Grey War Saga 1: Twilight of Innocence (22 page)

The skies of Kalaidia
filled when thousands of Phase Raknas launched from the surface and into orbit.
Ten thousand Avoni class ships were in formation around the homeworld. Almost
half a million mobile suits joined them. In the distance, beyond the orbit of
Kalaidia’s moon, the Grey fleet appeared. As it advanced it split into four
different formations with a planet killer at the center of each. The automated
defense systems on the moon turned on and began attacking the Greys. Celestia
knelt before the statue of Kali in the main temple of the capital city, Vaelis.
Under her breath she spoke a prayer before standing up.

“Kali, I hope
you can hear me,” Celestia said. “The time upon us is midnight. Please, give us
the strength to survive.”

Out of the
shadows Myden stepped. He stood next to Celestia with his hood down.

“Your Herald is
here,” Myden said. “With the Maidens and the Wisemen at his side the twenty
seven stars will shine, as said by the Teacher, my queen.”

“You didn’t say
it like that before,” Celestia pointed out.

Myden laughed.
“True, but prophecy in the future and present are different things. The skies
will be on fire today. The Warrior has called you to action.”

“We will fulfill
our duty as promised two thousand years ago,” Celestia said. She smiled when
she noticed the bemused look on the Grey’s face. “I’ve never seen you like this
before.”

“For many years
I was cloistered from others,” Myden said. “I lost my smile, my drive, and part
of my soul. These last few years have been quite kind to me.”

“I feel the same
for the decade of peace and prosperity,” Celestia said. “Now I must go lead the
others.”

“Good luck to
you my queen,” Myden said before disappearing.

“And to you as
well,” Celestia said. As she walked to the door Jabril and over a hundred
pilots from the former royal guard had gathered in their pilot suits. “Is
everyone ready?”

“We are,” Jabril
said.

The others
saluted before following their queen below the palace. There, she boarded the
Apollo while the others took their places in Phase Raknas. The bay doors opened
as the golden mobile suit flew into the sky and into orbit. Behind it a hundred
Phase Raknas followed in formation.

* *
*

The forces of
Heaven’s Light moved into orbit of Kalaidia Prime. Valis smiled after sending
out the final defense plan from the Minerva. She was already outside with the
Aegis next to her when the Gemini, Artemis, and Siren joined her. A moment
later the Mjolnir and Dreka’s Talon flew next to them. The monitors on all
their mobile suits showed each other as they turned about and moved into
formation. Valis hit her com to signal all the other ships. Before she spoke
Brian was ready to speak to everyone in the area.

“This is Captain
Peterson of the Freedom speaking,” he said. “To the Kalaidian people, the day
of reckoning is upon us. Several years ago I called for action from you. Now is
the time to say a prayer to the goddess and fly into battle. The darkness has
come and now we must shine light over it. When the battle begins I call upon
you to sing. Sing for your goddess, sing for yourselves, and sing for your
lives. Kali put you on the stage for this moment. Let’s not disappoint her.” He
drew his sword and pointed it at the Grey forces. “If Kali wills it, then let
us sing!”

Valis paused as
cheers filled the com lines. She switched over the commanding officers to focus
her orders better. “This is Captain Valis of the Avoni speaking. To all Kalaidian
and Heaven’s Light forces I’ve sent over the final battle plan. The Kalaidian
forces will advance on planet killer one and its fleet with the Apollo at its
head. The forces of the Ick-Tckt Nova base and the Gold Navy will advance on
planet killer two with Commander Tctie at its head. The remaining forces will
advance on planet killer three with the Maidens at the head. Our goal is to cut
down the smaller planet killers as quickly as possible before surrounding the
Red Star and its forces. The specifics have been sent to all commanding
officers amongst you. That is all for now.”

“Thanks for the
help,” Celestia said a moment later. “Good luck Valis.”

“Good luck to
you as well,” Valis said.

Admiral Regelik
from the Gold Navy appeared with Admiral Khcha from the Nova base next to him.

“This plan has
Lady Star written all over it,” Regelik said.

“Offense is our
best defense at the moment,” Khcha said.

“Thanks for
saying so you two,” Valis said.

After they
disappeared from the screen Veda appeared.

“This is a bit
risky, but at this point I don’t think we can worry about that,” Veda said.

“We have a
buffer this time,” Valis said.

“Interesting, I
never heard of this,” Veda said.

