aboard the 250 Meter Class Ship Noble III. Him and his team were strapped to the decks of the ship since the hangers of the ship were too small for them and were filled with TS-MA2 Moebius Units anyway. So the pilot had a front row seat to the opening barrage of the enemy and the so-called mighty PLANTs beyond that. Something suddenly caught the pilot's eye, which made him turn to see a very small fleet cruising into the center of the two fleets. Suddenly his speakers crackled as a young women's voice comes over the "Guard" Channel.
"Please we must stop this before both Earth and PLANT are destroyed, we of the Clyne Faction are prepared to protect both Earth and the PLANTs from the horror of this war. Please I am begging you to stop this before it gets any worse," the sweet voice told them with sympathy in the tone of the voice. This makes Eric blink in surprise as a memory tries to surface, but he shakes his head to clear it before it could take hold. He then feels himself getting angry at the white ship in the middle of the formation, since it was the Archangel the Atlantic Federation Ship that had joined up with some filthy coordinators and the remaining traitors from the Orb Union. But his mood changed as the Dominion the sister ship to the Archangel appeared in his vision. The Dominion was also the flagship of the fleet he currently was assigned to. Suddenly something as his corner of his eye that made him tear his eyes away from the flagship to see a large canon like device appearing behind the Coordinators last Fortress. His eyes widened in surprise as the canon fired taking out a small group of the EA fleet destroying them. But then the order came in from the Dominion and the Washington, which said to attack. So Eric after shaking his head yet again to clear it, gives the order to launch from the ship and so his team sprang into the battle. Around the EA fleet Peacemaker Divisions and Strike Daggers launch into the fray alongside his own team.
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Pilot Fiona Rose gasped behind her helmet's faceplate as the Alliance fleet instead of retreating after the GENESIS fired like they were told they were going to do, pressed the attack. Then orders came for her to launch from the Nazca Class Frigate Gladiator and so she launched into her first combat battle in her GINN mobile suit. She calmed herself from her fear and threw her Mobile Suit into the battle alongside her fellow pilots who like her had just graduated from the academy only days before. Within a few minutes after the launch her friends were slaughtered by the far more experienced Naturals in their own Strike Daggers Mobile Suits. She was about to join them in death when a white Gundam flew past her small battle and took out all the Strike Daggers attacking her by disabling them by shooting off their arms and legs followed by their heads. This made Fiona blink in surprise and then the full weight of the loss of her friends fell onto her heart.
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Eric smiled as he finished off a GINN by cutting it in half with his Beam Saber. He laughed cruelly as the Mobile Suit exploded into a small fireball adding another new star adding to the others happening around the battle. Eric once he recovered flew off to find his next target. A GINN attracted his attention since it was retreating from the battle heading towards a new Nazca class ship.
"Oh no you don't you slime ball you are going down," Eric mumbled to himself as he started for it. As he flew he returned his beam saber to its mount and picked up a beam rifle from a downed Strike Dagger since he lost his early in the battle. He checked the charge as it connected to his MS's hand plug. He smiled to find that it had a half charge left in the Rifles E-Cap. He slyly smiled as the GINN seeing him coming started to fire it's rifle at him but it did so in a panicked matter and so the tracers didn't even find him. Eric grinned cruelly knowing that the pilot was scared of him and so he continued for it.
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Fiona after crying her eyes out started to head for the Gladiator to recover from her ordeal. But her console beeped at her and she saw that a Strike Dagger was heading towards her with Beam Rifle leveled at her thanks to her rear view camera. This caused her to panic and she fired her rifle in a haphazard fashion at the enemy. But the enemy didn't even flinch, but keep coming. The Strike Dagger's CIWS Vulcan's opened up shattering the GINNs mono-eye leaving her blind. For the second time that day Fiona surrendered herself to death, but a thought in back of her head told her that she didn't want to die. She was only eighteen she still had a life to live and boys to date.
"I don't want to die! I don't want to die!" she started to cry out. The Strike Dagger started to point its Beam Rifle at her cockpit. Also the MS using its other arm steadied the GINN so it could fire straight at the cockpit without missing.
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Eric froze as the skin-to-skin communicator activated filling his cockpit with whimpering and crying of a young girl. It was what she was saying that brought a painful memory back.
