Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Defenders Once More ❯ Destruction ( Chapter 10 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter 11

Terrik arrived at another, larger outpost next. This one was a major MS factory/pilot training unit/MS outpost. Terrik would cripple WFO MS production with a single, crushing blow.
Outpost X-91 housed over a hundred MS, and just as many pilots, mechanics, and support crew, as well as a couple lieutenants to keep things in order. Inside Starblade's cockpit, Terrik switched fire control to his missiles. A green circle of light began flashing before his eyes as his HUD showed him his missiles' trajectory.
He pulled the trigger and the two large missiles plunged from their shoulder mounts into the factory unit of the outpost. Two small explosions marked Terrik's accuracy against the dark gray hull of the floating fortress, then a blazing sphere of fire and shrapnel came forth from the factory as fuel cells and power units detonated in a spectacular fireball of roiling, incandescent gasses. The enemy reacted with surprising speed; ten space Leos shot out of a hangar bay door as Terrik watched the factory die. Turning, he moved Starblade around and targeted the MS coming at him with his Vulcans.
Thousands of depleted uranium slugs blasted out of the twin cannons of metal death, tearing holes in the Leos and sending them into oblivion as they exploded. Bullets slashed flaming holes into the next round of MS and the next, but Terrik was running low on ammunition and he was more than capable of dispatching these weak MS without long-range weapons.
Waiting for bigger bait, Terrik did not activate his Gundam's most lethal close-range weapon just yet. Instead, he opted to use his less dramatic but still quite deadly beamsabers,
His twin beam sabers blazed to life as he withdrew then from his holding docks. Firing his combat thrusters, he strafed past three charging MS, and, dodging bullets, cut them both in half with a single sweep of a beam saber. Spinning on his Z-axis, he shot up and around, slicing through another MS and jumping back from the resulting explosion.
His sabers reduced another MS to carved neo titanium as his slashed his arms in front of Starblade in an 'x' shape. Whirling around, he impaled another MS and tipped in half from the 'stomach' up.
He was yelling inside his cockpit, utterly lost in a rage of revenge that had consumed his mind, fed his fury and wasted the White Fang Organization's troops.
His Gundam turned and his arms spun over his head, end over end as he dispatched five MS that tried to come at him from the front. He was going insane, even without any ZERO systems having been installed in his Gundam.
Even Dan flinched as he watched the lethal precision with which Terrik was destroying mobile suits.
He observed Terrik systematically turn the outpost's defense into diced chunks of metal and wreckage.
Holy shit, this guy's crazy! How the hell is he doing this? Our entire team couldn't do this without some kind of planning at least! He's incredible!
Terrik now turned on the station itself. He would exterminate the lives of any soldiers, officers, or remaining pilots that were still alive. He would right the wrongs he'd committed by snuffing out the candles of life for others.
Those whom he deemed evil, and therefore worthy of death.
Judge, Jury, and Executioner.
Laser emplacements, machine gun turrets, and missile launchers began to fire at Terrik, but the horrible wrath of this downward angel was too great to be stopped by such mere weapons.
Shrieking in rage and vengeance, Terrik exploded in fury as he spun and focused his burning hatred on the WFO construct. With no feeling of mercy, Terrik dodged missiles, bullets and lasers as he stabbed the station with his flaming beam sabers and tore twin gashes in the hull. Firing his thrusters, he ripped the station open and watched as bodies began to be blasted out of the fatal newly formed 'airlock'.
Bodies and atmosphere vented into space, and the writhing forms of people soon succumbed to the violent effect of explosive decompression. Terrik watched the sheer number of deaths with cold, uncaring eyes. The total of lost lives did not faze him, nor did the corpses of the dead as they floated past his Gundam in unrecognizable shapes, distorted by the concussive vacuum.
Amongst all the death, Terrik suddenly lost the calm that he had and burst into a raging laugh, a horrible hybrid between battle cry and humorless giggle of enjoyment.
Dan watched the rest of Terrik's grisly work as he shredded the station and left only debris in his wake. Blinking, Dan suddenly tore himself from the gruesome scene and realized, Terrik's gone! I gotta find him!
Terrik's hyperjets had already carried him far from Crimson's position, but Crimson had a gut feeling that he'd find Terrik in the L3 area, searching out more WFO outposts.
Guessing at his strategy, Dan assumed Terrik would wipe out all of WFO's support, namely, MS and pilots, all the while slowly working his way up through the ranks, killing officers and finally slaughtering the WFO's head honcho himself.