“I just learned
about it when we entered orbit,” Valis said. She sent over the image of a
number of odd looking arrays in orbit of the planet. “Celestia wasn’t sitting
around all these years after all.”

“As long as they
work we have a chance,” Veda said. “I’d better get back to sending out orders
though.”

“Good luck,”
Valis said.

She took a deep
breath before the monitor switched back to her nearby allies.

“It’s good to be
out here with the six of you,” Dreka said.

“You looked
great in the last battle,” Kivi said.

“So what’s the
plan captain?” Meldi asked.

“I’ve looked
over the specs on our mobile suits and have this,” Valis said. An image
displayed on their monitors. It showed the seven mobile suits moving together
at the front of their fleet. “Dreka and Meldi will act as one prong in our
attack while Seles and Mira are the other. The Gemini will split and act as the
center position with my craft as the support. The Aegis will remain in the
center and act as our safe zone. Behind us our allies will hold back using the
Hades system as long as they can.”

“Are we
berserking?” Seles asked.

“All the way,”
Valis said. “Our objective is to punch through and destroy planet killer three
on our own if possible. That way our friends can fight the Red Star when the
time comes. Hopefully Veda’s androids will buy us some time.”

A line of Grey
ships hit a series of space mines equipped with nuclear warheads. Flashes of
light filled the space around the Kalaidian homeworld while the various fleets
moved into their positions. The planet killers and their fleets slowed down when
thousands of Keinien androids from the bases of Heaven’s Light gravity jumped
inside the massive vessels. The interiors were filled with battle as the
androids fought with blades and pulse weapons. Even the Red Star stopped when
it had to deal with the interior threat.

“Do we charge in
now?” Kivi asked.

“We’ll wait
until the Greys hit the first defense line,” Valis said. “Once they’re in the
middle of dealing with that we’ll move in.”

* *
*

A hundred
Keinien androids broke into the command center of the Red Star. Sunadin let his
soldiers move in to defend the chamber while we focused his energy and fired a
series of energy blasts to help them. The androids proved more difficult to
repel then the Grey general thought and he was force to call in help. When he
did so he noticed the scanners showed several thousand of the androids onboard
at the moment.

“I have to give
them my compliments on their tenacity,”
Sunadin said to himself.

He noticed the
other planet killers were having similar problems and used his power to focus
their thoughts. In the back of his mind he heard a chant coming from the
Kalaidian people as they prepared to charge. From the center of each planet
killer the voice of the machine god echoed through every Grey.

* *
*

After delivering
his short speech and beginning the chant Brian turned his attention back to the
Freedom. Kyli and the hundred mobile suits stood on the hull with all the
reflector plates in position. The mobile weapons from the other ships did
likewise. The remaining Novaguards set for autopilot joined them a moment
later.

“All weapons
systems are ready,” Myden said.

“All gravity
drives are prepared for use as well,” Grigon said.

“All defense
systems are ready,” Jesela said. “So why are we sitting here?”

“Right now our
androids are keeping the planet killers occupied so we can move into position,”
Brian said. “Valis and Myden’s plan requires we do everything right or we’ll
lose this.”

“A few
adjustments will be necessary, but that’s the idea,” Myden said.

“Are going full
blast right away?” Grigon asked.

“No, we’re
holding off until our quarry goes down,” Brian said. “The Maidens will be
exhausted and have little left against the Red Star.”

“Should I ready
the Vomada to send them a few gifts?” Grigon asked.

“Go ahead,”
Brian said.

“I’m on my way,”
Grigon said before leaving.

“He loves that
old ship,” Jesela said.

“The Vomada is a
part of him,” Brian said.

The Greys hit
the first line of automated pulse cannons. As they did so the Red Star flared
up and fired massive beam of energy into the moon orbiting Kalaidia. Though it
held together, everything on the surface was heated to the point of
vaporization.

“I’m glad they
had a chance to evacuate the people living on their moon,” Brian said.

The Maidens led
the charge into the Grey fleet. The Mjolnir and Dreka’s Talon flew opposite of
the Artemis and Siren. In the middle the Gemini split in two with Kivi firing
the cannons at any enemy ships coming near them. Valis flew the Minerva next to
the Gemini while Celi put the shields of the Aegis to the max. All seven pilots
let the berserk come over them as their special systems activated. The Siren
and the spear from Dreka’s Talon began disabling enemy ships in mass. The seven
mobile suits ignored those foes and focused on the ones still moving. Behind
them, the ships and bases of Heaven’s Light cleaned up the disabled enemy
crafts.