-Flashback-
A small town in rural Europe was on fire from the attacks of several large man shaped objects marching through the town laying waste to all to what stood before them. Next to a burning house a young man of nineteen kneeled with a young girl about his age in his arms. The boy clothes were ripped and blacked by fire and blood. His usually spiked black hair was messy and dirt filled. While his usual handsome face was smoke stained and bruised, with a pair of lines running down his face from him crying.
"Eric am I going to die?" the girl asked with a flinch since all the blood on the boy was from a large wound her chest and it hurt her...bad. Her own blue eyes were looking into Eric's own green eyes searching for the truth.
"No Sam you are going to be fine the Firemen and Paramedics will be here soon to take care of you," Eric replied to his girlfriend of seven years and soon to be fiancé¥ Samantha Larson. But Sam had not come this far into their relationship without knowing if he was lying or not. This one time he was lying indicated by the tears running his face leaving white trails down his face through the dirt and smoke stains on his face.
"You now Eric you are a very bad liar and you look like right now too," Sam informed him as she weakly touched his face. Her statement made Eric smile sense even at the gates of death Sam still had a sense of humor.
"Right your no better Sam," he replied with a smile that made his green eyes glow in happiness. Indeed Sam did look awful for her usual brown shoulder length hair was caked with so much dirt and blood that it looked black. While her clothes were in about the same shape as her boyfriend's clothes and were caked with blood from her wound. The wound it self was from a large piece of debris that lay nearby, Eric having pulled it from her only moments before.
"Your right Eric I do look like ," she replied with a smile as well. The couple stayed silent for several seconds before Sam looked back into her boyfriend's eyes sensing that the end was near.
"Eric promise me something for me will you?" she asked more weak then before. This brought Eric's head up from its position on her shoulder.
"I will do anything for you babe, just tell me," he said softly looking her eyes now filling with tears.
"Promise... me that won't become a monster... after I die and kill the Coordinators like my own father did in the last war. I... don't want you to become like...him! Promise me this... Eric please..." she managed to get out as her world started turn black. Eric looked down at her and leaned down to whisper into her ear.
"I promise Sam I will never turn into that soulless ," he whispered into her ear and brought a final smile to her face before all she saw was black. Eric leaned back and saw Sam's now dull and soulless eyes staring back at him. He closed his eyes and leaned back down to kiss her lips and closed her eyes for the final time. Then he cried for all the heavens to hear.
-End Flashback-
Back in his cockpit of his Mobile Suit Eric opened his eyes as tears started fill his eyes. He silently wept for he had become what he had promised he wouldn't become. He had become like Sam's father David Larson a man who would shoot at his own wife to kill his one time enemy behind her. After the death of Sam he had walked with her body in his arms to the staging point for the refugees from his town and there he had found that his parents had died as well. Their death along with several other deaths of friends and family he become a cold-hearted killer ready to kill at the drop of the hat, even soldiers that have become helpless or had surrendered.
"Sam I am sorry, but I have broke my promise to you. But I promise you this I will not allow people like your father and my former self to exist any longer, this I promise you," Eric said to his girlfriend that was no longer on this earth. Suddenly he opened his eyes once more when his console started to beep at him. He turned with eyes wide to see a Gundam unit pointing its rifle at him. Cursing he grabbed his thruster pack and a medical kit before blowing the hatch and jumping out right in time as a ruby red beam passed through his Mobile Suit before exploding. He watched as the left arm still holding the shield floated away. Frowning he turned his attention back to the GINN and saw that it was still were he had last seen it. Eric frowning saw that one of the arms had been blown off, while it was pitted and scared from his exploding Mobile Suit. Sighing when he saw the hatch opening and its pilot exiting with her own thruster pack on. He quickly made his way over to her to inspect her injuries, but she then started to head for a ruined hulk of an Escort Ship. He followed her as she made her way there.
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Fiona frowned when she finally realized that she was not dead yet and so with speed that only a Coordinator could manage she switched her camera to one of the secondary cameras via her MS's control keyboard. She was just in time to see the Strike Dagger exploding. She flinched and closed her eyes as the enemy Mobile Suit exploded pitting her MS with debris. Finally she opened her eyes after all the shaking and such was over to see that she survived. She then took her controls again to make her way to the ship yet again but then realized that her controls were not responding. Frowning she inputted a brief command into the keyboard and saw an error message blinking to life on her HUD. Sighing she slip on a Thruster Pack and equipped herself before opening the hatch and jumping from the unit. Once outside in the void of space she looked around and saw a ruined Alliance Escort Ship but looked still intact. So she made her way to the ship with a resigned sigh.