Engaging his own flight systems, LoneStar careened through space, narrowly dodging MS wreckage and corpses, and blasting those he couldn't dodge.

Terrik was coming close to another outpost sector, the same size as the last one he'd destroyed, although this time White Fang was ready for him. And with two stations, they had enough military might to take on the lone Gundam. They'd gotten distress calls from the other two and saw Terrik's Gundam. Identifying him was only a matter of record, while they planned to combat this demonic traitor.
Outside the base, Terrik ignited his beamscythe-like beamrazor, a three-pronged weapon of thermal death. Two long fangs of green energy sprouted from the front, pointing outwards at 35 degrees from each other, while a third, shorter 'hind claw' pointed out the back, directly in between the two main blades.
Again, Terrik had taken his inspiration from Gundam Deathscythe and it's creator, Professor H. Terrik raised the weapon above the Gundam's head and charged leapt at the station. Screaming insanely from inside his cockpit, Terrik brought the twin razors down into the station, ripping gaping holes in the side. Igniting his maneuvering thrusters, Terrik danced away from the ensuing explosion with wild abandon for caution and even his life.
The missile plowed into Starblade's back with spine-cracking force. The Gundanium alloy withstood the explosion, being far below its impact tolerance, but still, the blast rattled Terrik inside Starblade.
Ambush!
Dozens of MS came at him, circling him in tight wolf pack formations. Terrik brandished his beamrazors and fired his jets, hurling him at an MS, but a missile pounded his craft directly in the chest, sending him bouncing around the cockpit, barely restrained by his crash restraints.
The G-forces in his body were beginning to take a toll on him, and red showed in his vision, tipped with black on the edges. He began to bruise as he was violently flung into control panels and other equipment.
Missile after missile began to slam into him, knocking the Gundam violently back and forth and furthering Terrik's injuries. Bullets and laser blasts rocked the Gundam, causing minor scrapes and gashes to appear in the Gundanium armor.
A trickle of blood ran from Terrik's mouth as he grimaced with rage, blindly lashing out with his weapons but not being able to hit anything substantial as he was continuously pummeled by the enemy MS. Explosions blinded his view screens, and he could barely see anything on his radar as he was tossed back and forth inside his cockpit.
"How can I shoot what I can't see!?" he growled, ending in an enraged yell.
Suddenly the missiles stopped. The barrage ended and Terrik glanced up.
"Huh?"
A comm. transmission broke over all channels. Terrik was shocked at what he saw.
"YEEEEEEEEHAAA!!!"
Lonestar burst into the fray, firing its buster rifle into the den of space Leos and Taurus. A good size of their entire squadron vanished in an unimaginable geyser of energy, shockwaves rippling up and down the column of destructive power.
Terrik whirled as Lonestar fired again, this time wiping out another good-sized chunk of the enemy troops. Terrik narrowed his eyes in satisfaction and approval as he silently thanked his rescuer.
"Hmmm."
Once again becoming the adjudicator, Terrik released a pent-up roar of fury and hate mixed into a blazing war cry. Ripping from low in his throat, the sheer noise sent ripples of fear into the enemy MS that he could feel.
"SAHRAAAIII!!!!"
Six of the MS turned and fled on the spot, terrified by this endgame demon from hell. Terrik cut them each down in turn, systematically denying each pilot life, while wasting several other MS in the process. Dan opened a private comm. channel to Terrik and grinned.
"So, you're gonna kick some serious WFO ass, huh? Well, you ain't alone. We're both gonna kick some serious ass! Let's go!"
Terrik nodded as he turned on an MS coming at him from behind. His beamrazors shredded the MS and its partner that had just joined it. Twirling the beamrazor like a bo staff, Terrik thrust the rear ripclaw into the face of a third Leo, crippling it.
Seeing an opportunity, Terrik hurled his beamrazor at an MS high and to his right. The heat weapon sailed through space, straight as an arrow and accurate as a heat-seeking missile. It plowed through the MS and kept going. Seeing his chance, Terrik fired a single Vulcan cannon round at it, striking it on the lower end of the weapon.
The force from the slug pinging off the handle sent it spinning around, turning it into a beautiful, but deadly pinwheel. It tilted downward and spun at the main complex's MS fueling depot. Triple blades of energy ripped open enormous fuel cells, spilling MS fuel into space.
The resulting explosion set up a level-two shockwave front, which passed over the Gundams, whose armor could withstand the shock, but dozens of other MS died in the blast.
