Mobile Suit Gundam 00S: Crossover Episode 15 (Season Finale)

Chapter 19: The Orbital Catapult
 Longshot towed the crippled 00 Raiser into the hanger of The Traveller from the battlefield. While Heero said nothing, Ransac was both enraged and embarrassed that he had lost against Reginald. Not only had he managed to cripple the last Gundam available to them, Zabanya aside, but he had done it almost effortlessly and escaped with barely a scratch on him. It was now the second time he had let the traitor slip through his fingers, and Ransac couldn’t swallow that easily.

 “You alright in there?” Asked Jim as he unsealed the cockpit. In the case of a crippled mobile suit the pilots were required to remain inside the cockpit until the chief engineers could determine the extent of the damage and safely bypass any potential problems that could come up with extracting the pilot.

           “We’re fine. Sorry about the 00.” Replied Ransac.

           “Well at least we’re close to Earth. If this had happened elsewhere we’d be stuck with relying on the Gadelaza, and we still haven’t finished working on it yet.” Ransac knew Jim was trying to soften the blow but it still stung. He knew he had been outmatched out there.

 “Jim, we need this machine tied down before we reach the orbital catapult.” Said Syrene, climbing over the chest of the 00 Raiser while speaking. “You ok?” She asked Ransac when she reached the cockpit.

 “I’m fine.” Snapped Ransac. “Go help Heero.” He said before kicking away from the 00 Raiser. As he floated, he mentally beat himself. He had not meant to snap at her. He just simply wanted to be left alone for the moment. Heero called out to him when he touched ground.

           “Hold on Ransac.” He said.

           “What is it Heero?” He replied.

           “We both know we were outmatched in that fight, he clearly had the better machine and we were at a disadvantage.”

 “I’m aware of this Heero, it still doesn’t help. I’ve faced worse odds then that before.”

 “So have I, and I’ve learned that during those times its best not to push others away.” With that Heero turned and went back to the 00 Raiser.

 “Good advice.” Mumbled Ransac to himself. He was about to head to his room when he noticed his wrist communicator blinking. He hesitated before opening the channel.

 “We need to talk in private, conference room, tell no one  .” Informed Daryl in a simple text.

 “Now what’s this about?”  Wondered Ransac. Usually when Daryl needed to speak with someone he sought them out personally. In addition, Daryl rarely kept those talks secret. It had to be something important for him to do this. His interest caught and unable to disobey the orders, Ransac went to the conference room, making sure nobody saw him as he went.

 Ransac entered to find the room darkened, the only light available was coming from the computer screen on the wall. In the corners, he saw Longshot and Daryl waiting for him.

 “Thank you for coming here so quick. This isn’t something that should be kept waiting.” Said Daryl.

<p style="text-indent:.5in"> “What’s this about?”

<p style="text-indent:.5in"> “We got a message from the ESF command. They want to speak with us.” Answered Longshot.

<p style="text-indent:.5in"> “About what?” Asked Ransac cautiously, it was rare when the ESF got involved with the goings of The Traveller. When they had first returned to action Daryl had made it clear that should the ESF attempt to interfere with how he ran the ship and performed their operations would not be met kindly. While this had granted them some form of independence, it had made the military wary.

<p style="text-indent:.5in"> “About recent mysterious circumstances and how best to handle them. In short, the pilots and their machines.” Answered Daryl with a scowl.

<p style="text-indent:.5in"> “What about them? They’ve shown they’re capable and content with working with us.”

<p style="text-indent:.5in"> “That’s part of it, with “us”. Most likely, the ESF still considers them rogue elements. Moreover, that is only part of it. More machines and pilots have been appearing, the battle at Ceres proved that much. Also, none of us can deny that those machines possess certain aspects that the ESF believes could be useful.”

Ransac folded his arms and leaned against the wall. “You mean the ZERO System and the Psychoframe, don’t you?”

“For the most part, yes. Those two technologies offer huge advantages, and the ESF is becoming desperate for those in this war. This stalemate needs to end. You can attest to the strengths of both systems, we’ve all seen it in action to some degree.”

“That Unicorn Gundam gave me a challenge and there’s no denying that the ZERO System can give a pilot a powerful boost in the middle of combat, but we’ve also seen how unstable these technologies can be. That ZERO System nearly killed me back at Ceres. And from what I could feel from fighting Banagher, he wasn’t entirely in control of his machine either.” Said Ransac.

“Those are a few of the reasons why we’ve constantly avoided giving away too much information about those two systems. They are dangerous. If the ESF decides to start mass producing systems and equipment like that it could prove more hazardous and advantageous. And what if they started combining the two? There’s no telling what such a combination could do, with or without the additional factor of GN Particles.” Said Daryl.

“So what are we going to do once we reach Earth? It will be harder to keep those secret while we’re repairing them. Wing Zero definitely needs an overhaul and Amuro has been asking for his machine to be upgraded as well.” Said Longshot.

“Strafe is doing his best to maintain the continued secrecy of those designs. But we’re going to have to be even more cautious on Earth than we have been in space. For now, our allies may be more dangerous than our enemies. Remember this conversation when we reach Earth. The military council wants to speak with us the moment we arrive.”

