Episode 49 - SACRIFICE
10:00, December 14, U.C. 0100
Cosmic Alexandria, Side 3 – the heart of the Archduchy of Zeon – a heart that has, momentarily, gone silent amid the ominous rumble of impending battle.
The silence is finally broken by a sound characteristic of modern warfare – artillery emplacements blasting out a furious salute into the artificial sky of the space colony, creating a thunderous echo irreproducible on Earth. The mournful din belies a silent fury that would soon find expression in blood and fire…
An imperial color guard heralds the procession of an imperial casket of onyx-colored titanium, draped with the crimson and gold standard of the Archduchy of Zeon. The casket is carried by a staff of the Archduchy of Zeon Forces’ finest - flag-ranking admirals and generals…a funereal escort worthy of an emperor.
Or an empress.
Behind the casket walks a solemn Archduke Alexander Miguel, clad in a black version of his imperial dress uniform, his chiseled features a frigid mask all the more frightful for its lack of expression.
The guns fall silent as a Buddhist priest utters a mourning chant for Kyoko. In life, Kyoko Yamaguchi had been a Buddhist, and the Archduke has arranged for a memorial ceremony that would honor the late Zeon ace’s faith.
The priest’s chants are given in Sanskrit, an ancient language in which many of Buddhism’s sacred texts were originally composed. It is a language with which Archduke Miguel is not conversant, but even had he understood every word that issued forth from the old monk’s lips, the leader of the Archduchy of Zeon would have paid them no heed, or disdained them with deepest contempt, for they spoke of a peace that Miguel has no desire to embrace.
After a long, long time, the chant finally ceases. The Archduke removes a gold band from the fourth finger of his right hand and places it on Kyoko’s corresponding digit, now cold and limp.
The titanium crypt is sealed, its shining onyx surface emblazoned with the words –
Col. Kyoko Yamaguchi Miguel, Archduchess of Zeon…
For a moment, the defining element in Archduke Miguel’s eye is water…the element that sustains humanity and perhaps most conducts the direction of its soul, but in a moment, the elements shift in Alexander’s eye as much as it does in his heart…from water, to fire. The fire of rage…and of retribution.
As the late Archduchess’ coffin is lowered into the artificial turf, one thought consumes the Archduke’s mind…
She will pay, Kyoko…
************************************************** **************
Mere minutes after the Black Raven is laid to rest, Archduke Alexander has gathered his command staff…the best of Zeon’s generals and admirals, to convene with him in his office within the Aerie, the central command headquarters of the Archduchy of Zeon Forces. Also present is Dr. Lenape Timberland, Technical Director of the Tartarus Initiative – the official codename given to the Archduchy of Zeon Forces’ new colony laser weapons systems.
An ominous tension, more palpable and oppressive than the thick film of burned tobacco vapor that permeates the room, cows each man, usually as bold of speech as of action, into silence. In Hell, no one speaks before Satan does.
From behind steepled fingers, the voice of Alexander Miguel finally says, clearly though quietly, speaking first not to his staff of senior officers, but to the only civilian present, “Dr. Timberland: give us a technical feasibility assessment for maneuvering our operational colony laser units to the L5 Zone.”
After a moment’s silence, taken more out of fear of the consequences of the response than unavailability of information, the engineer answers, “It would be no more difficult than it was to send the Scylla and the Charybdis,the two units we’ve already deployed to the front lines, Your Majesty. However, I must say that factoring in the current limitations of our resources, the remaining six colony laser units under construction will not be operational for at least another eighteen to thirty-six months. Even bringing one more unit online will require a minimum of four months.”
“Time is another resource that will become very limited if we do not take decisive action,” the Archduke says plainly.
Vice Admiral Benz Acheron of the Zeon 2nd Mechanized Fleet rises and says, “Your Majesty, I would like to take the liberty to speak freely.”
“Go ahead, Acheron,” Miguel says coolly.
“Your Majesty,” Acheron says, a barely perceptible tremble of his hand belying the steadiness of his voice, “I humbly ask that you reconsider the strategy of deploying our colony lasers to the L5 Zone. We have exhausted our fleets and mobile units in previous engagements against the United Forces. With the colony lasers protecting the Zeon homeland, we could possibly hold out against the enemy indefinitely. Without the colony lasers, however, the homeland will become vulnerable to infiltration and attack.”
The Archduke levels a withering glare at Acheron, completely incongruous with the cold smile on his lips.
The imperial voice says, “…a condition brought about, at least in part, by our failures to defeat the enemy on previous occasions.”
Acheron swallows painfully – not from fear, but from shame. Upper-echelon Zeon officers who came up through the ranks alongside Archduke Miguel are beyond fear…particularly fear of their own deaths…a notion that no man on the Archduke’s command staff could comprehend. Dying for the Archduke and for the honor of Zeon was the greatest glory…the highest privilege…an opportunity to be coveted and vied for. There is no fear in death for Acheron or his allies, but failure…failure to serve the needs of Zeon: that is an ignominy that no Zeon officer is willing to face.