Still more MS were caught in the flying, razor-sharp shrapnel, cutting them to ribbons. Their once-proud fleet had been reduced to a few stragglers, each of whom were the fleet's best. They'd already gotten rid of WFO's incompetent pilots.
Dan had also torn several MS apart with is bare Gundanium fists, punching holes in the neo-Titanium hulls and ripping off arms, legs, and fuel pods. He also had destroyed a good 45% of the fleet, but now he was dueling with two of WFO's better aces.
They had latched onto him and were repeatedly firing their guns into Lonestar, which took each blow in turn, but could not stand up to the barrage much longer. Terrik saw this and made a quick calculation. Knowing Lonestar's impact tolerance was even higher than his, Terrik made a decision. Selecting his missiles, Terrik aimed his targeting cursor blinking above his eye over the wire frame image of Lonestar, still fighting off the two MS.
The HUD winked blood red as it locked onto Lonestar. Terrik fired his missile without hesitation. The missile streaked out into space, smashing into Lonestar and rattling Dan, but leaving him otherwise unharmed. However, the neo-Titanium that made up the other MS could not stand up to the terrible, irresistible force of the explosion. They detonated, leaving Lonestar a little crispy, but at least not well done
"Are you alright?" Terrik asked, out of character. Still, this was definitely not normal for him. Dan had saved his life; it was the least Terrik could do.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just got a little roughed up back there. C'mon, let's find out next target."
"Mm-hm."
Leaving wreckage and cold death in their wake, the two left the site and searched for another place to inflict damage. Starblade, moving faster than Lonestar in space, slowly edged ahead of Dan, when the second ambush came.
A beam saber flashed past his shoulder, narrowly missing his arm. A Tallgeese! Terrik whirled, then drew his beamrazor. It sizzled to life and barely blocked a second attack. Space Taurus suits boiled forth from an MS carrier that had just been launched to intercept them, surrounding Terrik and even managing to hold off Dan.
Terrik found himself again victim to an overwhelming barrage of artillery, led by the attacks of the Tallgeese pilot, who seemed quite skilled himself. Flung about, Terrik growled and began to take out MS right and left.
"Terrik! We have to retreat! We're gonna get our asses killed!"
"Then I'll see you in HELL!"
Dan grimaced. Kitsune would not like that if she were here.
"I'll get you back for that later, Terrik!!!" Came Kitsune's familiar voice on the comm. unit.
Dan looked up, "No way!" then saw Hellbringer fly straight down, slashing through a half dozen MS with her scimitars.
"Don't forget me!" Alexia shouted as she came down, landing on Dan's other side, wings outstretched and spear shield out and ready.
"If I'd known there was going to be a party, I would have brought food!" ZeonLegacy zoomed over all their heads and rammed down more MS, before landing besides PsychicSoul.
Dan blinked. "Guys can't leave me alone, can you? Always got to be all up on me, huh?"
"Didn't want you to get into too much trouble." Alexia teased, her face showing her smirk on Lonestar's visual screen.
"And Terrik is one of us now." Kitsune pointed out.
"Yeah," Ben agreed. "He defected. If he wants to take out WFO, we're gonna be there to back him up."
Terrik sat in Starblade, bewildered to say the least. These pilots had just taken him in as one of their own, the new pilot #5. He finally felt like he belonged.
"Now let's tear apart some WFO forces, shall we?" Alexia suggested.
"I'm right behind you." Ben replied.
"I'll cover Terrik's back." Kitsune said, taking position behind, and to Starblade's side.
"Hey," Dan protested. "Who's got me?"
"Are you saying you can't handle your own?" Alexia teased once more.
Dan growled. "No, I'll be fine!"
Terrik began growling and letting out war cries like a banshee on speed. His beamrazors slashed MS to pieces, but the Tallgeese remained one step ahead of his attacks, finally forcing Terrik to simply ignore the warrior for the time being.
Ben and Alexia fought MS and watched each other's back at the same time. They sensed what movements the enemy would make, and then struck. Also they would sense the other's emotions, slightly, seeing if the other was being overpowered and needed assistance. They worked like clockwork.
Dan attacked like never before, almost loosing his sanity as must as Terrik. He attacked with his buster rifle and dragon claws, smashing and blasting away MS after MS, not bothering to say any goodbyes or even his well-known smart-ass lines. He just attacked, for the sake of attacking. Seeing how many he could blow up and kill in a certain time limit.
