Gundam SEED Quest

[Amancai]

A/N:Too many plot bunnies and idea... I need help....


"Commander…" someone calls out to you.

Go away, I wanna sleep.

"Commander!" the high pitch voice repeats a bit forcefully.

Mmmph….

"COMMANDEEEERRRRR!!! WAKE UUPPPPP!!!! HOOEEYYYYY DO YOU HEAR MEEEEEE???!!!!"

Goodness, the scream is a bloody foghorn just next to your ear!

"Alright, alright, I'm up," you grumble in annoyance before you open your eyes.

And you blink. This is not your room, this is a ship's cabin.

You look over to the source of the voice, and find a dark grey haired girl is looking at you with a puffed up cheeks. You take in the details even though you know she's somewhat annoyed at you, if her hands on her hips is of any indication.

She's definitely a teenager, probably still in middle school. She's wearing wile sailor style shirt that stretched down to her upper thigh, no skirt but she's wearing thigh high black stocking.

"About time," she quips and snaps your attention back to her.

***

"So… Let me get this straight. You're basically the (____), your body is an android for you to physically interact with outside world, and right now we're somewhere between Earth and the Moon?" you ask the girl.

"Hm hm! That's right," she nods with a crinkled eyes smile.

You pinch the bridge of your nose while trying not to let yourself float off the captain's chair. The lack of gravity really starting to get into your nerve as your flaming red hair floating freely like a lion's mane.

Your hair is something that you're proud of, though you got to admit that you look like a spitting image of Flay Allster from the Gunndam SEED series.

This is absurdity in the highest order. The only (___) you know is the ship model you usually use for gunpla battles, not a full sized warship complete with her own AI that can actually run herself without human input.

You're not sure how you're going to take this. You're supposed to be a fifteen years old girl with gunpla battle as your side hobby. The ship, while not the hero ship from any of the Gundam timelines, is still a seriously souped up grunt ship. And she is from…

[] Nelson-class battleship

[] Nazca-class destroyer

After braving your parents and successfully asked them for some monies, you gave the ship some serious refit before you named her as…

[] Write In

However, now you find the mobile suit gunpla and ship model in your possession turned into their real life counterpart, and you're the owner. But that's not the worst. What's worse however, you finds yourself in another world altogether. You know that because there are debris everywhere outside of the ship, from the size of a small pebble to a wrecked hourglass shaped colony.

Yep, looks like you're in Cosmic Era. What year? You're not sure.

You quickly slap both of your cheeks. It is not the time to freak out or moping around and you have to think of something to occupy your mind.

[] Head for Copernicus City, moon.

[] Head for Heliopolis, L3

[] Head for Mendel, L4

[] Write in


Details:

Spoiler: Modified Nelson-class

Armamaments: 1 x Bow mounted Lohengrin Positron Cannon
4 x Twin 200cm Beam Cannon
12 x 75mm 'Igellstellung' CIWS
6 x Torpedo launchers (18 torpedoes: 12 x conventional, 6 x 0.5-2Mt var. yield nuclear with NJC)
1 x 8-cells VLS
12x AI controlled DRAGOON pods

Protection : Laminated armour

Hangar : up to 4 mobile suits

Misc : N-jammer, centrifuge crew quarters

Spoiler: Modified Nazca-class

Armamaments: 2 x 177cm Twin beam cannon
4 x 100mm twin railgun
10 x 40mm Gatling-type CIWS
4 x 450mm miltipurpose VLS
8x AI controlled DRAGOON pods

Protection : Laminated armour

Hangar : up to 6 mobile suits

Misc : N-jammer, linear catapult, high speed

 

[Amancai]

[5] Nelson class-battleship
[4] Cortana
[5] Head for Mendel, L4

"Cortana," you call out to the AI, who is sitting idly on one of the unoccupied seat inside the bridge.

Her android body tilts its head back to you and she asks curiously, "ha… what, what? What it is?"

"Umm. Can you bring out the navigation chart?"

"Yes~ At once, commander!" she replies, before she snaps a salute at your direction. A hologram projector lights up, showing the Earth at the centre of it, and your position relative to everything else.

With the wreck of Junius Seven clearly visible outside, you're not surprised when the chart indicates you're deep inside the debris belt. Immediately, your eyes trace towards three different locations, Copernicus City, Heliopolis and Mendel.

