Freedom Saga 2: Freedom's Bell (12 page)

The
Columbia base appeared outside the firing range of the Malcovin forces. As the
Artemis and Gemini made their way into position Valis appeared on their
monitors.

“Remember
to stick to the plan,” Valis said.

“Like
glue,” Seles said.

“We
wouldn’t think of doing any different,” Kivi said.

The
two found a hiding spot in the nearby asteroid field. The Artemis deployed its
reflector plates in such a pattern as to carry pulse shots a much further
distance than normal. Once in place her and Kivi checked their targets and began
trading shots. One by one pulses of energy slammed into cannon turrets
indicated on their monitors. At the same time the Columbia base and deployed
all its forces.

“How
far is the range on that thing?” Kivi asked.

Seles
fired again. “If I deploy them at maximum distance I can fire at targets fifty
thousand
ketres
away.”

“So
you could hit people on the other side of a smaller planet?” Kivi asked.

“If
needed,” Seles said. “Jesela said something about needing it for assaulting
planet bound targets from orbit.”

“It’s
good to know you can do that,” Kivi said. “It looks like we’re fifty percent
done with our end of phase one.”

“We’ll
be in phase two in no time,” Seles said.

* * *

Regelik
stood in his command center surrounded by officers. The monitors showed pulse
fire coming from a number of directions while the Malcovin in the room ran
around panicked.

“Sir,
we’re receiving long distance fire from six directions,” the science officer
said. “We’re currently unable to locate the source of the attacks.”

“Shield
towers twenty six and thirty are gone,” another officer reported.

“Cannon
turrets on this hemisphere have been reduced to one third,” his security
officer said.

“Things
don’t look good,” Regelik said. “But we can withstand this. Redirect all dead
power stations to the interior base. They can pound us all they want. Until
they penetrate the gates it means nothing.”

“Sir,
our long range scanners have detected their fleet,” the science officer
reported.

“Have
you located the special models?” Regelik asked.

“Three
of them have been detected at the head of the fleet,” the security officer said.

Regelik
put the video on the monitor in front of him and carefully looked at the
situation.

“Well
done Valis,” he said quietly. “All ships and mobile suits are to ready for
combat outside the moon. We have to destroy them before they get inside.”

“All
ships are ready admiral,” the communications officer said.

“Very
well,” Regelik said. “All ships are to attack using pattern M-7.”

“Yes
sir,” the captains of the ships responded.

Over
three hundred ships moved from their docks inside the moon to the main gate.
When they flew outside they clumped together while deploying their Talons. The
sniping from the Artemis and Gemini ended as the opposing fleets approached
each other.

* * *

“All
forces use attack pattern A-17,” Valis ordered over the com.

The
Malcovin fleet stayed at the gate and prepared to intercept them.

“They
switched up on us,” Celi pointed out.

“We’ll
do exactly like we planned,” Valis said. “The admiral must’ve realized his only
hope is to make a last stand. The only difference is we have to deal with the
problem.”

“Seles
and Kivi are getting off easy this time,” Mira said.

“That
about sums it up,” Valis said. She closed her eyes and focused her thoughts.
“Phase two begins.”

“Let’s
move out then,” Celi said.

The
Siren and Minerva moved in front of the Aegis and created a triangle as the three
headed for the enemy fleet. The Minerva and Siren aimed their pulse cannons and
fired. Two Talons exploded as they made their way into the enemy fleet.

* * *

The
Artemis and Gemini flew away from the main battle to the other side of the
moon. Once they reached their target the two mobile suits encountered nothing
but a shield array surrounding a massive gate.

“Hmm…looks
like our enemy decided the others were more of a bother,” Kivi said.

“It
was foolish of them to do that,” Seles said.

“You’re
right,” Kivi said. “It’s time to knock and see if anyone’s home.”

“Should
I use an arrow?” Seles asked.

“Not
yet,” Kivi said. “We might need that if they have a trap for us.”

“I
doubt they do,” Seles said. “I’ll refrain for now.”

The
two fired their pulse cannons. One by one the shield towers were drained and
destroyed until all of them were gone. When the shield surrounding the gate
failed another barrier engulfed the gate. The two fired one blast after another
for several minutes until that barrier was drained and door blasted open. On
the other side was a squadron of Talons ready to attack.

