Gundam Wing X: The Groove Army
Episode one: Full Moon Rising
by Captain Wolf
In the After Colony Year 295 (A.C. 295), The Confederation
successfully breached the blockade established by the Earth Federation,
in
the months that followed The Confederation revealed a multitude of
weapons,
warships, and highly advanced mobile suits that quickly overwhelmed
Earth's
military might. Planet Earth surrendered to The Confederation on
Christmas
Eve, A.C. 295.
On February 9, A.C. 296, The Confederation expanded its
influence
into the outer worlds of the solar system, their first target was
Jupiter.
Willing to achieve peace at any price, in a very unpopular decision by
the
other planets, The Jupiter Republic surrenders without a fight and
negotiates a peace treaty with The Confederation. Two months later,
Confederation occupation forces are established throughout Jupiter
space.
Determined to maintain their freedom, The Gundam Elite, based on the
Jupiter
moon Sinope, put their base on siege status. The Confederation responds
in
kind by blasting Sinope with long-range beam cannon fire. Only two days
into
the attacks, the Gundam Elite's base is completely destroyed for some
unknown reason, all military and civilian personel are killed and
nearly
three-hundred Gundams and their pilots are lost. The remaining Gundam
pilots
and their mobile suits scatter and flee into hiding, by the end of A.C.
296
these pilots and their Gundams are systematically hunted down and
exterminated by Confederation forces and by an unknown group seemingly
on
the side of The Confederation. In the next three years, The Gundams are
soon
forgotten, The Confederation takes the Saturn Corporate Alliance by
force,
and The Outer Zone is cut off from the rest of the system and are now
waiting in fear of The Confederation's advance to take full control of
the
entire solar system....
After Colony Year 300
Now....
Like a great iron fortress in space, the L-10 Colony
floated in
space, it was furthest colony from Jupiter and was fairly isolated from
the
military and commercial space routes. For its main function this was
perfect, as L-10 was the single largest space-based mobile suit
production
facility in the entire solar system. Hundreds of mobile suits, and
mobile
suit weaponry, rolled off the assembly lines on a daily basis. The
Confederation Council couldn't have been more pleased with themselves
when
they formed their alliance with the Jupiter Republic, they were more
than
willing to serve the Confeds any way they could and major production
facilities like L-10 were only icing on the cake. Shortly after taking
L-10
under their wing The Confederation soon found some problems, dangerous
sections of the factory itself, such as ore processing and waste
disposal,
were becoming more and more difficult to maintain and budget costs
skyrocketed as more and more workers refused enter these areas as their
lives were at risk. Labor unions were relieved when The Confederation
Council came up with an interesting solution to this problem, while the
unions didn't exactly approve of the idea, they didn't really oppose it
either. The solution was not a new idea, just an outdated one that no
one
had used for centuries, it only served to fuel the fires of those
opposed to
Confederation rule. As a result, the Sentenced Laborers, or SL's, were
created. Whatever the Confeds wished to call it, it didn't hide the
fact
that it was easily interpreted by an outdated term........ "Slavery."
In the beginning, all able bodied convicts from across the
solar system were forced into hard labor at work camps, ultimately
these
prisoners would eventually be sent to L-10. When convicts began dying
at an
alarming rate on L-10 because of unsafe working conditions, The
Confederation began combing the system looking for more workers, it was
not
uncommon for people to be kidnapped without warning by military police
and
shipped to L-10 simply because the opposed The Confederation by opinion
alone. In time, everyone feared L-10 and it soon took on a new
name,"The
Factory Of Death."
A typical SL's lifespan on L-10 was usually six months
before
they died from exaustion, disease, torture, or some industrial
accident,
Apollo Smile endured four years of sheer agony in this place,
determined to
live so she could know freedom again. When she arrived, Apollo was told
one
rule by the lead work driver,"Work.... or die." The former Gundam pilot
was
then placed in the waste disposal plant, shoveling manure and other
waste
products, her wrists and ankles were shackled together by just enough
chains
to allow her to serve her function as an SL. Life as an SL was a
nightmare
on L-10, more so if the SL was a woman, a fact Apollo knew all too well
as
she was occasionally forced to "service" the guards. She had seen many
of
her fellow SL's die at the hands of this place, she tried to convince
others
to attempt a revolt but no one would listen to such foolishness, Apollo
then
realized that she was on her own.
