It had been about thirty minutes since the first round was fired to ignite the battle. The Earth Alliance fleet visiting GENESIS Alpha had superior numbers however the Abyss units were able to hold out on their own due to most of their units being superior than the Alliance daggers. So far, their mobile suit squadrons had destroyed about a third of the Daggers and mobile armours launched while they only lost about a handful of units (a few GINNs and CGUEs to be precise). Also, two 'Drake' class ships have been destroyed and one 'Agamemnon' class has lost propulsion, essentially making it a sitting duck in the battle.
With the Abyss units smaller in number, it would be a bit more difficult to redirect battle traffic to other areas but the Abyss fleet commander had issued out a general request to do this so that the Junk Techs and their escorts would have an opportunity to make a break for it. Upon hearing that announcement, the members with a radical anti-Natural attitude decided that if a Junk Guild shuttle got in the way of his/her battle, then it's tough luck for them. Accidental casualties are common in battles after all.
Considering that it would be difficult to keep an eye out on all six groups making their escape, Lowe and Canard had worked out arrangements with the Abyss escorts so that they can quickly relay essential battle information which could endanger the group. Each shuttle would continuously broadcast a message which identified them as Junk Techs in the hope that other soldiers would watch their fire around them. Canard had an easier time protecting his three assigned groups with his Dreadnought's Buster Mode able to provide good cover fire. Of course, propulsion and mobility would be compromised but under the circumstances, it was an acceptable risk.
For Lowe, he had to be a bit more cautious. Red Frame did not have such long range firepower like Dreadnought and to keep circling around to check on the three groups would be a waste of fuel. So he decided that he would hang on to one of the shuttles so he could conserve fuel in case he needs to make emergency jumps to reach the other two groups he is supervising. In an attempt to conserve power, propulsion and beam weapon systems were shut down. Only life support, communications and sensors were up and running at normal capacity. With this conservation of power, Lowe's operating time had been extended by about thirty minutes. 'So far, so good...'
Eight had been silent for a while as it had been in stand by mode ever since everyone left the military base. If trouble arose, then Eight would be able to activate the other systems quickly so that Lowe could jump into action. The mechanic would prefer that the trip go smoothly but such would not be the case as Eight started to act up. "WARNING! An Agamenon-class ship is being attacked by an Abyss ship and its destruction is imminent! Shuttle 5 is within explosion radius!"
"Can they change course in time so that their distance is safe enough from explosion debris?" asked Lowe.
"As long as the ship does not explode within the next 30 seconds..." Eight was cut off as Red Frame's sensors recorded an explosion that was too large for a destroyed mobile suit to cause. "... never mind. Booting up all systems!"
'If I recall, Jim's escorting that particular shuttle. Considering that he really wanted to help us out, he would be doing what he can to make sure that any battleship debris doesn't damage the shuttle.' Red Frame's green optics lit up before it jumped off the shuttle it had been holding on to. Lowe directed his unit towards the chunks of battleship debris heading towards Jim's group. The Abyss soldier had already broken down a few chunks to cause them to explode a safe distance away but there were still a few large pieces left. Without wasting any time, Lowe whipped out his katana to slice the last few chunks of wreckage into smaller pieces. "Looks like that's it..."
"Incorrect, Lowe. There's a damaged Strike Dagger drifting this way. The boosters seem to be jetting on and off indicating that the pilot of the unit cannot control his propulsion systems," chirped Eight.
Lowe opened a communications channel to Jim. "You keep up with the shuttle and finish what you started. I'll move the Dagger away from you guys and save the pilot as well." The mechanic then closed the channel and activated his own boosters to head towards the drifting Strike Dagger.
Unknown to the Red Frame pilot, the Dagger's propulsion system had intentionally been tampered with by its pilot, hoping that the 'damaged' unit would be ignored by the enemy. Then when it drifted near one of the enemy vessels, then the delayed self-destruct would kick in and strike a blow for the Alliance. Considering that the odds of success were slim, the pilot made the smart choice to abandon the unit once he came up with that crazy plan.
Just as Red Frame got close to the Dagger, the self-destruct timer reached zero and the unit exploded in point blank range. As the cockpit shook from the impact and sparks flew from some components frying out, Lowe saw certain moments of his life flash in his mind before he blacked out.
**********
As Lowe's vision returned to him, he wondered how he had survived in the first place. A point blank explosion of that magnitude should have destroyed Red Frame since the prototype Astray units did not have powerful protective armour like Phase Shift. "I'm alive?" The cockpit interior monitors were filled with static while there were small pink blotches on the sides.
"Yes, you are. When the sensors picked up the initial signs of the explosion, I tapped into the propulsion systems for an emergency jump backwards," reported Eight.
Lowe chuckled. "What would I do without you? Anyways, what's our status?"
The AI gave a grim report. "I already sealed up minor cockpit breaches with the pink sealant and communications are relatively intact but that's the only good news. Propulsion is down and I'm unable to divert power from other systems to get it up and running again. All my attempts at bypassing the damaged circuitry have proved futile. What's worse is that the explosion damaged the oxygen tank. At most, you have five minutes before you run out of air and suffocate to death."
"Lowe! This is Jim! Are you alright?!?" The Abyss member's broadcast could barely be heard with Red Frame's damaged equipment.
The mechanic pressed a button to respond. "I'm damaged but I'll live. Did you escort the other shuttles to safety?"
"There are only two groups left. The fighting seems to be slowing down with the Alliance fleet preparing for a retreat. Anyways, just sit tight! I'll be with you in a bit to get you back to your ship!" exclaimed Jim on the other end.
"Don't worry about me and get the other groups back to the ship first! The escort was what you offered to us and I want you to fulfill that offer!" Lowe briefly coughed as he started to feel a little light-headed.
There was a pause before Jim spoke again. "Lowe... in case you don't make it, I just want to tell you that our group only has good intentions to create a stable future."
"A word of wisdom, buddy. Don't forget what the road to Hell is paved with." With that said, Lowe shut off the channel and tried to focus his energy on conserving his oxygen. Remembering what Un No taught him, he entered a meditative trance to calm himself down.
Three minutes passed and he could feel the air becoming thinner. 'Gotta conserve air... gotta conserve air...' Lowe repeated this mantra in his mind as he controlled his breathing. Then he felt a jolt in his cockpit. Before he could wonder what happened, someone broadcast a message to him.
"Lowe? You still alive in there?"
The Natural gave a weak smile as he felt Red Frame being dragged away by Dreadnought. "Yes but I won't be for long if you don't bust your ass to the ship, Canard."
"Yeah, yeah... when I saw that unit explode within your proximity, I thought you bit it. To survive something like that, the only thing I can say is that you're a fucking lucky son of a bitch."
Lowe chuckled weakly. "Don't I know it..."
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(Posted Sat, 01 Apr 2006 03:47)
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