Grey War Saga 1: Twilight of Innocence Read online

  “Who was in here with you?” Zae asked.

  “Myden,” Valis said. “I’m going to rest for a while, take care of things Zae.”

  “I will captain,” Zae said.

  * * *

  Seles and Mira relaxed next to each other in the communal bath area on the Freedom. A number of other Kalaidians were doing the same with quiet conversations filling the room. Kyli entered and joined them.

  “Sorry we haven’t met for a lesson in a while,” Seles said.

  Kyli stepped into the water and sighed. “It’s alright, given the situation we have little time for extra things.”

  “So how’s everyone in the mobile suit division doing?” Mira asked.

  “We’ve only lost five since this began,” Kyli said. “I fear many more will be gone by the end.”

  “Whenever a casualty is suffered I feel it,” Seles said. “For those above they’re numbers, but for me it’s always like losing a friend.”

  “Loss is the way of a soldier,” Kyli said. “I know that, but I feel the same as you Seles. I think it’s because I’d like to think if I died I wouldn’t just be a number to someone.”

  “All of us feel the same way Kyli,” Seles said.

  “Everyone wants to believe their life mattered, even if it was only one person who cared,” Mira said.

  “Moving on to the next subject,” Kyli started, “What’s going on with the captain?”

  “Brian’s always been distant from others,” Seles said.

  “Don’t forget he talks to himself at night while staring into mirrors,” Mira added.

  “You two are messing with me, aren’t you?” Kyli asked.

  “No, unfortunately we’re not,” Seles said.

  “Are we the ones who changed him?” Kyli wondered.

  “Time changes all of us, but more so with Brian,” Seles said.

  “The only thing that’s changed with us is the level of responsibility we have to deal with,” Mira said.

  “That’s what I think as well,” Kyli said. “But when I talk to Brian, it’s like he’s a Mylor. There’s a strange aura about him that puts you off.” She looked at the two. “Is he the same way with you?”

  “Yes,” the two answered in unison.

  “But, he’s still tender and loving like he always was,” Seles said. “That part of him hasn’t changed over the years.”

  “He’s still full of energy when it comes to creative things,” Mira said. “It’s because he’s always busy with work he can’t do a lot of it.”

  “Kyli, is there something in particular about him that’s an issue?” Seles asked.

  “I haven’t seen his smile in a long time,” Kyli said.

  “It’s still there,” Mira said.

  “I hope you’re right,” Kyli said.

  “Don’t worry, she is,” Seles said.

  * * *

  Brian paced around the bridge of the Freedom with the four droids as his company. After a minute he went back to the plan he was working on and found he couldn’t do anymore.

  “What’s wrong captain?” Droid A asked.

  “You seem to be having an issue with this battle plan,” Droid B said.

  “We can always help if you need us to,” Droid C said.

  “Though none of us know if we’ll be of any use,” Droid D pointed out.

  Brian laughed before turning to the four Malcovin looking robots. “I know why Grigon gave you guys a sense of humor. But to answer your question, I have writer’s block.”

  “What’s that?” Droid B asked.

  “It should be called artist’s block really,” Brian said. “The best way I can describe it is to have the energy to do something, but the mind won’t allow it. The more I try the harder it gets to plan.”

  “Is it like when one of us has a memory activity loop?” Droid A asked.

  “They’re similar,” Brian said. He sat in the captain’s chair and tried to relax. “The more I try the less I do.”

  “Perhaps a break and food will help,” Droid C offered.

  “If only there was time for that,” Brian said. “I have to have this done in less than two hours.” He sniffed the air, smelling pizza. “Where’s that coming from?”

  The door opened and caused Brian to stand. Jesela was there with a pizza on a platter. The sight caused him to smile and laugh.

  “You looked like you were down so I figured this would cheer you up,” she said. “I will warn you our chef made this, not Seles.”

  Brian bowed. “Right now you’re a goddess granting my wish.”