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Eric with a frown entered the Escort Ship via a gash in the ship still following the ZAFT pilot. As the pilot made her way through the eerily and dead ship Eric followed with a frown. Finally the pilot made it to a compartment that still had oxygen and took off her helmet revealing brilliant locks of bright purple hair. Eric inhaled in shock at the pilot?s beauty. The woman... no the girl sighed and sniffled before sliding down the wall to sit down.
?Yeah you all right?? he managed to ask with what he hoped was a friendly smile. The pilot with reflexes that only a Coordinator could manage leveled a pistol at him. Eyes widening in shock when she saw his Pilot Suit the pilot let her other hand travel to the gun. Surprised Eric threw up his hands showing that he was unarmed.
?Hold it I am not going to hurt you at all,? he said as he started to move towards her with his smile again.
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Fiona cursed herself for letting the Natural get close to her, but once she saw no weapon on him she lowered her sidearm to inspect him. He was indeed a Natural for he wore the blue and white Pilot Suit of OMNI Enforcer.
?What do you want Natural?? she asked with a frown as he sat in front of her crossed legged which look funny in Zero Gee of the ship.
?I just want to help for I was the one who nearly blasted your GINN away, and for that I do apologize,? he answered with eyes that were sad and confused. Frowning Fiona brought her sidearm up again but something inside of her told her not to shoot, for it felt like she knew this guy.
?You were the pilot of that Strike Dagger weren?t you?? she asked with a frown wondering what changed, for it was only minutes ago this guy wanted to blast her away now he was having a decent conversation with her. The other pilot nodded and turned away from her.
?So what stopped you from killing me?? she asked in return very confused right now for here they were talking when they were enemies.
?I will tell you later, but we need to get our buts out of here before someone decides to blow this hulk up to get to something else,? he said getting up and handing her helmet back. Fiona frowned and followed him while putting her helmet back on. They then made their way to out of the ship right in time for a storm of Machine Gun rounds blew through the ship and into the compartment were they were only seconds ago. She gulped and continued to follow the Alliance Pilot, she didn?t know why she was following him but she felt deep in her heart that this guy was telling the truth and that she should follow him.
?Ahhhh... Just our luck!? he cried and Fiona turned from her inspection of him to see that he was moving towards a MBF-M1 Astray Mobile Suit, which was remarkably intact. As they approached she saw that the cockpit was open and a pair of figures were floating nearby. Frowning she turned to inspect them to find that one was a Orb Pilot, most likely the Astray?s Pilot, while the other was a ZAFT pilot whose MS was no were in sight. Both were dead, she heard the other pilot call for her and she turned to see the man standing on the open hatch waving towards her. Once again Fiona sighed and floated over to him who took her hand and helped her into the MS.
?By the way my name is Fiona Rose,? she said as she entered the cockpit with his help. He was shocked but nodded as he to entered the cockpit.
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Eric sighed in relief as the green suited figure of Ms. Fiona Rose was finally safely in the Astray?s cockpit. He smiled at her and then took his place on the control seat to see that the MS was truly in good condition, and that thankfully the controls were similar to his Strike Dagger. So after a few moments getting used to the controls, he brought them away from the ruined ship. Fiona then slipped into the small space next to the seat. He looked around to realize that after the death of his Mobile Suit the fighting headed towards the PLANTs themselves. On his way he picked up his totaled Strike Dagger?s Shield started to head for the large white ship fighting off the black colored Dominion. Just then the large canon GENESIS fired again spearing its way through the Alliance fleet and hit the large Earth Alliance Ptolemaeus Lunar Base on the Moon making yet another crater on the already crater filled landscape, and the same time destroyed the Alliance reinforcements on their way. He heard Fiona gasped in surprise at his side, at first he thought it was the blast from the canon but he was proved incorrect when a group of Moebius Armors blasted past him towards the PLANTs with large nuclear missiles carried on their undersides. He growled and dashed towards them and took the first few with the last shots from the Astray?s beam rifle, then moved to finish the last with his beam saber even though the Mobile Armors were trying to kill him with their Vulcans. Once the last exploded into a miniature nova of particles he moved back on course to the Archangel.
"I haven't asked you your name yet and why you're doing this?" Fiona asked him from her position. He turned in his seat to regard her and then went to his piloting.
