Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Victoria Base Affair ❯ Assult on Pencivo ( Chapter 11 )

Stumbles in) ARG! (Collapses into chair)

Ryu: Now you don't look so hot.

(Glares) no shit; I've been sick fer a month.

Ryu: Then I think I'll do the Q&A.

Ryua Malfoy: That's good ta know. And if you do catch the last few episodes that will help ya.

Bandit-Gurl42: LOL. Raja says welcome to the band wagon. Hope ya like all of the story.

Rune Essence: Yeah well what can ya say…

MyMindIsMyEchoSide: You changed yer name. Neat. Raja says that's all right and that she's been hung up on a lot of things too.

Also to Flame: Here's another chapter. Review it this time! You know who you are.

Chapter 11/14

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Chapter 11: Assault on Pancevo

Zechs was enjoying himself. The new Aries flying mobile suit was keeping up with him nicely. He flipped into a tight roll and dove toward the ground, snapping out level at one hundred meters with guns blazing. He obliterated the wooden target on the ground and pulled up sharply, spinning around to shoot behind him at the same target as he climbed.

"Having fun?" Treize asked dryly. Beneath his amused voice, Zechs could hear a babble of other voices on the radio.

"Yes, I am," he replied. "The engineers have done a good job with this model."

"Glad to hear that. We'll be getting four of the first production models, assuming they're still speaking to me after you've flown their prototype into the ground."

"Please!" Zechs exclaimed with wounded pride. "It won't even have a scratch."

He heeled over and plunged earthward at full speed. A wingspan from the ground, he pulled out and flew sideways for two hundred meters, firing his laser at a row of simulated mobile suits. He scored hits on all ten and shot back up into the sky as the babble from the radio increased in volume.

"I'm coming in."

By the time he made his landing and swung down to the tarmac, Treize, Une, Cole and several engineers were on their way across the tarmac to meet him. Most of the engineers just hurried past him, anxious to see what he had done to their prototype, but the chief engineer, an older woman with gray hair tied in a bun on the back of her head, stopped to face him, reaching him ahead of Treize by several long strides.

"How did it handle?" she asked, her voice and expression alternating between anger, concern and excitement.

"It's very responsive," Zechs answered, "even at high speed. The targeting seemed a little off, though, but I could compensate for it."

"We'll look at that. Thank you, Lieutenant." She hurried to join the other engineers swarming over the Aries prototype.

"The targeting is off?" Treize asked with a lifted eyebrow.

"Just a little," Zechs grinned. "I could hardly tell them it's perfect. They'd be insufferable."

Treize and Cole laughed and Une cracked a small smile.

"They said we'd get our Aries units next week," Treize said, still smiling. "The four of us will train in them initially. We'll provide cover during parachute landings of the Leo units and then provide air combat support."

They turned to gaze approvingly at the Aries mobile suit.

"This will improve our combat effectiveness significantly," Cole remarked, a wide grin on his dark face. "Those rebels got another thing coming next time they kick up a fuss."

Zechs nodded agreement. Mobile suit technology was going to turn the tide in future wars.

- - - - - - -

Treize was frustrated. After three hours in video conference with General Catalonia and his aides, he had not been able to convince the general that trouble was brewing again in the Balkans, especially around Pancevo. Information for the region from the Alliance's European Intelligence Office indicated nothing unusual, and continuing unrest in the Colonies had drawn the general's eye away from Earth. In the end, all Treize could manage was to keep the general from posting his unit to the Moon Base immediately.

It was not very late, but he'd missed training with Zechs and the others in the new Aries mobile suits and he'd missed dinner. The churning knot in his stomach made the latter of little concern, but he hated missing training. Une had offered to skip training and attend the briefing with him, but he'd said no. Her presence would have made no difference and at least one of them should get to do something fun.

He brooded darkly as he returned from the conference room to his quarters. There was a light showing under the door when he reached his room and for a moment he couldn't decide if he was relieved or annoyed that someone was there. He hoped it was Zechs.

He opened the door to find Zechs lounging on his bed reading a book.

Zechs looked up with a smile. "That was a long meeting."

"And unsatisfying," Treize growled back. He dropped his notes on the desk and pulled off his jacket, hanging it over the chair. "Someone in Regional Intelligence has his head up his ass and the general is listening to him. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep him from shipping us off Earth."