Miguel continues, “It is unfair to blame any of you without turning that same blame towards myself: your failures are merely extensions of my failures. Ultimately, the fate of Zeon comes down to my decisions.”
After a moment’s tense silence, Miguel says in a voice in which his most attentive officers detect only the most subtle hint of faltering, “Our beloved late comrade-at-arms, Lt. Col. Yamaguchi, loved Zeon…loved Zeon such that she gave her life for it. None of us should ever forget that. And we will not squander her sacrifice. Therefore, gentlemen, I agree with your recommendation that we utilize only the previously deployed Scylla and Charybdis against as part of the Tartarus Initiative.
The Archduke’s proclamation is met with standing applause by his staff. They had expected no less of him.
“Vice Admiral Acheron,” Miguel says, turning to the veteran officer, “Benz…”
“Your Majesty,” responds Acheron, attentive and ready to rise to the service of Zeon.
“Benz, you are one of the finest fleet commanders that Zeon has,” Miguel says, not taking his eye off the officer, “Your service record is replete with victory after glorious victory. I am counting on you…all of Zeon is counting on you. Benz…Vice Admiral Acheron…meet the enemy at L5. Force them into the jaws of Scylla and Charybdis.
Acheron nods resolutely, “Your Majesty, I stake my career and my life on the outcome of this operation: the enemy falls at L5, or this is farewell, my lord.”
Miguel pats Acheron on the shoulder and smiles, “Not farewell, Vice Admiral. I have no intention on sending you or our men and women out to face the enemy alone. I will join you in battle.”
The Zeon officers begin murmuring, both in equal parts admiration and alarm.
“The cause of Zeon is greater than any of us,” the Archduke says, “and I am no exception. Kyoko understood that. Any citizen of Zeon would.”
Miguel’s officers nod, each man prepared to lay down his life for the greater Glory of Zeon.
************************************************** ************
23:53, December 14, U.C. 0100
The Archduke is in the company of his sister Nanai, at the Imperial Military Science and Engineering Research Institute (formerly the Flannagan Research Institute), of which she is the director.
Nanai leads her brother through the cavernous interiors of one of the institute’s weapons development hangars. High above the heads of the Nanai siblings, suspended on thick, strong titanium cables, are unconventionally-shaped mobile weapons systems still in development…
“It’s still in the final stages of development,” Nanai says to her brother, “We were planning to deploy it on Kyoko’s Gamma Azieru, but…”
Alexander sets the discussion back on course, “Is it adaptable for my use?”
“Yes,” Nanai responds, “We did not have a chance to encode it to Kyoko’s EEG wave pattern, which will make it much easier for us to program it with yours.”
Alexander glances upward towards something suspended high above the floor of the massive testing hangar into which he and Nanai have stepped.
“You’ve put a great amount of work into it,” Alexander remarks with cold admiration.
“Our work began on it shortly after…Char left us,” Nanai says, “We recovered the Psycho Frame from the Earth Federation Forces, and examined both its metallurgical properties and its circuitry. Over the years, we’ve fielded four prototype field models, each of which was lost during testing due to various design flaws and limitations. This final model was the first to survive all field tests.”
Alexander nods as he regards the massive, armored frame suspended high above him and Nanai by cables…what appears to be a set of enormous avian wings the same stygian tone as the eternal cosmos, each quill a deadly Psychom weapons system.
“This can be fitted on the Azrael?” Miguel asks his sister.
“Yes,” Nanai replies, “the components are adaptable to multiple Zeon mobile weapons platforms.”
“Get to work on right away,” Alexander says at last, “I’ll be needing…does it have a name?”
“We’ve given it the designation ‘Ravenwing,’” Nanai answers.
“’Ravenwing,’” Alexander intones, “Fitting.”
Alexander examines the Psychom weapon once again as a singular thought occupies his focus…
Jolie Minh…
************************************************** ***********
The sector of space outside the L5 Zone has become a killing zone, as warships and mobile suits belonging to either the Archduchy of Zeon Forces or the United Forces clash by the dozen.
Here, a Zeon Nova Doga mobile suit sends an Earth Federation Forces Jegan-IV pilot screaming to his death with a volley of shots from its beam rifle through the Federation mobile suit’s cockpit and nuclear fusion engine.
There, a Shambala Republic Javelin mobile suit impales a Zeon Gellond on its beam saber, then kicks the wreck of the critically disabled mobile suit towards a Zeon Dozle-class destroyer, resulting in a ballooning explosion that catches three more mobile suits in its wake.
Elsewhere, a squad of Zeon Rick Dom Stingers has overrun a team of Federal Forces mobile suits and begins to advance towards the L5 Zone line, only to meet an explosive demise amidst a field of orbital mines maneuvered into their path.
Command-level officers on both sides have come to a similar assessment: the struggle has reached a point of stalemate, with both the Zeon Forces and the United Forces approaching the point of exhaustion.
And the commanders of both forces also agree that the stalemate must be broken soon…
To be continued...