In a dream that felt worse than a nightmare, a cold, suffocating sadness clung to me. I was in the middle of a faceless crowd, searching for a single familiar face when I found her: XiangLei, dressed in a crisp federation uniform. I ran towards her, my lungs burning, but with every step I took, she took one back, her form receding into the distance in an impossible, cruel chase. Her farewell was a devastating whisper on the wind, a single phrase that echoed the emptiness inside me: "Stay strong, Lydia Mercer". My eyes snapped open, a single tear cutting a track through the grime on my face. The sadness from the dream had dissipated, replaced by a strange sense of resolve.
I went through the motions of my morning routine like a hollow puppet. Major Michael Colmatta's call to his office was an unwelcome interruption. He praised my "reckless" behavior on the last mission, a blur of screams and shattered metal that I barely remembered. He offered me another promotion and a new mobile suit, giving me the choice to pick a new one or customize my current one. He also offered a chance to become an official federation soldier. The accolades felt like a slap in the face; I was nothing more than a tool, a weapon to be sharpened and pointed at the enemy.
The moment I stepped out of Colmatta's office, Renato was there, his posture a coiled spring of aggression. "So, Michael gave you another promotion, eh, Lydia?" his voice was a low growl.
"What's wrong, Renato?" I responded. "You sound unhappy about it". He grabbed my collar with a vice-like grip.
"Listen to me, Lydia Mercer," he hissed, his face a mask of pure, unhinged fury. "I'm the team leader here. Not you. If you dare get another promotion, I will take your life, and no one should take it from me".
I slapped his hand away and backed off. "You should be happy if your teammates get promoted, you shit head," I retorted. "The Black Dog team will become fearless, just like Noisy Fairy if we can beat them. Not with this kind of shit, the way you treat me". I walked past him and continued, "Or maybe, I should take your leader's place instead if you do this to me again. Or are you just afraid because a woman like me will humiliate you, Renato Germi?". He was a lunatic, a reflection of the darkness I saw growing within myself. My words were acid, a final act of defiance before I walked away.
My sanctuary was the hangar. Lilith's Gundam Pixy was already in progress, with its new red paint dripping like blood. I saw Alleyne Foster, the young ensign I had screamed at during my last nightmare, talking to a mechanic. She was giving them a report on my new promotion, telling them I could customize my mobile suit. I chose to stick with my GM Spartan because it was a brutal, efficient machine, just like me. Mark and Sam arrived, their faces etched with the fatigue of war, but they offered congratulations on my promotion. They had their own new machines: Mark's RGM-79SC GM Sniper Custom and Sam's GM Spartan with a bazooka. They suggested customizations for my suit, and I agreed. The mechanic mentioned a new beam gun, and a morbid curiosity took hold of me. I had to test it.
I activated my GM Spartan, its systems humming to life like a predator waking from slumber. The BR-M-79C-1 Beam Spray Gun was a monster with three modes: a single, brutal shot; a wide-beam burst for area suppression; and a long-range shot. I took it to the test area, and the slaughter began. I felt the familiar thrill of the hunt as I aimed, the recoil a punch to the gut. Target after target fell, their forms exploding into nothingness. I switched to the wide-beam burst, and a whole area was vaporized in a flash of light. The gun felt like an extension of my own rage, and I wielded it with terrifying ease, shooting down all the targets.
Mark and Sam arrived in their new mobile suits, which loomed like grim reapers. "Lydia, how about we take a test with you?" Mark said from his GM Sniper. "We want to test drive our new mobile suits too".
Sam added, "Me too, Lydia. Let me join Mark to test you. Also, let me analyze your mobile suit for your customization".
"That's fine by me, you two," I replied. "This is going to be fun". They wanted a mock battle, a final, bloody test of our new machines. I accepted, my heart pounding with a manic energy. We weren't just playing; we were fighting, a brutal clash of metal and will, a temporary escape from the rot that was war. The battle was a whirlwind of motion, a vicious ballet of destruction. Mark's long-range shots were precise, and Sam's assault was relentless. I met them both head-on, my new beam gun a roaring beast in my hands. After the battle, they gave me their final suggestions for my mobile suit, a note on how to make a killing machine even more deadly.
The late report on the fall of several Zeon forces in Odessa was met with a celebratory clamor from the others. They saw a chance for more beam guns, more destruction, and a path to victory. I just saw more bodies and more bloodshed. The Halloween decorations felt like a grotesque parody of life, a desperate attempt to pretend things were normal.