“Pretty
thinly defended,” Kivi commented.

“This
is too easy,” Seles said.

When
the Talons moved to attack they spread as a massive beam of energy fired at the
two mobile suits. They quickly dodged with only having their shields drained a
bit. Seles closed her eyes and let the berserk come over her.

“Kivi,
take care of the Talons,” Seles said. “I’ll take care of that thing.”

“Sure,”
Kivi said.

The
Gemini flew towards the Talons with its cannon in spread mode while the Artemis
charged up for an attack. Seles fired the arrow straight into the gate.
Explosions wracked the interior as the cannon blew apart. Kivi finished off the
last Talons while Seles turned to the Artemis back to standard mode.

“You
only had to fire once,” Kivi observed.

“I’d
like to keep one in the quiver just in case,” Seles said.

“It’s
time we pay the admiral a visit,” Kivi said.

“Agreed,”
Seles said as the two flew inside.

* * *

Veda
and Reban watched the battle from the commander center.

“I
almost feel sorry for them,” Reban said. She noticed funny look from Veda. “I
said almost.”

“Those
who would tyrannize others don’t deserve our mercy,” Veda said. She noticed the
Malcovin were focusing their attacks on one spot on their base again and hit
the com. “All units are to defend the weak spot.”

“Yes
commander,” the pilots responded.

The
five hundred mobile weapons from the base moved to aid in shielding it from
attack. The six ships advanced forward as the enemy fleet backed into the gate.

“We’re
about to enter phase three,” Veda said.

“All
units are ready to go,” Reban said.

* * *

Regelik
watched as the rear gate was destroyed. His officers had a panicked look in
their eyes while a number of Talons were sent to intercept the Artemis and
Gemini.

“Severe
damage to the rear gate,” the security officer said. “What are we going to do?”

“We
will die like warriors!” Regelik shouted. “We fight till the end, got that? It
doesn’t matter if our enemy has the upper hand. It doesn’t matter if we can’t
destroy them. What matters is our pride as soldiers of Malcov. Now stop
sniveling and do your duty!”

“Yes
sir!” his subordinates shouted before resuming their work.

The
Artemis and Gemini continued forward until they reached another gate. After
pelting it with a number of pulse shots the two mobile suits blasted through.

“This
is still too easy,” Seles said.

“I
agree,” Kivi said.

A
dozen Talons flew out from a cubby in the wall and attacked. After dodging their
shots and the two mobile suits blasted the Talons until they were destroyed. A
few seconds later another twelve Talons appeared and battered their shields.
Both the Artemis and Gemini quickly switched to spread mode and fired, destroying
the enemy mobile suits. A number of gun turrets emerged from the walls and
fired at them. Their shields blocked the attacks as they fired back and
destroyed the defense system.

“We’ll
reach the target in a few minutes,” Kivi said. “Is it just me or our weapons
that much superior?”

“It’s
not just you,” Seles said. “It feels like our enemies are using technology a
hundred years behind us.”

“I
know I shouldn’t say this but I’d like more of a challenge,” Kivi said.

Seles
smiled. “I feel the same way.”

* * *

The
Minerva, Aegis, and Siren were at the front of the battle. When the gate opened
to allow more ships to join the Malcovin fleet Valis looked to Mira on her
monitor.

“It’s
time,” she said.

“Alright,”
Mira said.

She
closed her eyes and began singing a song. As the music flowed from her the
Siren was covered in a bright blue glow. She led the other two through the
enemy fleet and disabled dozens of ships as they made their way to the gate.
Once they reached the massive door it was beginning to close, but the
disruption from the Siren stopped it from finishing. The three mobile suits
flew inside the passage and continued disabling ship and Talon alike as they
headed deeper inside. When they entered a hollowed out chamber the lights
blinked off quickly. All the remaining ships were disabled and floated
defenselessly in their docks. When Mira ended her song and returned the Siren
back to normal the Artemis and Gemini flew in from the other side. The five mobile
suits clustered together while the lights in the base flickered between on and
off. Seles and Mira quickly locked the helmet of their exoskeletons on and
grabbed their weapons.