"That would be bad timing." Zechs frowned, concern showing in his face.

"Extremely bad timing," Treize corrected. He sank down on the bed with a sigh. "I really expected something to have happened by now." He shook his head. "Maybe I'm wrong."

"You're not wrong, Treize," Zechs assured him. He wrapped his arms around Treize and put his chin on one shoulder. "Do you want to eat? I'm sure we could still get something at the mess hall."

Treize shook his head. "I'm not hungry." He clasped Zechs' wrists. "I wish I'd been at training with you today. It seems like I get to spend less and less time in the cockpit."

"Responsibility does that."

"Well, I hate it."

Zechs kissed his ear. "There's something else you've had less time for lately."

Treize smiled. "I'm not busy right now."

"I was hoping you'd say that." Zechs nibbled his neck and licked his ear. "Why don't you just lie back? I'll bolt the door and soothe all your frustrations away."

"That is the best suggestion I've heard in months."

Treize decided that getting slowly and methodically stripped naked, while being kissed, caressed and licked everywhere, was the best way to unwind at the end of a long day. Zechs took his time, showing loving, intimate attention to each part of Treize's body as he exposed it. Along the way, Treize re-discovered a passion for having his toes licked. He was also reminded that the tender skin on the inside of his elbows and the back of his knees was extremely susceptible to soft, wet kisses. He was completely aware of every inch of his body and it was all deeply aroused.

"You're a magician, Zechs," he whispered.

"Um hmm," was all Zechs could say since, at that particular moment, most of Treize's penis was in his mouth.

"Ohhh!" Treize groaned as Zechs slowly and deliberately sucked his way to the very tip.

"Would you like to see my disappearing act now?" Zechs asked with a seductive smile. At Treize's hasty nod, Zechs straddled him and positioned himself over Treize's erect penis, clasped between his fingertips. "Now you see it," he murmured, "and now you don't," and he settled onto Treize with a soft moan.

Treize gasped with pleasure. Having been completely sensitized to the lightest touch, Zechs' warm, tight orifice sliding smoothly down his shaft felt like a long, all-around tongue caress. Zechs rode him slowly, letting each slow, deep stroke stand on its own as an act of exquisite pleasure. Treize closed his eyes so nothing would distract him from savoring what it felt like to be inside Zechs at that moment. He was on fire. Erotic stimulation made his heart pound and his breath come in ragged gasps. Then Zechs began to move faster and joy radiated through Treize. He ached with it, from his fingertips to his toes. His penis throbbed with growing urgency and he began to moan aloud. Zechs cried out and he came, his body clenching Treize's penis with his hard orgasm.

"Ahhh!" Treize screamed. He arched up, caught in the double grip of his own and Zechs' orgasm, ejaculation sending shudders of ecstasy through him. Zechs moved again, sending additional waves of orgasm washing through him. "Oh, lord," Treize groaned. "I think I just died."

"Don't worry," Zechs answered breathlessly. "Give me a few minutes and I'll bring you back to life."

"Oh, god! You are trying to kill me."

Zechs just smiled and leaned down to give him a long, deep kiss.

- - - - - - -

The base alarm jerked them both awake a few minutes after midnight. Treize leaped out of bed and keyed on the communicator without any thought for the fact that he was naked and Zechs was behind him hastily pulling on his clothes.

"What is it?" he demanded of the night duty sergeant who appeared on his monitor.

"Pancevo Base is under attack, Sir!" the sergeant replied excitedly. "It's a large force of mobile suits! And they're taking mortar fire, too! General Catalonia is calling for reinforcements!"

"Call my unit and mobilize them to the carrier hanger," Treize ordered. "I want my mobile suits loaded into the carrier now, including the Aries units."

"Yes Sir!" The sergeant keyed off and a moment later his voice boomed out of the base speakers, overwhelming the klaxon still sounding in the background. "Alpha 3-5! Crew to quarters on the carrier deck! Loading of Leo and Aries mobile suits to commence immediately!"

"I said you were right," Zechs remarked in a surprisingly calm voice as he stamped into his boots.