  “I’m not a goddess,” Jesela said. “But I know you well enough. Now stop being depressed and putting yourself down. It’s not doing you any good.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said.

  “You owe me something for the delivery,” Jesela said.

  “I’m free tonight,” Brian said. “But for now let’s eat.”

  Chapter 19 - Scouting for a Counteroffensive

  After helping as many Shandi as they could the forces of Heaven’s Light began scouting for the enemy. Each of the bases went its separate way and the ships from them did likewise. To scout further the Maidens took their mobile suits with the Mjolnir and separated into pairs. The Artemis and Mjolnir gravity jumped into a lightly populated resource system between the Kalaidian and Shandi borders. They were currently moving through an asteroid field between the third and fourth planets, both being gas giants. Seles and Meldi had each other on the monitor.

  “It’s been awhile since we did a scouting mission together,” Meldi said.

  “Four years,” Seles said. “How’s everyone doing on the Avoni?”

  “They’re the same as ever,” Meldi said. “Though Myli’s been a bit weird lately.”

  Seles laughed. “How do you define weird?”

  Meldi smiled. “I think she’s attracted to me in more ways than a friend. I don’t know how to break it to her but I’m not interested in her that way.”

  “That’s a problem if I ever heard one,” Seles said.

  “Other than that everyone’s doing alright,” Meldi said. “What about you and the others?”

  “We’ve had our issues,” Seles said. “I’m sure you understand the increase in responsibility.”

  “I do,” Meldi said. “Even sharing the work load with Myli, Valis loves dumping more on me.”

  “She did the same to me,” Seles said. “Brian does it to me these days.”

  “How’s he doing?” Meldi asked.

  “I thought melancholy was taking him over,” Seles said. “But when I saw him at the meeting this morning he looked happier than ever. When I asked him about he said the small things in life can make or break you.”

  “Sounds like they’re making him right now,” Meldi said.

  Something appeared on their scanners.

  “Looks like talking time is over,” Seles said.

  “I hate business when it gets in the way of conversation,” Meldi said.

  The Artemis and Mjolnir flew behind a large asteroid and started scanning the area. In orbit of the gas giant a planet killer and several thousand carriers were repairing themselves. The strange thing they found was a structure poking out of the atmosphere of the gas giant that appeared to be a supply base.

  “That’s a handy way to camouflage your supply lines,” Meldi said.

  “It’s obvious they set that up a while ago,” Seles said.

  “What I wonder is how long ago,” Meldi added.

  After their scans were complete they found the supply base floating in the upper atmosphere wasn’t shielded like the other Grey vessels.

  “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Seles asked.

  “Of course,” Meldi said. “How do you want to approach it?”

  “I have some ideas,” Seles said. “How many nuclear missiles do you have?”

  “Valis trusted me with five more,” Meldi said.

  “We’ll use our Novas to draw the Greys’ attention
elsewhere,” Seles said. “I want you to equip all four of them with one of those missiles.”

  Meldi smiled. “I see what you’re thinking about now.”

  The Mjolnir and Artemis let the four Novaguards attached to them to detach and go to autopilot. A moment later the Mjolnir’s missile launcher opened up before it manually attached a missile to each of the smaller crafts. While Meldi was doing that Seles programmed the four Novas with the ability to launch the missiles and then set their course. After a half an hour the two were back in their seats and ready to go.

  “Are you sure we should do this without consulting the others first?” Meldi asked.

  “We have the data needed to plan for the battle,” Seles said. “But more importantly we have a chance to weaken the enemy significantly before the main battle.”

  “I was thinking the same thing,” Meldi said.

  “Let’s go,” Seles said.