While everyone was decorating for halloween party, Alleyne approached me, her face pale, with a report that shattered the fragile peace. "Red Zaku," she said, her voice trembling. The name sent a jolt of ice through me. The Red Comet, Char Aznable, was a legend of death and destruction. His Zaku, along with a Zeon warship, was heading to Grand Teton, Wyoming. We were tasked to intercept. I chose Mark and Sam, with Alleyne as our operator. We flew in a Medea, landing far from the destination to avoid detection. We walked in silence, the beauty of the Grand Teton mountains a brutal contrast to the grimness of our mission.
The alarm blared, a shriek that cut through the silence, signifying we were close. Mark scanned the cliffs for snipers while Sam and I moved with caution. Suddenly, a mobile suit approached us at high speed, landing on a cliff beside us. It was the MS-06S Zaku II of the "Red Comet," piloted by the infamous Char Aznable. The emblem was wrong, but the data was correct. Sam pointed this out, his voice filled with a mixture of fear and awe.
"That Zaku, the one used by Ace Char Aznable," Sam said. "But the emblem is different".
"Even if the pilot is different, it won't be the same as the original pilot," I said, my voice filled with a manic bravado. "If we take down this Zaku, we will become ace pilots for sure. Let's go, guys!".
I fired, my beam spray gun a torrent of light, but the Zaku was a ghost, a blur of motion that mocked our attacks. Mark couldn't get a good aim because the Zaku was three times faster than an original Zaku II, and even faster than an MS-09 Dom. It toyed with us, a predator toying with its prey. "Our attack won't hit!" Sam exclaimed. "Is this really the red comet?!".
"Don't attack recklessly!" I screamed, a desperate warning. "If we attack recklessly, the Zaku will reveal our opening!".
"Even with my long-range sniper, this guy is insane!" Mark said.
I realized its weakness: speed was its strength, but also its vulnerability. In the mountains, there had to be a way to reduce it. My plan was a desperate gamble: I told Mark to shoot ahead of the Zaku's path to force it to lose speed. The Zaku dodged, a perfect move that defied belief. The plan was working, but the Zaku was even more monstrous than I had imagined. It chose to engage us in close-quarters combat. It knocked Mark down with a kick and charged Sam. I was next. Our ammunition was gone; it was a desperate hand-to-hand fight to the death.
My beam saber clashed with its Heat Hawk, a duel between demon and man. The Zaku was just stalling for time. Mark and Sam were down, their mobile suits unable to move. I shot a smoke discharger in a pathetic attempt to blind the beast. I threw my grenades, and they exploded on the Zaku's left arm, but it was useless. The Zaku cut my GM Spartan's head off, then my right arm, and finally, it slashed my cockpit. I felt a searing pain as my eyebrow was cut, and the blood dripped into my eyes. The Zaku kicked me, and I slammed into a cliff, a broken doll. Mark and Sam came back online, firing at the Zaku and forcing it to retreat. It flew to the top of the hill, and a Gaw warship appeared, its cannons pointed at us. A new voice came over the comms, not Char Aznable's
"Major Ederich," the Gaw captain said, "the transport is finished. We're leaving now".
"You fought well, Black Dog," Ederich said, looking at Mark, Sam, and me. "I never expected Colonel Char's mobile suit to have amazing speed to stall you enough. Next time, we will meet again".
The Zaku flew into the Gaw, and they disappeared. My mobile suit was a wreck, its repairs impossible. We called Alleyne to pick us up, and we brought the wreckage and a piece of the Zaku's arm as proof. In the Medea, Alleyne salved my scar, her touch a sharp contrast to the brutal reality of our mission. Mark and Sam were in a state of shock, but I was just numb. "We cannot take rest," I said. "We have to keep going, to keep fighting, or my criminal record will never be cleared".
We met Major Colmatta, who was an arrogant, total asshole. He laughed in our faces, accusing us of being unable to handle a single mobile suit, even with the Zaku's arm as evidence. He didn't understand. He had never faced a demon like Ederich. The Halloween party felt like a final, cruel joke. Barry Abbot understood, but he wasn't here to fight our battles. "Barry, we just encountered the 'Red Comet' mobile suit with a different pilot," I told him. "My GM Spartan was badly busted because Ederich was no joke, but Major Colmatta just insulted us for not being able to handle a single mobile suit". He was just a Captain of the witch-hunt unit, and I was just a soldier of the Black Dog squad, a tool to be used and discarded. The war was a sickness, and I was in the final stages of the disease.
To be continue