"My name is Lieutenant...excuse me former Lieutenant Eric Anderson and the reason why is that when you started to cry out 'I don't want to die!" it brought a memory to surface and so I can say that I awoke from a very bad nightmare," he informed her with a sad grin. Fiona seemed to accept this and so Eric turned his attention back to piloting the newly acquired Mobile Suit.
"So what was the memory if you mind me asking?" she asked him and the memory came back and he quickly decided to share it with her since some how he was more at ease when he close to her.
"Yes you may, when ZAFT started to land on Earth for their invasion the small town that I lived in was not far from one of the drop zones. So the next day we awoke to find GINNs walking down our streets towards the base on the other side of the mountain from us. The ZAFT pilots were very careful not to damage any property in the town and were just using the town as a direct route to the base. So along that they weren't bothering anybody we didn't care since most of us didn't particular care for the Earth Alliance. What we didn't know was that our town harbored a small group of Blue Cosmos supporters and they didn't take it to kindly that the GINNs showed up. So they decided to take matters in their own hands and attacked the ZAFT mobile suits with handheld rockets and heavy machines guns. They also called the airbase that the GINNs were going to attack and within a few seconds my town was battlefield. I and my girlfriend were just running out of her house when a flaming Alliance fighter crashed into her house killing her little brother and sending shrapnel our way. One small piece of it found its way to her and impaled her through her torso. She died a few minutes later after I pulled the piece out, but before she died she made me promise that I wouldn't become a monster and become like her father, who had been sent to prison for killing his wife to get to his long time enemy behind her. So I carried her body to the staging point for the refugees and found that my parents were killed as well. Soon after this I joined the Earth Alliance OMNI Enforcer and become a Mobile Armor Pilot for while then the Strike Daggers were finally brought around and I became a MS pilot. When this happened the final straw in my sanity broke when a letter arrived to say that the rest of my family we're killed back in Europe. So I broke my promise to her and I became a cold blooded monster," he finished with tears started fall down his face. But he now felt better by telling her all about it and he turned to see that she was speechless and he smiled to reassure her. He didn't expect she would hug him when she recovered from shock. This surprised him but he returned it with a smile pleased how good it felt to be close to this girl.
"I'm sorry Eric and it was my voice that awoke you from this monster?" she asked him with a smile as they broke away from each other. Eric didn't get a chance to reply as they arrived into a firestorm that was the main battle. Fiona quickly sat down as Eric junked and dodged away from GINNs, CGUEs, and the new GuAIZs heading towards the ship of hope the Archangel, which right now fitted her namesake perfectly. Since the Beam Rifle was out of power he had to cut his way through the masses of ZAFT units and even Earth Alliance units that were enough to get in his way. All through this never once got hit for he used his new Mobile Suit awesome speed to his advantage as he speed towards the ship, which demonstrated to the young Fiona that Eric was indeed an awesome pilot. Once he reached the eye of the storm the Archangel herself he switched his radio over to a general channel and tried to contact the ship before him.
"This is Enforcer Lieutenant Eric Anderson of the Earth Alliance OMNI Enforcer Division to Archangel, I wish to defect and I need landing clearance," he said and within seconds a young girl of about sixteen in a pink female enlisted uniform sprang up on his main monitor.
"This the Archangel Lieutenant Anderson, may I ask why your defecting?" she asked with eyes that made her older then she looked, ones that have seen death itself.
"Because this is madness and clearly you guys are the only sane people here. I also picked up one of your Astray Units and I'm returning it as well," he said simply dodging fire from a pesky GINN on his tail. The girl of the screen nodded and signed off briefly before she came back on.
"Alright you're cleared to dock Lieutenant and welcome to the Clyne faction sir," she replied with a smile that reassured him. He smiled and flew up to the now opening recovery hatch. Once inside he saw another Astray getting repaired, so Eric locked his own Astray to one of the repair cradles against the wall. Once the hanger was pressured he saw mechanics storm into the bay. Making sure that everything was shut down and locked up he popped his hatch to get out. He kicked off the Astray and Fiona followed him fully aware of the glances she was getting. The two pilots then landed on the catwalk not far from the open cockpit of the Astray. Waiting for them was a slightly older man in an orange tech uniform.
"Welcome to the Archangel Lieutenant I'm Mister Murdoch the lead tech on this ship, my men will get your suit ready for action in no time. It looks like it just needs some small repairs," the tech said warmly to Eric who smiled in return shocked that it was his suit now. Just then the tech saw the green suited figure trying to hide behind Eric.