While Copernicus City sounds like a good location to go, it is close to Earth Alliance's Ptolemaeus Lunar Base. Heliopolis is another neutral territory with civilization that you can head for. However, without knowing the exact date, you're not sure whether the colony is still there or not.

You sigh. "Welp… Cortana, lets head to Mendel."

"Yes~ commander. Sortie, begiiinnnn…" the AI replies in childish, singsong voice.

As the modified Nelson-class battleship begins to accelerate, you feel the familiar sensation of being gently pressed back to your seat. At least something doesn't change.

You take a peek at the estimate time required for the trip. Apparently, it'll take you about one full day to reach Mendel, which translates to plenty of space for you to mope around.


[] Get to your room and cry yourself out, you know you're not going to see your family again anytime soon
[] Got to the hangar, your gunpla is now a real life mobile suit and you want to take a look at it
[] Busy yourself by reading on Cortana's status report

 

[Amancai]

[X] Busy yourself by reading on Cortana's status report

You're not sure for long you keep staring through the bridge windows, looking at the debris passing by Cortana as she is making her way out from the debris belt towards Mendel.

You let your mind wanders, and you find yourself thinking about your family, your friends at schools, your fellow Gunpla lovers, and the owner of the hobby shop where you usually spend your time with Gunpla battles.

You chuckle mirthlessly. From owning plastic models to actually own a warship. "Heh, if only they can see me now. I wonder if I'm going to see them again," you speak with some melancholy.

"Ah… Commander?"

Cortana's voice snaps you back from your reverie. Her head tilts a little to the side, looking at you with a curious expression.

Then you realize you have tears clinging to your eyes and you immediately wipe them off with the sleeve of your shirt. "It's nothing, just thinking about home," you reply before you quickly ask for detailed status report just to occupy your mind.

From the report, all of her systems are in excellent condition, the supplies are fully stocked and she's fully fuelled. There is one shuttle in the hangar, as well as one mobile weapon which used to be your Gunpla.


[] RGM-86R GM III
[] SVMS-01OA Over Flag Astro Package
[] MVF-M11C Murasame
[] B-Gundam

 

[Amancai]

[X] RGM-86R GM III

​

RGM-86R GM III, or simply GM III is the mobile suit that used to be your Gunpla. You bought it merely as an afterthought because it was cheap since it wasn't a hero suit, older gunpla battlers recommended it, and it does look cool to your eyes. So, you snapped it up when the store owner put it on sale.

However, since most of your allowance went to Cortana's upgrade, the GM III is still in its stock configuration.

Derived from totally different Gundam timeline, you're not sure how it will stand up to the mobile suit of Cosmic Era and certainly, it is not something that you wish to find out in the heat of battle. You value your life, your beauty and your health. Thank you very much.

To make things worse, the GM III is from Universal Century timeline of Gundam series while you, like other girls in your age, gravitate more towards the Cosmic Era and Anno Domini part of the franchise. Mostly because of their better looking art and animation than the old school shows.

To simply put, you only have minimal idea on Universal Century tech.

In the end, you voice out your frustration in the form of a tired sigh and take a nap inside the bridge. It is a weird sensation, to fell the weightlessness in zero gravity. However, it is a small mercy you are not affected by the so called space sickness.

You don't know how long you're asleep when you're jolted from your sleep by Cortana's loud voice, calling for your attention.

"OIII, SHIREEEE!!!! WAKE UP, WE HAVE COMPANY!!!"

What, since when Cortana speaks Japanese?

Oh right, she an AI. Probably she has the language in her database.

"Uh… What is it?" you ask groggily.

"I've detected something~ See, see?" Cortana announces in singing tune as she brings up her sensors feed on one of the screens. Then, she adds, "I crosschecked them with my database…"

Through you still bleary eyes, you see the unknown contacts are now marked as...

[] One civilian ship heading to Junius Seven but there are one Nelson-class and three Drake-class on intercept course.

[] Two Nazca-class heading towards the general direction of Mendel.

 

[Amancai]

[X] Three Vesalius-class heading towards the general direction of Mendel.

You fix your eyes at the screen. The unknown contacts are now marked as Vesalius-class destroyers and they're heading to the same destination as you're. And they're close, uncomfortably so.

1250 clicks.

Why on earth ZAFT ships are here, far away from PLANT and moon?

