Heaven Saga 2: Sands of Aquarius (28 page)

“Is
everything alright?” Seles asked as she signaled her squadron to follow her.

“Our
enemy’s commander is sharp,” Valis said. “They knew this could happen. In the
event of their loss they’ve set up a plan to encircle Brian.” She narrowed her
eyes while looking closely at the radar blips around the Mjolnir. “Take
formation M-15.”

“I’ll
relay your orders immediately,” Seles responded.

* * *

Valis
appeared on Brian’s monitor. Flashes of light filled the cockpit from his
battle with Dreka.

“What
is it Valis? I’m kind of busy at the moment,” Brian said while fending off
Dreka’s claw strikes one after another.

“Then
I guess you don’t mind if I let you get killed?” she asked.

He
glanced at the radar. “Sorry, I was focusing on the battle.”

“Go
completely on the defensive,” she ordered.

He
adjusted the Mjolnir’s systems and put his shield out front before activating
the defensive barrier. A mass of glowing green energy particles surrounded the
Mjolnir. Dreka’s Talon backed off and switched over to firing the pulse cannon.
As a number of Claws and Talons surrounded the Mjolnir they unleashed a barrage
of pulse fire onto the mobile suit. Each attack struck the defensive barrier
and deflected harmlessly away. Again looking at his radar, Brian saw the
escaping fleet heading straight to him.

“It’s
time for you to fight seriously,” Valis said.

“But
Valis…” he said, still hesitating.

“Just
remember to stay in control,” she said. “I trust you. Now fight for your life
and get out of there.”

“Of
course,” he said before blinking his eyes. When he at the monitor his eyes
began glowing blue.

* * *

Dreka
kept Brian close, attacking with his claws in quick passes between his Talon
and the Mjolnir. Looking at his radar he cawed with glee.

“Looks
like he’s gone on the defensive,” Rait said over the com. Dreka fired pulse
blast one after another and watched the Mjolnir closely.

“Captain,
keep an eye on our flanks,” Dreka said.

“Of
course Dreka,” Riga said. “Valis has seen my plan and sent the other mobile
suit to aid him.” As Riga spoke the Mjolnir dropped its shields and drew its
massive sword before charging straight at Dreka.

Dreka’s
eyes widened as he saw the mobile suit’s speed. “How is that possible?” He
barely blocked the blade with the claws. “He’s trying to break the
encirclement!”

Riga
stopped to think for a moment. “All Talons begin melee waves. We’ll wipe him
out with overwhelming force.”

“Yes
captain,” his subordinates responded over the com. The other Talons around the
Mjolnir closed in with their claws glowing, while Dreka’s suit was being pushed
back slowly to the edge of the encirclement.

* * *

Seles
joined a number of Novaguards in the effort to free the Mjolnir. While they
were able to close in on his position they found it quite difficult to actually
get close enough to help.

“This
isn’t looking good,” Seles said.

With
a deflection faster than Dreka could anticipate the Mjolnir knocked the claws
aside. With a quick slash it took off one of the Talon’s arm and kicked the
mobile suit to the side. The Mjolnir turned to face more combatants closing in.
Brian slashed through their mobile suits with lightning speed. Quickly changing
weapons, the Mjolnir took out its pulse cannon and began firing into the Talons
nearby.

Seeing
the actions Brian was taking, Seles called for her squadron to take formation.
“Take formation E-11,” she commanded.

“Brian,
are you still in control?” Seles asked over the com.

“Of
course,” he answered after a moment of silence. “That trick I learned is
working. I’m reciting a song in my head over and over again.”

* * *

With
his forces faltering, captain Riga signaled to withdraw. “All allied ships;
it’s time to get out of here. We’re to regroup at Dega Jul.” Riga checked his
com. “Dreka, are you still alive?”

With
his Talon damaged Dreka sneered and turned to flee. “I’m sorry captain; I
underestimated the power of the Mjolnir.”

“That’s
not your fault,” Riga answered. “If our intelligence reports are accurate, the
Terran is capable of berserking like a
Maigar
of old.”

“Why
wasn’t I informed of this earlier?” Dreka asked as he landed the Talon on Riga’s
ship.

“I
wasn’t sure if it was true or not. Sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

“The
left arm is completely severed,” Dreka said. “It’s going to take me several
hours to repair the suit.”

“What
about the other upgraded Talons?” Riga asked.

“They’ll
be ready in a short while.”

“Good,
as along as Valis has the extra mobile suit our side is at the disadvantage.”
Riga looked over the battle monitor. “I‘ve ordered a full retreat…that Terran’s
tearing up the Ick-Tckt like they’re nothing.”

Dreka
turned off his com and then banged his fist on the control panel. “Dammit! I can’t
stand losing to him again!”

* * *

One
by one the enemy fighters boarded their battleships and carriers before gravity
jumping out of the battle zone.

“Looks
like the battle went as you planned Valis,” Kivi said.

Valis
surveyed the battlefield. “The victory is ours, but we lost more ships than
anticipated.”

Kivi
started running a diagnostic. “It shows how good of a commander Riga is.” She
joined Valis in front of the monitor. “If he were in the regular Malcovin
military he’d easily have made admiral by now.”

“The
days of being the captain of one ship are over for the two of us,” Valis said.
She returned to her chair and pressed the com for sickbay. “Celi, please have
Mira stand by in the launching bay. Make sure she has that special formula we
spoke of earlier.”

“Of
course Valis,” Celi responded.