“Seles, Meldi,
and Kivi, switch to spread mode for now,” Valis ordered.

“Yes Valis,” the
three said together.

The Artemis and
Mjolnir moved their reflector plates into position and fired pulse blasts that
spread and hit numerous enemy ships. The Gemini’s two halves used their cannons
after switching them over. The seven plowed forward through the attack ships
with little resistance as they approached the planet killer. Before punching
through completely a fleet of carriers moved together and began resonating
their power. A powerful shield of glowing energy was sent outward and blocked the
advancement of the seven. When the enemy swarmed them the mobile suits moved
inside the Aegis’s shield.

“I don’t think a
simple charge is going to work,” Seles said.

“We’re okay for
now,” Celi said.

The enemy ships
flew closer and pounded the shields. Mira continued singing a song to disable
their ships if they came too close. The others focused on picking off the
moving attack ships or carriers not resonating. Valis closed her glowing eyes
and let the Minerva’s system entered her mind. After sifting through a number
of plans she found the one she was looking for.

“The Greys are
able to use their telepathic power to create energy shields or weaponry,” Valis
said. “The key is to break them apart before they can gather too many
together.”

“Should I fire
some arrows into them?” Seles asked.

“I want you and
Dreka to break their line using those systems,” Valis said. “Meldi, you’re to
use your blasts to clear the path to the planet killer. The rest of us will
maintain formation and follow your lead.”

“Yes Valis,” the
others said.

The Siren moved
next to the Minerva and Gemini inside the Aegis’s shield. The Artemis, Mjolnir,
and Dreka’s Talon sped to the front. Dreka spun the claw on his Talon and
flared up with energy while the Artemis fired a series of arrow blasts into the
Grey carriers. After five shots she relented and let Dreka fire five in a row
from his Talon. To finish things off the Malcovin pilot tossed his lance into
the hole and disabled all the nearby carriers. The Artemis then fired three
more arrows and blasted the carrier formation apart. The seven mobile suits
sped forward again as their allies and the main fleet of Grey ships met in
battle.

* *
*

Celestia
masterfully piloted the Apollo at the head of the Kalaidian fleet. Around her
were the one hundred pilots of the former royal guard. Behind them ten thousand
Avoni class ships charged into the Grey forces with over a half a million Phase
Raknas. Jabril and Admiral Nia remained on the monitor for Celestia at all
times.

“How’s the Apollo
holding up?” Nia asked.

“It’s a lot
easier to pilot than I thought it would be,” Celestia said.

“You’re moving
twice our speed with ten times the fire power,” Jabril said.

“Be careful when
activating the special system,” Nia said. “We were able to test the gravity
drive and rifle, but the other things we weren’t.”

“It sounds like
our shield,” Celestia said. “But it doesn’t matter. In this battle we throw all
caution to the wind.”

“Should I use
them then?” Nia asked.

“Don’t hesitate
to,” Celestia said. “All forces are to retreat for the moment.”

Jabril nodded
before sending out the order. All of the mobile suits pulled back for a moment
while the Avoni class ships armed a volley of nuclear missiles. Once they fired
massive spheres of light cut through the Grey fleet and carved a path to the
planet killer behind it.

It’s good to see
you’re enjoying this.
The Apollo wrote on the screen.

“I’m glad you’re
able to communicate,” Celestia said.

I won’t be able
to speak for a while like my big brother.
The Apollo wrote.
But
remember Celestia, I’ll always be with you. I was given existence to protect
you and the people of Kalaidia.

“You have your
father’s honor,” Celestia said.

And you have
your daughter’s strength.
The Apollo wrote.

“Thank you,”
Celestia said.

Once the nuclear
barrage calmed down the Grey fleet had a massive hole in its center. Celestia
quickly modified the battle plan and sent it to everyone before leading her
people forward again.

“Thirteen years
ago he set us free,” Celestia said. “Now is the time to confirm the hope he put
into us. To all my people, let us sing!”

Celestia began
the first hymn to Kali while her fellows followed suit. The Grey ships nearby
were confused for a moment before moving again. The Apollo switched its rifle
to spread mode when the waves of attack ships increased. Although stopped, the
Kalaidian fleet sang as one while smashing their enemies.