Could it be you just stumbled on Vesalius, heading for the Three Ships Alliance? That's the only instance you know ZAFT sent their ships this far out.

Or maybe the ships are simply making routine patrol and harassing any Earth Alliance' ship they encounter.

"Uh… Cortana, have we been detected?" you ask. You know some of the reasons why they're not being detected sooner is because of the debris, as well as interference from N-Jammers ZAFT has placed deep inside Earth.

"I'm afraid so, commander," the grey haired android replies with a grimace.

You put your face in your palms and moan in frustration. You know Cortana still has the detection signature of a Nelson-class battleship, and you're not exactly running in silently either. There is no doubt the Nazcas are going to assume Cortana is an Earth Alliance ship.

True to your prediction, the three ships begin to change their course and head towards you.

Then, bad thing turns to worse when Cortana announce a spike in radio and radar interference, as well as detection of new heat signatures from the destroyers. The three Nazcas are launching their GINNs.

You gulp. Here you are, alone with your ship, facing three warships and potentially up to 18 mobile suits out for you blood just because they misidentified you as the EA.

"Commander. Should we begin our strike?" Cortana asks, raring to get herself into action.

You weigh your options. You know if you choose to run, you're not going to outstrip them by any margin and that means you have to slug it out with ZAFT.

[] Yes. Damn the consequences and strike them down, all out!

[] Yes. But try to minimize the casualty.

[] No. Use any means to secure parley, even at the risk of being captured.

 

[Amancai]

[X] Yes. But try to minimize the casualty.

You…

You don't know what to do. You know you have to fight the ZAFT, but those are real ships, real mobile suits and there are real human inside them. They're not just some models animated through the manipulation of Plavsky Particles.

You open your mouth, wanting to order Cortana to shoot at them. But your voice just won't come out. You don't want someone to die because of your words. You don't want to have blood on your hands. You don't want to be a…

"Shiree… They're getting closer and closer you know…" Your ship reminds you in a partly chiding and partly whiny tone. How the heck she manages to do that is not something you want to know. What you know however, she does bring you out of your funk.

You take a deep breath. "Right, think this is a Gunpla battle… think this is a Gunpla battle…" you mutter repetitively.

Then, another deep breath and you exhale loudly. "Right. Cortana, try minimize the casualty, just disable of you can," you say with as much calmness as you can muster. "ENGAGE!"

Cortana's mouth quirks up a smile before she announce enthusiastically, "Well… let's start then!"

At the corner of your vision, you see the yellow icons of ZAFT units are changed to crimson red. Then, you feel it, the sensation of being pressed back to your seat as Cortana flared up her thrusters and accelerates forward.

You look at the range between you and the ZAFT ships. Like you, they're closing in, with Vic formation as they tries to bring themselves into engagement range. They're still quite far away from effective range for Cortana's main cannons, but well within the firing range of the Lohengrin.

The gears in your mind spin. If you fire a shot now, the cannon will have adequate time to recharge for a second shot before the battle turns into a knife fight

"Cortana, what's the status for Lohengrin?" you quickly ask.

"Positron bank at full capacity and ready for firing, commander," she replies crisply.

Maybe, just maybe…

[] Open fire and break their formation.

[] Hold fire because you might risk a direct hit.

 

[Amancai]

[x] Open fire and break their formation.

You weigh your option and decide to open fire first. Hopefully, the reach of Cortana's firepower will discourage the ZAFT from making further approach.

"Cortana, activate the Lohengrin, put the ship marked as… 1...0…0…1 as the target. Break their formation," you quickly order as you read the number listed for the lead ship in ZAFT's forces.

"Fufu~ Roger!" Cortana replies cheerfully.

Once the cannon is primed, you take a deep breath. You know you should feel bad about what you're going to do, but attack for the most powerful guns must be called. "Lonhengrin... Fire!"

Cortana nods, and then she announces, "striking, begin!"

It is anticlimactic. You're expecting some sort of sound effects when Cortana fires her positron cannon. However, there is nothing. No sound, noticeable shudder, recoil or temporary dimming of bridge's lighting. Only the crimson and azure positron beam streaking out from Cortana's bow lets you know the cannon has been fired.

On the tactical display, you notice Cortana has put up a yellow line that marks the progress of the antimatter beam.

You cross your fingers, hoping the beam will be enough to discourage your opponents when they realize they're outranged and probably outgunned. Then, flash of explosion at the distance, and Cortana announces she has just scored a hit.

