For the first time in the U.S.C. history, a battle was being fought in the vicinity of one of its colonies, let alone one of the main ones, like Beta, on Mars. The first shot came from the terrestrial forces—a barrage of missiles from the cruisers that had positioned themselves in alignment a few thousand meters from the Colony. The defense forces mirrored the formation and, with their anti-missile system, managed to stop the first enemy offensive.
After a few more exchanges between the fleets, the machines that redefined the meaning of warfare in the space age entered the scene. M.M.U. battalions from both sides were launched, and the conflict shifted from an exchange of fire between the large ships to a brutal combat between the nearly 20-meter-tall metal giants. The chaos of battle, explosions, and impacts of various kinds made Kiyoko Ogata and her powerful M.M.U. Izanagi hesitate initially, but the young woman's adrenaline and survival instinct quickly made her accustomed to the violent scenario.
On the other side of the conflict, the starship Aldebaran, carrying the M.M.U.s of Helena Kjestein's squadron, prepared for launch. Four of the five units targeted for capture were there. Helena observed the images of the machine that would be the target of the capture operation; the unit that faintly resembled the Japanese Hayabusas was chosen. However, another detail bothered the captain: that was certainly not just part of Earth's forces. The expectation that they would split up for the attack on Mercury and Venus was far from realized.
Sagittarius, followed by her young comrades' M.M.U.s, took flight, with Izanagi in its sights.
"Caution with enemy movements; we still haven't seen what this unit can truly do, so I want you at 100%! Laila, give us cover. The rest of you, advance!"
Izanagi and its colossal Katana sliced through U.S.C. units like sheets of paper. The enemies advancing on it quickly realized the mistake they had made; Izanagi's surprising agility caught them off guard, and the result was a swift and brutal death. Kiyoko didn't count her kills, but the trail of destruction Gabriel had said she would leave was there. Captain Vazquez's squadron assisted with the units that escaped the young lieutenant's range of action, and quickly, the combination was responsible for clearing an entire sector of the battle.
Amidst the shattered M.M.U.s of The Cathedral and the ship-to-ship fire tearing through the battlefield, the chaos made Kiyoko pause to observe the scene once more on Izanagi's monitors. Her other three teammates were somewhere in that chaotic combat, dealing out destruction and death just as she was. The alert from her radars, however, made her and her squadron mates quickly assume a defensive position. The shot, powerful and of still unknown origin, tore through the space near them. After some more searching, a single cruiser and four units—the same ones she had seen on Earth during Operation Purgatio—advanced on Kiyoko and Vazquez's squadron.
The enemy's aggressiveness and the impressive speed of the M.M.U. leading the group caused the combat between Sagittarius and Izanagi to begin rapidly. With laser sabers in hand, Helena used all the force her machine could generate in its attacks. Izanagi blocked with its red Katana, which glowed with the impact; the force of the attack pushed both units apart.
Helena analyzed the enemy M.M.U. once more; that had been the reaction of a talented pilot. But without wasting time on compliments for her adversary, she resumed her violent assault. However, Izanagi did not wait defensively for the second enemy charge and also went on the offensive. The dance of the black metal giants was beautiful and terrible at the same time; Helena's Sabers and Kiyoko's Katana clashed, creating lights that mingled with those emitted by their M.M.U.s' thrusters. Captain Vazquez and his squadron were unable to help their young comrade; Laila's long-range shots kept them on guard, and the other M.M.U.s from the enemy squadron were now attacking them.
For the first time in his military career, Vazquez felt he had equipment to fight his enemies on equal terms. The modified version of the Gawain, tested by Henry in Japan, was now piloted by the entire R.A.F. fleet. The exchange of laser fire and missiles between the two forces served as a backdrop for the duel between Izanagi and Sagittarius. The talent of the two women who masterfully controlled the powerful machines was similar; however, Helena's experience became the trump card that allowed her to gain the advantage in battle.
"You're skilled, pilot, but too raw."
With a clean move, Sagittarius defended against one of Izanagi's offensives while simultaneously positioning itself behind the enemy. With two simple cuts, she removed Izanagi's thrusters.
Kiyoko's expression of terror was momentary. Helena activated her secondary weapon; small drones surrounded Izanagi, and then, a terrible energy discharge struck the M.M.U. The young woman's agonizing scream reached Vazquez. The subsequent silence and Izanagi shutting down were enough for the captain to abandon the combat he was engaged in and head towards where she was. With rapid shots, he managed to create distance between Izanagi and Helena's Sagittarius.