“Be
careful,” Valis said.

“We
will Valis,” Seles said.

“We’re
not as reckless as he is,” Mira said.

“Of
course,” Valis said.

Seles
and Mira departed from their mobile suits and headed for the entrance to the
base. When the two jetted to the entrance a pair of pulse cannons emerged from
the wall and aimed at them. Behind them the Minerva shot the two cannons
precisely. The Gemini took aim and fired at the smaller gate, destroying it
with ease.

“We’ve
got your back,” Kivi said.

“Phase
three begins,” Valis said.

“Thanks,”
Seles said.

Seles
drew her
rakna
blade and extended her shield while Mira readied her
raiga
whip. When they headed inside Malcovin troops opened fire on them.

* * *

Regelik
grabbed his Keiker pike as he stood up. The power inside the base fluctuated
wildly once the Siren drew near. He raised his pike to get the others
attention.

“To
all personnel remaining,” the admiral started. “Grab your rifle or pike and
fight to the last man.”

The
other officers in the command center readied their weapons before barricading
the door. On the monitor they saw Seles and Mira making their way deeper inside
the base.

“What
about our forces outside?” the security officer asked.

“We
pray they survive,” Regelik said.

An
explosion shook the base.

“Our
defense grid has fallen,” the science officer reported. “All stations report
serious damage or aren’t reporting in.”

“We’ve
reestablished contact with the fleet sir,” the communications officer reported.
“They’re asking for instructions.”

The
image of the battle situation outside showed that while the forces of Heaven’s
Light had taken damage the Malcovin forces were close to being destroyed.

“All
captains are to act according to their own discretion,” Regelik said.

“Yes
sir,” a number of the captains outside said before the com cut out.

* * *

The
Columbia base advanced until the Malcovin forces were pinned against the moon’s
surface. Veda and Reban continued directing traffic as the battle’s conclusion
drew closer. Suddenly, a number of the Malcovin ships gathered their Talons and
gravity jumped away. Those whose ships were stuck or damaged pulled back before
sending out surrender signals.

“Our
enemy has wised up,” Veda said.

“There
are over seventy captains trying to contact us,” Reban reported.

“Are
there any hold outs?” Veda asked.

“None
we can see,” Reban said. “What should we do?”

“Tell
them I’ll speak with each of them in order of surrender,” Veda instructed.

“Yes
my lady,” Reban said before relaying the message.

As
the fighting subsided the mobile suits made their way back to their ships or
launching bays on the base.

“We
may have the edge but they can still hurt us,” Veda said while looking over the
list of the wounded.

“I’m
surprised we haven’t lost a single pilot yet,” Reban said.

“That
will change,” Veda said. “Pilots are the foot soldiers of the modern age.”

* * *

Valis,
Celi, and Kivi acted as guards for the other two mobile suits. A number of the
Malcovin on foot in the area signaled their surrender by dropping their pulse
rifles.

“Just
out of curiosity, what’s going to happen to this base after we’re finished?”
Kivi asked.

“We’ll
refit it for our own needs,” Valis answered.

“Moon
bases like this are rare, aren’t they?” Celi asked.

“Rare
and expensive,” Kivi said. “It’s easy to slap a base on the surface, but
underneath is the best defense.”

“Everything
depends of the Odairan government,” Valis said. “If they agree we’ll take this
as our base to protect them.”

The
ships and Talons going active in the dock quickly signaled their surrender.

“What
are we going to do with this many?” Kivi asked.

“It
becomes the property of the Odairan people because this is their territory,”
Valis said. “And because they don’t believe in war we’ll end up buying it on
the cheap.”

“Is
this a liberation or material grab?” Celi asked.

“A
little of both,” Valis said. “Idealism is great, but in order for it to come
true we need resources.”

“We’re
still fighting for that, huh?” Kivi asked.

“Yes,”
Valis said. “But the end result of our battles will be peace.”

“By
the way, how are the other two doing?” Celi asked.

“They’re
inside the perimeter,” Valis said while looking at her monitor. “The closer
they get to the admiral the more fire they come under.”

“Do
you need me to join them?” Kivi asked.

“Not
yet,” Valis said.