"Yes, now if I'd only been more prepared," Treize replied angrily. "It's going to take half an hour to load all the mobile suits onto the carrier." He began pulling on his own clothes. "It will be two hours before we can get to Pancevo."

"Can't be helped." Zechs stood up. "I'll meet you at the hanger." He sprinted out the door.

The carrier hanger was a beehive of activity. Mobile suits were being loaded into four carriers and pilots were racing in from all directions to check in with their commanders. Cole was already there issuing orders to Treize's unit as they came in. Zechs had just reached him when Treize entered the hanger. Treize ran to join them.

"Have they loaded the Aries suits yet?" he asked as he reached them.

"No," Cole answered. "I told them to put those on last, so they can jump first. I sent Une to make sure the Leo's are being packed with parachutes. I've been telling the pilots to get on board and stay out of the way."

"Very good. Zechs, go oversee the loading of the Aries'. Cole, come with me. We need to find out what's happening in Pancevo."

"Right."

Pancevo was in trouble. Mortar file was pounding the base from the hills south of the river. Two lines of mobile suits were attacking, one from the northwest and one from the east, forcing General Catalonia to fight on two fronts while taking fire from the rear. They were holding their own, but just barely. They needed help badly.

Once their carrier was in the air, Treize, Une, Cole and Zechs brought up a map of the area, projected on a large screen at the front of the cabin, and planned their counterattack.

"We'll drop in behind the enemy forces to the north," Treize decided. "Once our unit is down and engaging the enemy, the second carrier can drop reinforcements behind us. That should be enough to give the general some breathing room. Once he puts more forces on his eastern front, the other two carriers can drop their Leos behind the enemy's eastern flank."

"Sounds good," Cole said, "But what about the mortar fire to the south?"

"We'll have the bombers go in just ahead of us and take them out." Treize turned an intent gaze on each of them. "We can't let them take Pancevo Base. The loss of such a strategic asset will inspire more rebellion against the Alliance. Our victory must be decisive."

"Yes Sir!" They spoke in unison.

Treize nodded in satisfaction. He had some of the best pilots in the Earth Sphere in his unit. He trusted them to get the job done, but he knew it would not be easy. They were not going to get through this unscathed.

- - - - - - -

Zechs went through his pre-flight while he listened to the noise of the battle below. The Pancevo forces had been pushed back inside the Base perimeter. They were fighting hard, but they had taken heavy losses. Knowing reinforcements were coming, they had fought to hold the Base only, conceding the perimeter territories almost immediately. The tactic had bought them time when time was what they needed. They had held until the arrival of the Luxembourg forces. It would have been nice if they'd had more Aries mobile suits and pilots trained in them, but they were out of luck. The other Alliance forces that had received the earliest production models were too far away to bring help to Pancevo in time. So it would be just the four of them, along with their Leos.

"Bomber Group 21 approaching target." The voice crackled from the radio over the babble from below.

"Report bombs away, 21." Treize replied.

"Bomber Group 21, aye."

"Alpha 3-5, prepare to jump." Treize sounded grim through the static of the radio. "Zechs, you go first."

"Aye," Zechs responded and he brought all his systems on-line.

"Bombs away!"

The back of the carrier dropped open and Zechs immediately leaped out. He did a quick roll and spin to scan the area around him and the ground below. "All clear," he reported.

Treize, Une and Cole jumped out one by one, flying away from each other and Zechs to form a perimeter for the Leos. Almost immediately, the Leos began jumping, their chutes popping open as soon as they were clear of the hatch. Zechs and Cole descended with the falling Leos, while Treize and Une stayed high. Some of the enemy mobile suits below began firing up toward the Leos as they dropped. The Leos returned fire.

A fierce grin spread across Zechs' face and he plunged toward the ground at full speed, dodging the fire effortlessly. He banked into a hard turn as he neared the rear of the enemy line, now starting to turn to face the new threat, and opened fire with his laser. He sliced his way through half a dozen mobile suits before rolling over and climbing back into the sky. The first of the Leos were touching down now and shedding their chutes, forming a line to begin an assault.

"Carrier 12, release your Leos," Treize ordered.

The second carrier began dropping its Leos. Treize and Une oversaw their landing while Zechs and Cole led the assault on the enemy line. Zechs was delighted with the performance of his Aries mobile suit in battle. Its speed and maneuverability put the slower ground based units at a huge disadvantage. He swooped in on them repeatedly from above, slaughtering enemy pilots at will.