* *
*

On a different
side of the planet the Gold Navy and Ick-Tckt fleets stuck together with the
Nova base at the head. Nearby with numerous Talons and Auguar Stars, Tctie led
the mobile weapon forces using his special hive mind ability. The birdmen,
warriors, and drones fought as one while holding off the second Grey fleet and
planet killer. In the center of the Nova base Admiral Regelik of Malcov stood
with Admiral Khcha of the Ick-Tckt. The two carefully watched the battle while
sending out adjustment orders to their soldiers. In the background of the com
lines the sound of the Kalaidian people singing could be heard. Using their
advanced stealth systems, the Auguar Stars seemed to have the Grey forces
confused. Regelik cawed with approval.

“We need to get
that system from you,” the birdman said.

Khcha clicked
his mandibles excitedly. “I’m glad to hear you say so. The drive systems in
your Talons are more efficient than those in our Stars. Perhaps we can make a
deal.”

“Deals are what
make a Malcovin feel alive,” Regelik said. “My question is whether we can use
this base’s cannon as much as the Heaven’s Light bases.”

“Our cannon
works fine,” Khcha said. “But our defenses aren’t as good. That’s why we have
Commander Tctie leading the way.”

“Having his
voice in my head is a bit odd,” Regelik said.

“I don’t mean to
interrupt your conversation, but the planet killer is charging up,”
Tctie reported
telepathically.

“Thanks
commander,” Khcha said.

“What should we
do?” Regelik asked.

“Are you willing
to gamble?” Khcha asked.

“Always if the
reward is worth it,” Regelik said.

“Then we’ll
position ourselves in the way of their main cannon,” Khcha said. “When they go
to fire we’ll fire at them.”

Regelik cawed.
“It sounds crazy, but I like it.”

“Tctie, have all
our ships move away from the base,” Khcha ordered.

“Of course
admiral,”
Tctie responded.

* *
*

After a barrage
of arrows from the Artemis and the special Talon’s claw the seven mobile suits
made their way forward. The fleet of Heaven’s Light was being held up by the
mass of Grey ships. Valis watched everything carefully as the battle unfolded.
The Red Star remained far away in a cautious manner. Dreka used the last of his
energy blasts to clear the path again. The seven mobile suits were near the
planet killer while it charged its main cannon. Meldi held off firing the newly
equipped rifle on the Mjolnir until Valis signaled her.

“What are we
waiting for?” Dreka asked impatiently.

“The best time
to fire is when they’re about to use their main cannon,” Valis said. “It’s
risky but it’s our best bet. How many shots do you have left?”

“I have two,”
Seles answered.

“All five are
ready to go,” Meldi said.

“I’m all out for
now,” Dreka said.

“What about the
rest of you?” Valis asked.

“We’re holding
up,” Kivi said.

“My shields have
about five minutes left before going back to normal,” Celi said.

“I’m about out
of music as well,” Mira admitted.

“When we’re done
here we’ll rejoin our allies,” Valis said.

“Yes Valis,” the
others said.

The planet
killer’s main cannon flared up. As it did so the shields flickered.

“Fire now Meldi,”
Valis ordered.

“Yes captain,”
Meldi said.

The Mjolnir took
aim and fired five shots similar to the arrows from the Artemis. Each quickly
drained away the planet killer’s shields. The last shot blasted a hole into the
massive ship. Seles then took aim and fired her last two arrows into the center
of the planet killer. Its main cannon exploded as the energy reversed on
itself. The seven mobile suits clung inside the Aegis’s shields when the planet
killer exploded. The wave of destruction wiped out half the Grey fleet and
drained most of the shields from the bases of Heaven’s Light. All the pilots in
the special models ended their berserks before assessing the damage.

“Is everyone
alright?” Valis asked.

“We’re all
here,” Kivi said.

“My shields are
gone,” Celi said.

“Same here,”
Dreka said.

“The two of you
should return to your ships for repairs then,” Valis said.

“Good idea,”
Dreka said.

The Aegis and
Dreka’s Talon returned to the Avoni and Raulno while the remaining five flew
closer together.

“What about the
rest of you?” Valis asked.

“I can sing a
few quick songs,” Mira said. “Other than that I’m down to my rifle and sword.

“Same here,”
Seles said.

“Mjolnir says he
has enough charge for one more arrow blast,” Meldi said.

“Keep it for
when we need it,” Valis said. “For now we’ll fall back and support the Freedom
like the regular forces.”

“Yes Valis,” the
others said.