You blanch, and quickly ask her to put up her long range telescope feed.

The screen lights up, and you can see the Nazca-class is trailing smoke and making clockwise flat spins. Even with grainy image, you can make out the ship has lost a huge chunk of her port side arm. If your experience has any relevance, you know that is just from a mere scrape. A direct hit would have been much more devastating.

"Oh dear…" you whisper out worriedly. There is no way such damage claimed just a few lives. But you can think about it later. Right now, you have more pressing matters.

You look back at the tactical display. The damaged destroyer is falling behind her two sisters and seems to be turning back. However, the rest of the ZAFT units is still coming at you. The mobile suits are beginning to spread out into two groups, and you know they're trying to catch you in pincer attack.

Looks like you've just stirred a hornet's nest.

[] Charge ahead and break straight through

[] Turn back and lure the mobile suits from their mother ships

[] Surrender

[] Write In

 

[Amancai]

[X] Charge ahead and break straight through

The moment you see ZAFT is not letting up their attack, your heart sinks. You know you can win the battle as long as you keep your head level as if you're playing the Gunpla battle. But the numbers of people that are going to be killed, the blood that will stain your hand will be greater than you ever want.

Not to mention ZAFT is going to hunt you down after this. There is no way they're letting go a ship that can take on three Nazcas and wins the day.

However, survival and safety is your first priority. So, you quickly push the unpleasant thought aside.

Rather than making a fighting retreat, you choose to attack and hopefully, break them enough for you to fly past.

"Cortana, maintain our course, let's break straight through their formation. Ready the primary cannons, deploy the remote beam pods for interception and ready Igelstellung for close in defence," you determinedly order.

The android bobs her head. "Understood, commander."

On the tactical display, 16 small, elongated triangle flicker into life as the DRAGOON pods are being deployed. At the same time, you can see the icons are linked with web dotted green lines, representing the real time datalinks between each pods and Cortana herself.

Then, you wait for the ZAFT units to close the range. While the surging GINNs are outstripping their mother ships, they're still quite some distance away when the two destroyers finally enter Cortana main guns' range.

You see Cortana is looking at you. It seems like she senses your hesitation and then she smiles encouragingly. You nod and send her your own wan smile.

[] Maintain course and fire forward facing cannons only

[] Make a turn, just enough to bring all main cannons to bear

[] Turn back, I can't do this

[] Write In

 

[Amancai]

[X] Make a turn, just enough to bring all main cannons to bear

As much as you wants to just speed off straight ahead, use the cannons only to scare off the destroyers, you don't want to get caught between the pincers. Those ships need to be knocked out of the fight, only then your escape is secured.

You steel yourself, tune everything out and recall all of your tactics when you were doing Gunpla battles. Then, you bark out an order. "40 degree to starboard, mark track number 1002, aim all primary cannons!"

"Yes~ commencing manoeuvre," Cortana replies and you feel the familiar sensation of inertia in action.

Shortly after, she finish her turn and announces your target is locked. All of her eight 200cm beam cannons are aimed at the single destroyer.

You reply with single word, a word that you're going to use frequently in the future. Like a glowing telephone pole, eight neon green beams lance across the vacuum of space. You see the ship reacts, she banks slightly to her right and pitches up, evading all of the high energy beams by a hair breadth.

"Aim turret one and two ahead of the target, turret three and four slightly below it!" you quickly order. Dutifully, Cortana execute your order without hesitation.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, you failed to hold back a satisfied smile when beams from turret one and two forced the Nazca to adjust her course. It blunders straight into the path of beams from turret three and four.

Hew bow blows off when it is pierced by two of the four beams right behind her two main cannons. The resulting explosion breaks the section completely off the rest of her hull.

Then, a break. The last Nazca fires three flares into the space. White, green and purple lights glow brightly against the inky background.

You exhale loudly in relief when the GINNs begin to change their course and return to the surviving ship. You lean back on your command char and let your shoulders slump. "It's over… thank goodness it's over…" you mutter softly. "Good job, Cortana," you add.

The physical avatar of you ship looks at you and nods her head happily. "So I'm the number one, huh. That's good, really good!"

[] Proceed to Mendel

[] Change course to

[] Copernicus City​

[] Heliopolis​

[] Junius Seven wreck​

[] Other, please specify​

[] Write In