Kitsune attacked any MS that came near Starblade, using his scimitars to make metal mincemeat out of the new stockpile of WFO machinery. It wasn't too hard, Terrik did most of the hard work, and Kitsune found she didn't have to cover him at all, finally deciding to find prey of her own.
The MS troops began to falter, and Dan grinned. "I guess we beat 'em after all, huh, kid?" He told Terrik
Terrik grunted his confirmation.
The Tallgeese had retreated, and Terrik could not find him anywhere, which left a thousand questions in its wake. Suddenly curious and pulled from his unusually uncharacteristic rampage, Terrik's eyes were opened to the carnage and suffering he'd caused, even for those whom he deemed evil and therefore worthy of death. His eyes went wide as he took in the vast field of killing that he had created.
No! I… I… I was saving… innocents? He tried to justify his actions with a confidence and sense of justice he did not feel. He trembled in his cockpit, then sagged, his head fell to his chest as he slumped within Starblade. Starblade came out of its offensive posture (not like that, you hentais) and fell into a calm stance in space.
I killed again! Millions! I've fallen into evil itself once more! I cause nothing more than death and sorrow for those around me.
A single tear ran down his cheek, a tear for those who had died in war. A tear for the innocent, a tear for the defenders, a tear even for those who caused evil.
No, it was more.
It was a tear for every soldier who gave his life. A tear for all the unsung heroes of war, and a tear for the millions of grave, which became the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Where they rested in their shallow graves.
"Terrik, you okay in there?" Alexia asked, worriedly. She could feel Terrik's anguish and pain as his common sense returned to him.
"Let's go home." Ben suggested. "It's been a long day."
Kitsune nodded in confirmation and took off, her burniettes lighting up the sky. Dan flew up next, followed up Ben and slowly Alexia.
Starblade powered its hyperjets to full and returned to HQ, fully intent on his next mission, Terrik stayed silent the whole way back. No pain would follow; he would end all the misery.

After all they had been through, all five pilots decided to call it a day, and go their separate ways. Ben gave Alexia a look and she understood. They walked together outside and jumped with nothing but their skills to the top of the hanger; very familiar to the place they had had their first conversation.
Gazing up at the star-studded sky above them calmed Alexia. She was exhausted from their previous activities. No one really called it a mission, since no one knew the others were there. Dan was with Terrik, Alexia tailed those two, and then had found Ben, but never left him know she was there. Kitsune had apparently been following the destructive duo even before Alexia had left. Strange, isn't it? How all five pilots could be together and not know it!
Ben sat besides Alexia, not really saying anything, but his demeanor said a lot. Alexia didn't say anything, but she seemed to be waiting for something. Finally, Ben cracked first. "It was you, wasn't it?"
Alexia looked over at him with a frown. "What do you mean?"
He turned to her and looked at her right in the eye. "You know what I mean. You shot that guy behind me…Rhodes' puppet or Private, or whatever."
Alexia shrugged and turned her gaze back to the stars. "It might've." She said, casually.
Ben was silent for a moment before continuing. "That man…Rhodes…He killed my family."
Alexia nodded. "That's what I hear."
"Guess you want to know the whole story, huh?" Ben guessed.
Again, she just shrugged. "Whenever you're ready."
Ben laid back and took to stargazing with her. "Well, as you might have guessed, I worked as a police officer before joining this…mission." He sighed. "I had a really hard case on my hands…"

*Start Flashback*

An 18-year-old Ben sat at his desk in the New Jersey Police Department. Recently, Ben had been given a very difficult case, one that involved a murder. The man in question was Timothy Rhodes. After robbing a jewelry store, he had been caught by the store's owner. He had then taken out a .22 magnum and shot the man in cold blood. There were fingerprints to match the man up to the robbery, but the problem was finding him.
Ben sighed as he began to review the recent whereabouts of Timothy and where he might be staying. Suddenly, his partner, Sergeant Hermann, came running in and threw down some paper work down on Ben's desk.
"We got him!" He exclaimed.
Ben frowned and opened up the folder. "What do you mean?"
Sergeant Hermann's smile widened. "Timothy Rhodes! You were right! We checked his credit records and it seems he got all his credit cards under his friend's name! It's not even his own name!"
Ben looked up in shock. It was true that little Timothy Rhodes was only 17 and would need someone to co-sign any transactions, but was already a suspect in a murder, and this information alone could be what Ben needed. "You think he's staying at this address?"
The Sergeant nodded. "It's the best and only lead we've been able to scratch up."
Ben brightened up. "Get S.W.A.T. and let's do this!"