Cosmic Era 76�2 years after Messiah�s fall and the end of Dullindal�s �Destiny Plan.� Even though the war has ended, hatred between Naturals and Coordinators still remain. ZAFT has fallen, but is rising up once again to counter anti-Coordinator sentiment. Blue Cosmos is also building up their military power to wipe out all Coordinators. Orb has stated that they will no longer fight in any more wars.
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Amongst all the hatred a new military force has been formed�a force that fights for peace and understanding between Naturals and Coordinators. They call themselves Atlas.
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All who were involved in the war of CE 73-74 have refused to fight again. They all now live peacefully in the PLANTS and Orb.
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In CE 73, an experiment was conducted by ZAFT. 5 pilots volunteered for this experiment, called the �Telepath Project.� The ZAFT high council had observed the abilities of a man named Rau Le Creuset. His fearsome Providence Gundam was a whole military arsenal built into one, but only he was able to use such a mobile suit. Scientists researched him and came up with a method of genetically altering pilots� minds. The result would increase a pilot�s spatial awareness and heighten his/her senses. ZAFT ordered the engineers to build more units similar to the Providence and ordered the scientists to begin the experiment immediately. But this experiment came with a heavy price. 2 pilots went insane while being treated and killed three of the scientists. They then committed suicide. The ZAFT high council deemed the experiment too dangerous and ordered to cease the project and kill all who were involved, destroying any evidence. Leon Sieghart, Rhapsody Giftregen, and an unknown 3rd pilot were the only successful �telepaths.� The 3 escaped execution and ended up killing those who conspired to kill them. All records of the Telepath Project were lost and none spoke of it again. Leon and Rhapsody resigned from ZAFT and lived in a secluded area near Orb. The 3rd pilot�s location still remains unknown to this day�
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I remember those days�where we fought to protect. We never questioned who we fought for. Each soldier had his or her own agenda.
It�s been 3 years since Rhapsody and I had defected from ZAFT. I�ve always wondered why I fought. And why I volunteered for that experiment when I knew of the consequences. I fight for vengeance now�yet I am the one who has brought this curse upon Rhapsody and me. My hands are forever covered with blood. I have to ask myself�was it really worth it?
�What�s the meaning of this?!
�This project has been cancelled. We�ve been ordered to execute all of you. We can�t have anyone knowing of this.�
�You�re the ones who started this project, and we�re the ones that have to pay the price? You military people are really something.�
�Shut up!�
Gunshots�blood�everywhere�
�Rhapsody�my daughter�I�m sorry�please protect her�Leon��
Bastards�
�Leon? Are you alright? You seem to have something on your mind,� said Rhapsody.
�Hm? Yeah, I�m fine,� replied Leon.
�Are you ready?�
�Yeah, let�s hurry and get this contract over with and collect our money. I�ll take you someplace nice to eat when we get back to Orb.�
�Sounds good to me.�
Leon Sieghart and Rhapsody Giftregen�two former ZAFT pilots who do mercenary work now. Ever since they had left ZAFT money had become a major problem. But they put their mobile suits and skills to good use. A friend of theirs from Orb, Alexander Amadeus Dena, has supported them throughout their ordeal. He�s been the one who finds them these jobs and provides maintenance for their mobile suits, thanks to his connections with Erica Simmons and Morgenroete. Their work usually involved retrieving stolen mobile suits, fighting people that were attacking innocent lives, destroying bases, delivering packages, and guarding/escorting people. But recently they have been attacking anything involved with Blue Cosmos. Leon seemed satisfied because he was getting paid and preventing Blue Cosmos from returning at the same time. Leon and Rhapsody worked too hard to keep the peace that the world has now.
�Approaching targets,� said Leon.
�All we have to do is take out these Blue Cosmos supply stations,� said Rhapsody.
�We also have to worry about the mobile suits guarding the area.�
�Well, from the looks of it there are only 6 Windams.�
�You would think they�d set up better defenses...�
�Well, considering that everyone is still recovering from the last war, we shouldn�t be too surprised.�
�Yeah.�
Leon and Rhapsody flew in closer and attacked. He activated his GOUF Ignited�s beam claws and took out the first 3 Windams effortlessly. Rhapsody went in the opposite direction and shot down the remaining Windams with her ZAKU Phantom�s beam rifle. They progressed further to gun down the supply stations.
�Why they kept those archaic mobile suits is beyond me,� Leon retorted.
The GOUF Ignited�s shoulder blades began slicing into the core of the first supply station. Leon signaled to Rhapsody as soon as he made a deep enough cut. She fired a volley of missiles at the station and it exploded. It was nothing but space debris now. Suddenly, multiple beams were being shot at them from a distance. They used debris from the first supply station to shield themselves from the assault of lasers.