"Now who's this young lady?" Murdoch asked with a warm smile that quickly reassured Fiona and Eric.
"Pilot Fiona Rose, Xavier Squadron ZAFT sir," she reported with a frown not sure what response she was going to get. But she was surprised by the warm smile of Murdock and some his techs who heard it near by.
"Don't worry the crew of the Archangel, and the Clyne Faction itself doesn't care that you're a Coordinator, in fact we have a few pilots in the Faction who are Coordinators like yourself. There's Kira Yamato the pilot of the Freedom Gundam, earlier in the war he piloted the Strike Gundam off this vary ship even though it was an Earth Alliance vessel. Along with him we have Athrun Zala and Dearka Elsman a couple of former ZAFT pilots like yourself, not to mention as the entire crew of our flagship then Eternal" Murdoch replied with a smile at her that made her more welcome then before. She had heard about those two pilots for they were part of the group that stole the Earth Alliance Gundams that started all this mess.
"Now Lieutenant my men well repair any damages on your unit and recharge your beam rifle, after that the Captain wants you out there. I will also give you a new IFF so neither you nor the other Faction pilots will shoot each other. As you wait the Captain wants to talk to the two of you," he said as he started to float over to the rest of his crew going over the Astray. Eric nodded and grabbed Fiona's hand as he started to head for the exit to the hangar bay. There they meet up with a young man in glasses in a Blue Earth Alliance Enlisted Uniform, the man... no boy started to lead them to the bridge of the mighty vessel. He got them to the bridge in only a few minutes; once the doors opened he could hear the sounds of a ship at war.
"Bring us about on a heading towards the Dominion helm, once we are in range give them a taste of the Lohengrin canons if you please Weapons since we have to repay them for that nasty trick they pulled in their last battle with us," Eric heard a woman ordering her crew into action. Eric had noticed since coming aboard the ship the little shakes around the ship of a ship under attack, he now noticed a much larger shimmer then before that knock Fiona into his arms and him against the wall. Around him monitors blew up and he swore that the ship groaned as something hit it. Once he recovered he kicked off and started to float over to the command platform above the main C&C Fiona was right behind him. As he flew over to the platform he saw the women... no girl that had answered his hail. Once there he finally saw the women behind the scenes the one who commanded the mighty ship beneath him.
"Captain, Lieutenant Eric Anderson reporting ma'am," he said with a salute at the women in the chair. The women took her attention away from the ship before her and turned to regard the young man and young women coming up beside her.
"Pilot Fiona Rose ma'am reporting," Fiona said too with a salute. The captain looked both pilots over and then returned their salutes.
"Well Lieutenant, Pilot I'm Captain Murrue Ramius the Captain of the Archangel I will ask you this again since you have already told young Miri at the COMM station, but why have you joined us?" she asked them that key question again. Eric sighed remembering his new promise and looked at the intimidating sight of the clone of this very ship he now stood on.
"Ma'am out there everyone is crazy fighting for no apparent reason, its madness. It affected me as well int'l I came upon the Pilot here. Her cries reminded me of why I joined the EA in the first place and an old promise that I had broken. So I quickly decided to join up with the only sane people left in this world once I awoke from my so-called nightmare," he replied with a sorrow filled voice and eyes filled with sadness and regret. Captain Ramius nodded seeing the truth in his eyes and in his words. She also saw that the young woman at the Lieutenant's side was looking over at him with an admiring glance.
"Alright Lieutenant I want you to take command of a group of Strike Dagger that like you had defected, but in mass to the Orb Battleship Kusanagi. They had lost their commander and his death woke up the fact that this battle was crazy, so they decided to defect, you are going to take command of these men Lieutenant," she ordered him and Eric nodded in understanding.
?One more thing, I get to keep the Astray?? he asked confused. She turned back to him with a smile.
?Yes for we have no one pilot it right now, so it is yours,? she answered, he nodded and then saluted her and started to leave the bridge but Fiona stopped him.
"Please Eric don't die," Fiona said with emotion that Eric didn't think she had for him. He numbly looked down at her in surprise and saw her smile; this made him smile in return, because something about her drew him in for some strange reason.
"I promise I won't Fiona and that is one promise that I intend to keep," he said with an equal emotion and affection towards her. He then rushed out of the bridge heading towards the hanger.
TBC.... Â