Apollo was not without friends however as she grew attached
to a
young girl who looked no more than fifteen, this friendship was
established
however by the fact that they were usually collared together by a
ten-foot
chain, the girl had long blonde hair and was slightly taller than
Apollo.
She was clearly terrified of this place and spent more time struggling
with
her chains than working, she had made so many escape attempts that the
drivers started calling her,"Escapee." Indeed, the drivers even had a
pool
going as to when and how she would make her next attempt, while a few
were
planned most of the girl's attempts usually involved trying to run away
the
moment she was uncollared, these flights for freedom ended with her
falling
on her face after about fifteen or twenty feet thanks to her bonds.
When the
girl met Apollo, she told the Gundam pilot about how she was literally
snatched from her bed and dragged to this place, Apollo soon learned
her
real name, Leighton Blue. They soon became friends after they became
shacklemates.
B
One day, someone walked up to Apollo and whispered
something in
her ear, the man then sneaked something into her hand and quickly ran
off.
Meanwhile, Leighton went into her usual fit as she began struggling to
free
herself, this attempt seemed more violent than the others as Leighton
soon
started crying and screaming as well. A nearby driver finally had
enough of
Leighton's insubordination as he ran over and punched Leighton in the
stomach, causing her to fall to the ground. The driver then readied a
whip
and was about to beat Leighton when Apollo fell on top of the young
girl.
"Get off of her SL!" The driver growled as he brought the lash down
upon
Apollo's back, she simply snarled in rage as the driver continued.
"LEAVE HER ALONE YOU MONSTER!!!!" Apollo screamed as the driver
continued
delivering blow after blow, what the SL driver didn't realize was that
Apollo had begun working on her collar and wrist irons with what the
stranger had given her, a piece of metal the size of a nail.
"I SAID GET UP YOU SCUM!!!!" The driver yelled as he prepared another
blow.
"With pleasure." Apollo said quietly as she freed herself from her
chains.
"What the hell?! She's loose!" Was all the driver could get out before
Apollo swung her wrist irons alongside his face, the driver fell and
began
screaming in pain from the blow. Apollo then quickly began working on
her
leg irons and had freed herself completely when she then heard Leighton
screaming beside her.
"NO!!!! DON'T LEAVE ME!!!! DON'T LEAVE ME!!!! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE
ME!!!!"
As she heard Leighton's cries, Apollo noticed an armed
guard run
up and aim his rifle at her, the Gundam pilot took her wrist irons and
hurled them at the guard. While the guard was distracted, Apollo raced
towards him and disarmed the guard by kicking his rifle away from him,
Apollo then knocked out the guard himself with a wheel kick to the
face. She
then went for the rifle as two more guards quickly appeared, Apollo
barely
had enough time to respond as she fired two laser blasts from the rifle
and
took down the guards. She then ran over to a still screaming Leighton.
"Don't move Leighton," Apollo advised her as Leighton was trembling
badly,
she then told her,"I said don't move!"
Apollo then shot off Leighton's chains and the girl was
free to
finally do what she always dreamed of, escape, as both girls began
running
for the lives. All the while the factory went on full alert as alarms
blared
everywhere.
"SL-36192!!!! SL-71794!!!! YOU ARE IN VIOLATION!!!! YOU WILL STOP YOUR
FUTILE ESCAPE ATTEMPT IMMEDIATELY!!!!" An automated voice declared as
Apollo
and Leighton fled through the colony, Apollo was able to take down
another
guard and get his rifle, she then handed the weapon to Leighton and
their
escape continued. The two girls proved diffcult to stop as all attempts
by
the guards failed to stop them as they ran for the nearest launch bay.
When they arrived, Apollo and Leighton spotted two Serpents
ready for takeoff, Apollo ran for one and was shocked to see Leighton
race
over to board the other. The Gundam pilot was about say something when
she
noticed several dozen guards take up firing positions at them, Apollo
reluctantly entered her Serpent mobile suit. Moments later, the two
Serpents
entered their airlocks and both suits shot into space, Apollo then
discovered that these Serpents could transform into flight mode and
Apollo
quickly converted her Serpent and fled into the darkness. She then
spotted
Leighton's Serpent had readied a heavy bazooka and was speeding to
engage a
Confed warship that had docked at L-10.