* * *

Brian
landed the Mjolnir in the launching bay while Seles did the same with the Zero.
Shaking his head and closing his eyes for a moment to concentrate he ended the
berserk state. As he opened his eyes his vision blurred and a wave of exhaustion
came over him. He stumbled out of the cockpit and used the elevator cord to
reach the ground.

Mira
waited for Brian with a regenerator and chemical injector. “Are feeling
alright?” she asked.

He
hit the ground utterly exhausted and barely able to stand. Seles came down on
her elevator chord and ran over.

“Brian!
What’s wrong with him Mira?” Seles asked.

Mira
slid her hand under Brian’s armor and pressed the button to open it. Brian was
unconscious with his eyes closed and skin pale.

“What’s
wrong?” Seles asked again.

“Don’t
worry,” Mira said. “We’ve been anticipating this since he first manifested the
berserk state.” She used the chemical injector and shot into Brian’s neck. “In
the days when
Maigars
were common this happened frequently.”

“What?”
Seles asked. She knelt down to check Brian and found he was asleep.

“Prolonged
use of the berserk state drains the
Maigar
greatly,” Mira looked at
Seles, “The same could happen to either of us if we’re caught in that state.”

“Is
there a possibility of death?”

“Yes,
but it takes much longer than this to kill the user,” Mira answered. “When the
eyes turn red death is close.”

“I’ll
remember that Mira,” Seles said while cradling Brian as he slept.

Valis,
Kivi, Zae, Baed, Seles, and Brian stood around the battle planning table.

“I
know you’re all tired, but our next battle will be commencing in six hours’
time,” Valis said. “I thought we’d have this meeting to go over our strategy.”
She turned to Daes. “How are the Phase Rakna’s coming along?”

“We
should be done with the computer systems by the time the next battle
commences,” Daes answered. “But it’s going to take a day to charge the
Q-Drives.”

“Is
there any way to speed up the process?” Kivi asked.

Daes
turned to Kivi. “No, it takes time to warm the Q-Drive up. Too much too soon
could cause an overload.”

“So
we’ll have to plan this battle around our two mobiles suits as is,” Valis said.
“Our next target is the fifth moon of Dega Five.”

“The
base the Duchess has there is quite extensive,” Zae said. She called up the
image on the database and displayed it as a holographic representation on the battle
table. “How do you think we should attack?”

Valis
turned the holographic image and zoomed in on the base at the north pole of the
ice encrusted moon. “In order to maintain such a large resource base on a moon
with no atmosphere the Duchess’s base requires heat from the interior.” She
programmed a cut away image of the frozen moon. Under the frozen surface shone
a rocky layer and then a mantle underneath. “This is the weakness of the base,”
she said while pointing to a main thermal power station deep under the frozen
ground.

“That’s
a pretty narrow space to fly around in,” Brian said. “How do you plan to get
someone in there?”

“The
good thing is I don’t need you to go that far down,” Valis said. She pointed to
a hydro core power station several kilometers above the thermal power station.
“If you overheat this reactor a chain reaction will follow.” She smiled. “The
power systems will fail first, ending the base’s usefulness.”

“So
how do we get in there?” Seles asked.

Valis
moved the image back to the surface and focused on the orbit around the moon.
“Our forces will enter orbit above the northern pole. Captain Riga and
Lieutenant Dreka will not be attending this battle. After losing so decisively
the Duchess is likely to keep her strongest fighters as protection.” She
glanced at Brian. “It will take several hours to repair the damage you did to his
mobile suit?”

“Yes,
eight or so,” Brian answered.

“I’m
expecting a Malcovin fleet to be hidden at the equator or southern pole of the
moon,” Valis explained. “They’ll attempt to pincer our forces between the base
and deep orbit. That’s why Shiken Ka and his forces will enter orbit at the
equator to intercept them. If they aren’t there then he’ll move his fleet north
and join ours in the main assault. During the attack the light to heavier class
vessels will hold down the Ick-Tckt forces with an orbital bombardment. Between
attack waves, Brian and Seles will descend. The goal is to break into the enemy
base, destroy the reactor and get out as quickly as possible.”

“Seems
pretty straight forward,” Seles said.

Valis
closed her eyes and shook her head. “I’ll send each of you more detailed battle
plans later, but that’s the general idea.”

* * *

“Handling
this thing is much harder than it looks,” Meldi said as she was defeated in the
simulator.

Seles
watched her three squadron leaders as they piloted Phase Raknas in the
simulators.

“Lieutenant,
how did you get used to flying these things?” Kaela asked.

“I
second that,” Myli added.

Seles
shook her head. “It’s not going to be easy piloting a mobile suit for a while.
I know you’re frustrated but it can’t be helped. The new mobile suits will be
read to roll out in no time and you to know how to handle them.”

Daes
came over to check the numbers. “The good news is their reaction time is
improving each time they practice.”

“How
are they coming along?” Seles asked. She looked at the three mobile suits
standing by in the cargo bay.

“The
physical form is completed,” Daes answered. “There’s a little bit left with the
internal systems. Then we charge up the Q-Drives and they’ll be finished.”

Seles
turned back to her subordinates. “I’ll get into the simulator and show you how
to move.”

“Thanks
lieutenant,” each of her subordinates answered.

* * *

“You
really seem to like this place,” Kivi said as she entered the HDC. Brian was
relaxing on the ground in what looked like a temperate forest from Earth. She
sat down next to him, shading her eyes and looking up at the sky. “It’s
beautiful.”

“I’d
be lying if I said I didn’t miss Earth,” he said before sitting up. “This place
lets me to see home once in a while.”

“Isn’t
the Avoni your home?”