With a strong kick, he pushed her further away. His squadron had already suffered casualties during the combat; he and five other units remained, besides the unconscious young woman.
Helena attacked Vazquez's Gawain, which defended as best it could, and then, the captain heard a request on her radio from Laila.
"Give me a few meters, Captain!"
Her response was her movement, creating distance between herself and the Gawain, and the reason for the request was immediately revealed. A single shot, from a distance, pierced Marco's unit. The veteran looked at his body, bloodied; the hole made by the attack in his cockpit gave a privileged view of the stars. He thought of his wife Sofia, of their days together in a Valencia that no longer existed, of his daughter, his sweet daughter who loved him so much, and of the young man he had learned to call son, even if only to himself. His lament was muffled by the explosion, and along with his Gawain of so many battles, Marco Vazquez had just lost his life.
The screams of horror from Kiyoko Ogata, who had just awakened from Helena's harsh attack in time to see the man who saved her life explode before her, echoed on the radios of nearby allies. The rest of Vazquez's squadron was also shot down by the U.S.C.'s best pilots and units, and now they were approaching Izanagi, ready to capture it. Kiyoko moved her M.M.U.'s controls, which did not respond. The hatred she felt was not enough fuel for the machine that was already without thrusters. However, her weapons were still active, and when Balogun approached to activate his part of the energy cage that would capture the unit, with a simple, clean movement of her Katana, Kiyoko severed the legs of Balogun's Capricorn M.M.U.
"She's still conscious!?"
Balogun's desperation turned to silence as a flash cut through space; a spear pierced the pilot's already damaged M.M.U. Like Vazquez shortly before, the U.S.C. pilot thought of his family and his friends. And with a last breath, he ceased to exist in that cruel world. There was no explosion; his M.M.U. simply shut down, lifeless, like its pilot.
"BALOGUN!!!"
Elijah Thompson's cry was interrupted by another barrage of attacks, and they had no choice but to move away from Izanagi. Fiercely closing the distance, the gallant white of Jerome Gagnier's M.M.U. Chevallier and the fierce silver of Xu Qiqiang's M.M.U. YuHuang came to the rescue of their young, immobilized comrade. With his two laser sabers, YuHuang attacked Helena's Sagittarius, which defended itself with the same weapons its aggressor equipped. Gagnier approached Izanagi and extended his M.M.U.'s hand towards its spear, which was still in Joshua Balogun's destroyed Capricorn, and it magnetically returned to his control. With Izanagi in its arms, he accelerated, quickly gaining distance from the combat. After a few more exchanges of blows, Xu did the same.
Laila's shots were easily dodged by the two Aegis M.M.U.s, which left the sector where the battle was now over. Helena observed her young subordinate's motionless Capricorn. She clenched her hands on Sagittarius's controls. Once again, the taste of defeat embittered everything she felt.
"Captain..."
August Leitz calling her made her regain her composure.
"We've received a communication from the base... We've lost contact with Mercury. With Gamma colony and the support stations."
Impossible. There shouldn't have been enough forces for them to defeat Gamma so easily. She hid her surprise and asked her subordinate, who was in charge of communication with HQ, what to do next.
"What are our new orders?"
"To join the main defense forces of Beta colony. Both sides are severely weakened; they'll use the fact that they apparently don't want to destroy the colony as a shield."
They would use the lives of the millions of people living there, and the fact that the enemy still wanted to use the structure, as a living shield. The order did not sit well with her, but as the soldier she was, she followed it. Her squadron returned to the starship Aldebaran for quick repairs and then headed to the center of the conflict.
<>
One hour earlier, in the vicinity of Gamma colony.
Gabriel had positioned Arthur a few meters from the Avalon, as instructed. Its blue wings emitted a stronger glow than usual. And the Avalon, certainly not by coincidence, emanated the same particles for the first time. The Excalibur cannon released its three new connectors, which docked at several points on the space cruiser, and this was enough for the pilot to understand where sufficient energy for the shot he would give in minutes would come from.
The internal cockpit lights changed from a faint blue to red. The words "Stage 3 initiated" now occupied all screens. A counter that would go from 30 minutes down to 0 began. Gabriel lowered his new optical sight; the view he had of the Colony, which was still so distant, surprised him. One and a half million lives in Gamma, another two million in Zeta. His stomach churned, and his hands grew cold with sweat.