  The Artemis and Mjolnir went full power and flew behind another asteroid for cover. They quickly pushed the rock in front of them and the four Novaguards while approaching the Grey fleet. When they got close enough the Mjolnir and Artemis deployed their reflector plates. The Artemis used its plates for power position while the Mjolnir went for spread mode. The four Novas took off and flew at the Grey fleet. As they did so the Grey ships moved to intercept the smaller crafts. When they got in range to fire the Novas each fired their missiles. Four flashes of light filled the area as massive explosions destroyed hundreds of carriers and thousands of smaller attack ships. The Artemis and Mjolnir both lit up as their pilots’ berserked. While the Grey ships swarmed towards the Novas the two mobile suits skimmed the top of the atmosphere of the gas giant. When a number of Grey ships moved to intercept them the Mjolnir aimed and fired its last missile. The flash of light destroyed dozens of carriers and hundreds of smaller attack ships. Seles took aim in the Artemis and fired a series of arrow shots at the supply base. After seven arrows the structure groaned and sank into the atmosphere of the gas giant, exploding a few moments later. While the Mjolnir used spread mode to destroy any incoming enemy crafts the Artemis turned and fired its last three arrows into the edge of the Grey fleet. Both pilots knew their time was up as they moved together and gravity jumped away. The Artemis and Mjolnir returned to normal after the pair found an asteroid to hide inside of.

  “That was insane,” Meldi said.

  “Of course it was,” Seles said.

  The two laughed for a moment while catching their breath.

  “Do you think they’ll yell at us?” Meldi asked.

  “We should yell back if they do,” Seles said. “How long will it be before the others come to meet with us?”

  “Only a few minutes,” Meldi answered. “I’m going to get something to munch on.”

  “I’ll do the same,” Seles said.

  * * *

  The Minerva, Gemini, Siren, and Aegis joined the other Artemis and Mjolnir a short while later. Valis watched the video from the Artemis and Mjolnir with a smile on her face. After she was done she put the data into the Minerva’s special system to allow it to do its work. All of the pilots were on each other’s monitors.

  “Normally I’d yell at you two, but not this time,” Valis said.

  “Did we guess right?” Seles asked.

  “I just want to know we didn’t mess up,” Meldi said.

  “I like what I see,” Kivi said. “But I tend to go for it rather than wait.”

  Mira and Celi sat back and relaxed for the moment.

  “Since their supply base is destroyed we should strike as soon as possible,” Valis said. “Thanks to what you two did our mission should be easier.”

  “I’m glad we didn’t mess up,” Seles said.

  “Well, you did alert them to our presence,” Valis said. “But that shouldn’t matter too much. The Greys are slow to react and the Minerva agrees with your course of action.”

  “I’m glad to hear it,” Meldi said.

  “I am too,” Seles said.

  “Let’s return to base and rest for the night,” Valis said. “The battle will commence in sixteen hours.”

  * * *

  Seles and Mira landed their mobile suits in the launching bay of the Freedom. Jesela was ready to start the maintenance work when they got out. She had a strange smirk on her face while she worked.

  “I suspect I know why you look like that,” Mira said.

  “It correlates with the smile Brian had this morning,” Seles said.

  Jesela laughed. “Sometimes maintenance needs to be done by someone else. Otherwise you miss something.”

  “That confirms our suspicions,” Mira said.

  “What magic did you employ to put him into a better mood?” Seles asked.

  “An engineer never gives up her secrets,” Jesela said.

  “Now I’m even more curious,” Mira said.

  “So who chased who?” Seles asked.

  “I chased,” Jesela said. “Brian’s always been awkward with women, so it takes a bit to get it through his head. I guess it’s better than the opposite.”

  “If he were the opposite things would get bloody,” Seles said.

  “Would it be bloody for him or for the rest of us?” Mira asked.

  “Everyone,” Jesela answered. “And don’t worry yourselves; I’m not stepping between you and him. When he came to me yesterday he looked terribly depressed. I remember that look from the sojourn. It worked back then so I gave it a shot. But this time I brought a pizza along.”

  “His stomach and his heart at the same time,” Mira said.

  “You’re a fierce opponent,” Seles said. “So where is he?”

  “Meeting with the others in the command center,” Jesela said.

  “If that’s the case I’m hitting the bath,” Seles said.

  “Me too,” Mira said. “What about you Jesela?”