'' “Will Commander Daryl please return to the bridge? We are approaching the Orbital Catapult, estimated ETA: one minute.” ''

“Don’t tell anyone this meeting. I suggest you prepare yourself, from what I’ve heard the Orbital Catapult is anything but a comfy ride.” Said Daryl. After that, the meeting ended, leaving Ransac and Longshot to head back to the hanger.

“We finally get to see the Orbital Catapult.” Said Longshot after a while.

“Heard it’s rather impressive, but I wonder why The Ascent have never bothered to attack it. You’d think that a station that gives the ESF a quick means of sending forces back and forth would be their first target.” Said Ransac.

“Who knows?” Said Longshot with a shrug.

The Orbital Catapult was a massive space station constructed over Mars before the War against The Ascent began. Initially it was constructed to help send supplies to planned colonies, but when the Ascent began their crusade, it quickly shifted to troop transport.

The Orbital Catapult utilized one massive linear catapult to launch ships over vast distances rapidly. The technology was the same used by most mobile suit carriers to deploy their forces, but on a far larger scale. The Orbital Catapult easily took out several weeks of travel, reducing it to only an hour’s trek between Earth and Mars.

“About time you two got here! Ransac, we have a spare Alteron, I know you hate piloting one of them but hopefully you’ll just be sitting in it.” Called Jim. Around him pilots were climbing into their mobile suits, a standard procedure during a moment of transit outside of Quantization. The mobile suits were prepped to deploy within a moment’s notice.

“Good luck, kid.” Said Longshot as he went to Zabanya. He gave a slight chuckle as he turned his back.

“An Alteron, excellent.” Sighed Ransac sarcastically. While the Alteron was a reliable suit, it wasn’t a Gundam. It had lesser performance compared to most machines he had flown, and in his own view, it looked far less impressive.

'' “All personnel prepare for docking with the Orbital Catapult. We will be launching in forty seconds.” '' Warned Daryl over the intercom. By the time he had finished speaking, all the pilots had made their way into their machines. Ransac reluctantly sealed his cockpit.

The Traveller gave a great shudder as the electromagnetic stabilizers of the Orbital Catapult grabbed a hold. Ransac tensed slightly within the cockpit of the Alteron, it was like the same feeling you get when you are on a roller coaster and you know it’s about to launch to full speed.

 “Launching in 3…2…1…LAUNCH!”  The ship suddenly shot forward. Everything not bolted down in the hanger suddenly went flying as the sudden acceleration tore its way through. Even the pilots struggled to hang on inside their cockpits. Ransac was nearly thrown shoulder first over the right side of his monitors from the sudden change. It was only through intense struggle that he managed to keep himself planted.

           “May I never have to go through that again.”  He prayed once things settled down. With hesitation, he unsealed his cockpit at the OK sign. While shaken, it was obvious he was the better off out of the pilots. Nobody aboard the ship knew what exactly to expect and most seemed to have been taken by surprise despite the warning. Some had bruises and cuts, most likely from being tossed around inside the cockpit or being thrown out of their seat over the edge.

“That was the most horrible roller coaster I’ve ever been on! When can we do it again?” Joked Jim weakly as he floated out of the engineer safety zone. Most of the engineers who followed sported similar injures to the pilots, though usually less severe.

“Right after you move into the airlock.” Snapped Longshot as he crawled out of Zabanya.

“Longshot! No need to be harsh!” Snapped Jim. Longshot grumbled as he passed. Ransac simply shook his head and floated to Syrene.

“Well, we’re on our way back home.” He said.

“It has been a while. It’ll be good to finally touch down on solid ground.” Sighed Syrene cheerfully. Out of all the crew, Syrene had most missed the Earth. When they had arrived on Mars, Ransac suspected that had only increased her feelings of homesickness even more. However privately he wasn’t too eager to return to home.

For him, Earth had changed since they had gone into cold sleep eighty-nine years ago. He knew that was to be expected, but back then, war had finally begun the change from horrible truth to a fading memory. Now it had returned in full force and it was obvious neither side had any intention of losing, no matter the cost. For The Ascent, it was a matter of settling a long nourished grudge over their exile. To the ESF, it was about destroying monsters who sought only the complete annihilation of the Earth.

Ransac had fought in the war long enough to know that that wasn’t the case, at least not with everyone. Some pilots had displayed discontent with the war itself, wishing only that both sides would come to some agreement so peace could return. And, despite their efforts in defeating The Ascent, very few of the crew of The Traveller held any real hatred of the enemy. Most saw it as an unfortunate result of the turbulence created before the abolishment of the A-LAWS and The Innovators. It was a sadness that filled people such as Ransac and Syrene, people who still knew what it was like before the peace with the ELS.

 “The Traveller is on course for Earth, estimated ETA: 1 hour.” 

<p style="text-indent:.5in"> “I’m going to get some rest.” Said Ransac.

<p style="text-indent:.5in"> “Good luck, most of the ship is going to be busy. I guess I’ll be seeing you later.” Said Syrene. She winked as she spoke and turned away with a grin before going back to work.