"Leighton! What do you think your doing?!" Apollo shouted in fear,"If
you
take out that ship they'll send everything they have after us and we'll
be
killed for sure! Leighton!"
The young girl didn't listen as she had her Serpent fired a
series of rounds at the warships main engines, the Confed craft
exploded
moments later. Leighton then whimpered quietly,"Mission accomplished."
Apollo was stunned, Leighton Blue seemed to insinctively
know
where and how to destroy the Confed ship, she then spotted several
dozen
Serpents speeding towards Leighton's mobile suit.
"Leighton! Get outta there now! You can't take them all!" Apollo
shouted at
Leighton, the young girl then converted her Serpent into flight mode
and
flew to join Apollo. Both suits then speeded away from L-10 as fast as
they
could, Apollo knew that they were doomed as Leighton's attack gave the
Confeds a reason to send everything they had at them. Apollo then
noticed
off in the distance was Sinope, Jupiter's outermost moon and former
home of
the Gundam Elite. If we could only get to it, Apollo thought to
herself, but
she knew it was wishful thinking as their pursuers neared. Five
Seprents
soon reached the fleeing suits and surrounded them, their weapons aimed
and
ready to attack.
"You are in violation!" The lead suit pilot told Apollo and
Leighton,"Surrender now and return with us peacefully back to "The
Factory"
and you will not be harmed!"
"Screw you! You bastards!" Leighton growled,"I'M NOT GOING BACK!!!!"
"Leighton! NO!!!!" Apollo shouted as Leighton fired a bazooka round at
the
lead Serpent, the suit exploded and the pilot was killed instantly.
Apollo then overheard another pilot on the radio shout,"They killed the
boss! All Serpents! OPEN FIRE!!!!"
The four remaining Serpents readied their beam cannons and
fired at Apollo and Leighton, who were able to dodge the initial bursts
and
began fleeing again, their pursuers continued their barrage as the
fleeing
Serpents neared Sinope. Apollo then noticed something appear directly
in
their flight path a few miles away, the object approached at incredible
speed and Apollo was amazed as the object seemed to extend a pair of
bat-like wings. The object then stopped directly in front of Apollo's
and
Leighton's Serpents and both were stunned into disbelief when they saw
what
it was, it looked like a mobile suit.
As the suit's wings extended, its appearance was revealed.
It's
upper body and arms, as well as it's wings, were black in color, while
its
legs were white. It held a long pipe-like device in its right hand, the
device then discharged an energy blade, instead of shooting outwards
the
beam went to one side, as if it were scythe. Apollo then saw a familiar
sight on the suit's forehead, a yellow V-shaped crest that signified
something that almost caused Apollo to have a heart attack.
"Apollo?" Leighton asked fearfully,"What's that?"
"Leighton," Apollo replied,"let's get out of this guy's way and keep
moving
to Sinope!"
"But why?!" Leighton whined,"We can't just leave them behind to face
those
suits alone!"
"Those suits are already dead!" Apollo explained to Leighton.
"What makes you say something scary like that?!" Leighton demanded.
"Because that is no ordinary mobile suit," Apollo said,"that's a
Gundam!"
The winged mobile suit readied it's weapon and charged the
Serpents, the Confed suits fired their beam cannons at their attacker,
to
their horror the suit continued forward without even a scratch on its
armor.
The mobile suit swung it's scythe at one of the Serpents, the Serpent
was
cleaved in two and promptly exploded. The suit quickly slashed another
Serpent and then another and both were destroyed, the one Serpent that
was
left simply hovered in the darkness, wondering what this unbeatable
monster's next move would be. Then a bellowing voice came from the dark
mobile suit.
"ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS TO PLUNDER EXCEPT FOR SINOPE!!!! ATTEMPT TO
APPROACH THIS MOON AND YOU WILL KNOW MY FINAL WRATH!!!! FOR I AM THE
GOD OF
DEATH!!!! AND ALL WHO DEFY ME SHALL DIE BY MY HAND AND WILL BURN IN
HELL FOR
THEIR SINS!!!! NOW GO!!!!!!!!"
The Serpent then immediately turned around and fled back
to
L-10, it was met by approaching reinforcements, a few minutes later the
entire group of Serpents fled back to the colony. Apollo and Leighton
had
watched this dark suit's attack with amazement, this amazement turned
to
fear as the suit approached them. The voice then said quietly....
"If you want to live.... follow me."
To be continued....
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