"Carrier 18, Carrier 31, release your Leos." Treize had stayed high to assess the battle progress. Now that all the Leos were on their way down, he dropped down on the fight below like a falling stone. He cut his way through a dozen mobile suits using an energy saber instead of a rifle. Zechs laughed with pleasure at the sight. Leave it to Treize to enter a critical battle with nothing but a sword. Always the gentleman, was Lord Treize.

"At least tell me you brought a gun, Treize!" he shouted gleefully.

"Guns are for wimps!" Treize shouted back. He sounded like he was having fun.

"And you accuse me of taking chances!" Under the circumstances, Zechs should have been worried, but he wasn't. As always, Une was right there beside Treize, watching his back and blowing enemy mobile suits to bits with her usual quiet efficiency.

"Welcome to Pancevo!" General Catalonia greeted them suddenly. He sounded tired but relieved. "You are a very welcome sight, Luxembourg."

"Glad to be of service, General," Treize replied. "Sorry we took so long."

"Not a problem, Colonel. You're not too late, and that's good enough."

A massive explosion shook the ground, causing some of the mobile suits to lose their footing. Flame and smoke rose up on the southern side of the Base, billowing up into the sky. An instant later, the screams began.

"We're breached! They're everywhere! Fall back! Fall…" The voice cut off, but the cries continued.

Then a new voice cried out, "General Catalonia! They're inside the perimeter! We're cut off!"

"Goddamn it!" Treize cried out. He flashed away toward the south with Une in his wake. "Zechs, find the general!"

"Aye!"

Zechs blasted up over the battlefield and flew southeast. He fired below him as he went, knocking down as many enemy suits as he could on the way. "General Catalonia, acknowledge!" he shouted into the mike as he neared the Alliance front lines.

"The general went to help the rear forces!" someone called back.

"Shit!" Zechs wheeled around, zoomed over the Alliance soldiers and headed toward the column of smoke. "General Catalonia! Acknowledge! Acknowledge!" It didn't seem possible that the general could have covered so much ground in such a short time, but the area behind the Alliance front lines was empty. Zechs flew higher so he could see farther and picked up speed. Finally, in the distance ahead of him, he could see ten or so mobile suits racing toward the area of the explosion. Punching up to full speed, he sped toward the group, but panic touched him when he saw, from his higher vantage, another group of mobile suits waiting to ambush the approaching Alliance soldiers.

"General Catalonia!" he shouted into the mike, "Hold up! You're not clear!"

He was too late. The waiting enemy soldiers jumped up from their ambush, machine guns blazing. Six of the Alliance soldiers went down immediately. Zechs dropped down onto the battle, firing furiously. As soon as they saw him, the enemy soldiers retreated. Zechs pursued them far enough to make sure they were really running before he backtracked to check on the general. Two of the Alliance soldiers had exited their mobile suits and were hurrying to open another one. A sinking feeling hit Zechs in the pit of his stomach. Landing next to the fallen Leos, he thumbed on his mike.

"Is it the general?" he asked numbly.

"Yes." One of the soldiers kicked the emergency release and the cockpit door dropped open.

General Catalonia was dead. Bullets had torn through the cockpit, puncturing him in a dozen places. Zechs dropped his head into his hands. The general was one of the finest men he had ever known. This man had helped shape the Alliance forces. He had built the Specials and the Oz organization. His loss was tragic. Treize had to be told.

"Alpha 3-5, the general has fallen."

The silence which followed his announcement was heartbreaking.

"How?" Treize's voice was flat and emotionless.

"He was ambushed coming to the aid of his men."

"Stay with him. I'll join you when I can."

"Acknowledged."

Zechs climbed up to a comfortable altitude to keep station over the somber group below.

The Alliance forces were slowly gaining the upper hand, but at a terrible price. Half of the Base was in flames. Over a third of the Base forces had been destroyed. The Luxembourg forces had taken heavy losses as well. Treize did not join Zechs until the enemy mobile suits were in full retreat. He did not have enough forces left to pursue them all, so he concentrated on taking prisoners. Zechs understood that. Treize wanted answers, and he would get them.

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