  “I took mine this morning,” Jesela answered.

  “Take care of them,” Seles said.

  After leaving Jesela they headed for the communal bath.

  “I’m kind of jealous,” Mira admitted.

  Seles sighed. “I know the feeling. But if he’s in a better mood it’s good for us as well.”

  “True,” Mira said. “Whose night is it anyway?”

  “Yours,” Seles said. “Treat him well and no depressing him.”

  “You know I’ll treat him well,” Mira said.

  “Of course you will,” Seles said.

  Chapter 20 - Shining Lights

  The eight bases of Heaven’s Light appeared near the Grey forces the next day. All of them deployed their ships and mobile weapons before closing in. Veda and Reban were at work on the Columbia base as the battle commenced.

  “It’s nice to finally be the attacker in this war,” Veda said.

  “Reacting is usually harder than acting,” Reban said.

  “Ready the Hades system,” Veda said.

  “You look really strange when your eyes are glowing,” Reban said.

  “You would too if you did it,” Veda said.

  She watched as the bases sent their ships forward into the swarm of Grey carriers. The eight bases stayed together and pushed their way towards the planet killer. The ships and mobile suits equipped with the last batch of nuclear missiles fired and cleared the surrounding areas of enemies. The Grey ships moved to encircle the eight bases.

  “They’re too predictable,” Veda said.

  “Shouldn’t we be happy about that?” Reban asked.

  “Yes, but I’m always cautious when charging forward,” Veda said.

  Brian appeared on the monitor from the bridge of the Freedom.

  “It’s because of their command structure they act this way,” Brian said. “Only a few of them have individual thoughts, the rest are basically biological robots.”

  “True, but they seem less reactive than I’d expect,” Veda said.

  “The likely scenario is that their leader was on the supply base when the Artemis and
Mjolnir destroyed it,” Valis said from the Minerva.

  “In other words, they can’t change orders,” Veda said.

  “Which means they’ll follow their last order,” Brian said. “Defend the planet killer and await further orders.”

  “The only advantage we have is our individuality,” Valis said. “But let’s focus on the task at hand. Sink the planet killer and destroy as many of the other ships as we can.”

  “Then we’ll do just that,” Veda said.

  * * *

  The Maidens kept their mobile suits together as they flew in front of the eight bases. The Artemis and Gemini both had their cannons on spread mode while the smaller attack ships tried swarming them. The shields of the Aegis proved to be an excellent defense while the five moved forward.

  “Our goal is to get close to the planet killer and then dig a hole,” Valis said. “Because we’re running out of nuclear missiles our Hades cannons will have to be used to their fullest.”

  “What I’m wondering about is why the Greys haven’t used nuclear weapons,” Kivi said.

  “The Minerva’s system predicts they will if we enter their territory,” Valis said.

  “So they’ll end up using them like we are,” Celi said.

  “In a way,” Valis said. “Remember to keep an eye out for the gravity drives and power systems. It’s very likely they’ll self-detonate their ships in upcoming battles.”

  “It’s good to know,” Seles said.

  “Is it time for me to sing?” Mira asked.

  “Of course it is,” Valis said. “Given the situation we’re using formation F-1.”

  “That’s an interesting choice,” Kivi said. “It’s all yours Seles.”

  “I’m on it,” Seles said.

  The five mobile suits lit up as their pilots berserked. The Artemis’s reflector plates moved into power position and charged up for a barrage of arrow shots. The Siren’s song system extended outward in all directions and began disabling Grey ships in mass. The Aegis’s shield extended outward and intensified, forcing the incoming pulse fire back on enemy ships. The Minerva pushed its precognitive system to its limit. Using it, Valis was able to see what the enemy was going to do before they could. The Gemini split into two separate, smaller mobile suits before moving to the rear guard to defend against any incoming enemy crafts. The Aegis stayed in the center with the Siren while the Minerva joined the Artemis in the forward position. Valis linked the Minerva’s system to the Artemis.