"If the order to commit an atrocity happens, I'm sure you'll make the right decision."
Gabriel closed his eyes; Marco Vazquez's voice in his memories made him think, and then, he contacted Avalon's command.
"Send a warning to Gamma. Tell them they have thirty minutes to evacuate the colony."
The surprise reaction from the entire crew was the same. Major Pellegrini, who had said nothing until then, merely observing the actions of his competent subordinates, responded to Gabriel with another question.
"Are you sure about this, First Lieutenant?"
"Yes, sir."
The following silence hid the crew's surprise; Pellegrini not immediately denying Gabriel's request had caught them off guard. The Major agreed with Gabriel; those people deserved a chance to know what was about to hit them.
"Very well, you will deliver the message."
Gabriel nodded, and in a few moments, with the hacking skills of the Avalon's team, his voice was broadcast to the millions of people in the colony.
"I am First Lieutenant Gabriel Sirghi, pilot of M.M.U. Arthur, of the terrestrial forces. In 30 minutes, your colony will be destroyed. I ask that you evacuate as many people as possible and put as much distance as you can between yourselves and it. You probably won't believe what I've just said, but if you want to save your lives, and the lives of those you love... Please, leave the colony."
30 minutes would be an impossible time for the colony to be fully evacuated, and Gabriel believed that even with more time, most would not listen to him. However, the guilt he felt made him want to give a chance to those who would hear him.
<>
In the colony, in the Cardinal's main hall, men and women exchanged frightened glances after hearing the message. It would be impossible for the colony to be destroyed in just 30 minutes, and the Cardinal's subsequent order put them more at ease.
"Do not let panic spread. Prohibit departure from the colony for the next few hours, and you will soon see there is nothing to fear. Send a search squadron for the enemies who sent this damned message, and when you capture them, bring them to me!"
"Yes, Your Eminence."
With the room empty, the Cardinal stood up and went to one of his windows in the mansion he had occupied for over 40 years. Gamma's green fields and its cities, less dense than the organization's larger colonies, made it a beautiful place. He would not let its peace be interrupted by absurd lies.
<>
The deadline had passed, and the shot was ready. There had been no movement from the colony; the evacuation he expected, even if of a minimal portion of the population, did not happen. Gabriel closed his eyes; there was no more time.
Arthur raised the Excalibur cannon with both hands, centering it. Gabriel, already observing his gigantic target with his optical sight, analyzed his M.M.U.'s data one last time. The sound of energy being charged could be heard from all corners of the ship. The blue particles, of so much mystery, shone like never before. Gabriel Sirghi closed his eyes; he no longer needed them to know what he would shoot at, and then, he pulled the trigger.
The blue glow disappeared, absorbed by M.M.U. Arthur, and subsequently, after the darkness created by the dimming lights, it didn't take long for the M.M.U. and the cannon to shine again. Blue rays emanated from Excalibur's length, and then, an energy wave formed at the muzzle of its long barrel. Excalibur's shot could be seen from hundreds of kilometers away, a greater distance than the M.M.U. and Avalon were from the Colony.
The gigantic beam of light tore through the space near Mercury. With no remaining energy, Gabriel's M.M.U. shut down. Avalon used its fuel reserve, which was also nearly depleted, creating a shield for the imminent impact and the energy wave it would create.
40 seconds. That was the time between the shot and the target being hit. The cannon's blast pierced the colony. The impact made people run in terror. And the old cardinal watched the mass of incandescent white, where the cannon had struck squarely, grow, engulfing everything and everyone around it. He saw men, women, and children he knew disintegrate when touched by the energy and terrible heat that consumed the colony. He had no time to think about his mistakes; he disappeared like dust, to which he knew everyone would one day return.
The colony, seen from a distance, glowed for a few moments, and then, was enveloped in a colossal explosion. The subsequent impact swept away the space stations in its vicinity. A few seconds later, the violent energy wave hit the shielded Avalon and M.M.U. Arthur, which still remained motionless with its lights off.
Gabriel had his head bowed since the moment he pulled the trigger.
"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster."
He had no idea who had left the message on his M.M.U. when Stage 3 was activated, and he had no energy left to worry about such a doubt. Gabriel Sirghi knew it was too late; he had become the monster.