�I guess we underestimated them,� said Rhapsody.
�How many targets are there?� Leon asked.
�There are four Agamemnon class ships. I�m assuming each is carrying about 6 mobile suits.�
�24 mobile suits and 4 ships shouldn�t be too hard.�
�Don�t get overconfident.�
The ships made no delays in preventing the two from destroying the remaining supply station. The Windams deployed immediately and fired missiles at the mercenaries. 2 of the Windams were equipped with a Doppelhorn Pack and fired the rail cannons at them.
�Mercenary scum! Burn in hell!!!� yelled one of the Windam pilots.
�The same damn mobile suits, huh? You guys need to be more original!� Leon yelled.
Leon and Rhapsody made short work of the Windams. Left and right, Windams were being shot by a beam rifle and pummeled by missiles from Rhapsody�s ZAKU. Leon preferred slicing them in half with his GOUF�s sword and blasting them with its shotgun at close range. One Windam tried to sneak up behind him but he grabbed the body of a destroyed Windam and used it as a shield. He then grabbed the Windam�s rifle and shot the cockpit. Leon counted about 18 mobile suit kills.
�Hmm�I thought Rhapsody said there would be 24 units�� Leon thought to himself.
6 unknown units launched out of the last Agamemnon ship. They were visually similar to the Windams, just with a different head and outfitted with newer weapons. Judging from the design, they were built to be stronger and more agile�but with weaker armor. Leon attempted to take them down with the GOUF�s sword, but the mobile suits quickly dodged his attack. Not even Rhapsody�s precise aim could hit them. Something about their movements seemed�artificial. One unit appeared right in front of Leon and it was too late for him to dodge the attack, so he brought out the GOUF�s shield. The unit fired a rail cannon at him and was shoved back by the sheer force of the attack. The shield was completely destroyed.
�LEON!!!�
�I�m alright. It just caught me off guard��
�Something�s different about those suits.�
�Yeah�Naturals shouldn�t have quick reflexes like that. They�re probably A.I. units.�
�Great. We won�t be able to read any of their movements.�
The unknown units continued to shoot at them from all sides with their beam rifles. They couldn�t avoid the attacks for much longer�their suits� energy was about to run out.
�Shit�we need to get away from these things. But we still have to fulfill our contract.� Leon thought to himself. �Rhapsody, have your ZAKU grab onto my GOUF.�
�What are you planning to do?�
�I�m gonna set my GOUF to auto pilot and send it crashing into the second supply station.�
�Are you crazy? How are we gonna do more jobs without our mobile suits?�
�I�ll ask Alex to arrange something with Erica for us. Don�t worry, we�ll manage.�
�Ok�I trust you Leon.�
Rhapsody�s ZAKU grabbed onto Leon�s GOUF and she immediately came out of the cockpit. He set coordinates on the GOUF�s operating system so it would crash directly into the core of the station. He then moved out of the cockpit and met with Rhapsody. The GOUF and ZAKU went flying towards the station and the 6 A.I. units followed after them. Their mobile suits collided into the station and exploded. The A.I. units got caught in the explosion and got destroyed as well.
�Damn it�we still lost,� said a Blue Cosmos soldier.
�Don�t worry�those stupid mercenaries probably died in the explosion. We won�t have to worry about them anymore,� said another BC soldier.
Leon and Rhapsody watched as the 4 ships drifted off. He contacted Alex as soon as the ships were gone.
�Alex? Rhapsody and I need to be picked up.�
�Gotcha.�
�Oh, and Alex?�
�Hm?�
�Could you contact Erica Simmons for me?�
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The three arrived in Orb after receiving the payment from their associate the next day. Leon and Rhapsody took the opportunity to grab a bite to eat at a nice restaurant. They invited Alex to come with them, but he said he had to take care of some business with Erica since their mobile suits were completely destroyed.
�I�ve already arranged to have Morgenroete build us 3 custom Murasame units. We should be able to receive them in 2 weeks or so.� said Alex. �Take a vacation guys. You�ve done enough mercenary work for now.�
�Thanks Alex. I�ll make sure to be more careful next time,� said Leon.
�Yeah, with the way you fight we won�t end up having any more mobile suits to work with,� commented Rhapsody.
�Haha.�
�Wait, why is Morgenroete building us 3 custom Murasames? Is there something you�re not telling us?� asked Rhapsody.
�You�ll find out soon enough,� replied Alex.
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�So where do you wanna eat?� Leon asked.
�Oh, anywhere�s fine. As long as I could get something sweet,� replied Rhapsody.
�Just don�t go overboard like last time. I�m not sure I can afford to satisfy your sweet tooth anymore.�
�Only if you promise to take it easy on the coffee.�
�I don�t think I can guarantee that.�
�Jerk.�
