Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Mind of the Soldier ❯ Chapter 7

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Body





Chapter 6

He was at it again, even when he thought he could never go back to it again. Norman could not believe he was successfully flying in the Aries again. He was keeping the speed slow, and both hands clenched tightly on the flight sticks. He was immensely tense at this moment, and was feeling a strange sensation of dread. He lead a group of six people behind him, staying in a tight vee formation. As he looked at the heads up display in front of him, he saw the tops of the trees moving by quickly. He was having some trouble seeing, as the sun was causing lens flare against the suit's camera.

Norman started to wonder to himself why he was afraid of piloting again. However, his anxiety stayed with him.

"Blue leader, this is blue one, how do you copy?" Norman heard Johnston's voice on the radio.

"This is blue leader, I copy." Norman replied.

"How much further to the rendezvous with red group?"

"Twenty clicks northwest."

"Roger, blue leader." Johnston ended. Norman focused on his current objective. He was to meet Brooks' team at a clearing in the forest close to here, then they would turn and head back to base. Norman hoped to himself there was no enemy activity. He had been told that the area was relatively safe. Norman took a little time to think about what he was doing. He was a leader again, and these kids depended on him. The problem he had with these wars is that all these people were so young. So was he. It was a disturbing thought to him, since so many always died.

"Blue team, report status." Norman said. Norman got various answers from the five soldiers he had with him.

"I'm sorry I don't know your names yet, boys. I'll get around to that when we get back." Norman spoke into the radio.

"No problem." A deep voice replied.

Norman continued on the path. His radar indicated the pilots behind him were in strict order. These kids were good, he thought. The simulators must have improved some from when he started out. Norman's radio crackled a little and then a new voice came on. It was Brooks.

"Blue leader this is red leader over." There was more static on the radio.

"This is blue leader, I copy."

"Norman, I'm almost to the point now. I'm picking up some strange signals on my radar, about seven clicks ahead of you. Proceed with caution."

"Roger that, Brooks." Norman ended the conversation. Norman's mind instantly snapped out its tranquil state. His anxiety started to become greater now. Norman thought about these strange signals Brooks had warned about. Norman told himself not to panic, and to keep the machine in control. He knew what he was doing. It was that he could not get what had happened before out of his mind. Norman felt himself sweating again.

"Um, blue group, this is blue leader. Reduce your speeds to under one-hundred fifty clicks."

"Blue leader, is there a problem, over?" Johnston asked.

"Keep your eyes open now, check the corners everyone." Norman said.

The team kept along their path, and Norman stayed extremely wary. He looked ahead into the heads up display, and saw a quick glint of sunlight reflect off of something metal. Is was not a lens flare, however. It was coming from the forest canopy. Norman estimated it was about a kilometer ahead. Norman pressed the zoom key on the keypad, and set it for ten times magnification. A smaller screen inside of the heads up display popped up, and he looked closely. He saw a metallic object, almost blending in with the trees. It was a mobile suit.

"Oh shit." Norman said. It was already too late. He saw a flash of light from ahead and then a object coming straight for him. Norman quickly veered to the right, and the missile shot straight past him. There was a huge, roaring explosion heard from behind, and Norman felt his mobile suit jolt from the impact. Something had been hit, and his suit had been too close. Norman heard some garbled shouts over the radio, presumably from the men behind him.

Norman started to panic as he felt himself losing control. A small, segmented version of the Aries was shown on the heads up display. Norman heard a low beeping sound and the lower fuselage was flashing red. He had sustained some damage. Norman felt his head spinning, as the confusion poured over him. He pushed the right stick as hard as he could to the right, and felt the suit place itself back on a horizontal axis.

"Sir, I've spotted an enemy." Johnston said, and he saw her suit thrust in front of his.

"I'll take him out."

What the hell was she thinking? Norman thought. She would get herself killed. Norman knew the same rookie pattern. He had seen too many get killed in this fashion.
"Johnston! Pull to the left now."

"Sir?" Johnston replied. He could tell she was not paying attention.

"Pull the fuck to the left, now!" He screamed. Johnston quickly made the suit veer to the left, and sure enough another missile came by, and would have hit Johnston had she not moved. Norman quickly passed over the enemy mobile suit below him, then circled his back around. The turning was more sluggish now, since it sustained a small amount of damage. Norman set up the LAM missiles on the shoulders with the keypad, then pushed the missile button once on the left stick. It targeted the enemy, and Norman pressed it a second time, firing two of the missiles. He observed as the white tails of missiles sped toward the enemy. Ahead, Norman saw am almost blinding flash of light, then a plume of flame as the top half of the enemy suit exploded.

"Great shot, sir." Norman heard Johnston say. Ahead, he saw flames engulfing the surrounding trees. He was breathing heavily, sweat pouring off of him. He had done it again. It was all starting again. There had been a man in that suit. A man he had now killed. He was supposed to feel something, but he did not. He had lost that feeling a long time ago. The mass of flames before him was just another to add to his record. Norman heard the radio crackle.

"Blue leader, this is red leader, report status." Brooks said. Norman was still breathing heavily.

"Blue-Blue..." Norman paused.

"Norman?" Brooks asked.

"This is blue leader." Norman gasped out. "We were under attack."

"Jesus." He heard Brooks say.

"I'm heading back to base, Brooks." Norman ended the transmission.

As they circled back the way they came, they saw another patch of forest on fire, with black plumes of smoke rising from it. One of their men had been killed. Another young life wasted, another statistic. Norman also felt a kind of sorrow inside of him. This was all starting again for him. The violence and insanity of war. And soon, he knew, he would be knee deep in the dead again.