When Mercurio heard the bomb was prepared he searched the scope of the Sol Invictus hoping to find the weakness that might be enough to damage it. After a brief search he answered, “The red mobile doll is trying to block down the barrel of the station. Its weak point should be somewhere down there.” He saw the Aquarius make its way towards him when he prepared the remains of the Tallgeese for the way in. The Artemis changed to bird mode and flew towards Milou’s location when he confirmed, “Taking it in now.” The Tallgeese’s remains were following behind the Artemis as it began to speed its way towards the Sol Atlas.
The Golem followed behind while Oleg promised, “Don’t worry this thing will be easy to deliver once we have the enemies out of the way.”
Mercurio tuned to his channel when he offered, “Thanks. Just make sure to keep your eyes peeled for the enemy units trying to take us out. If this blows too early we won’t be able to destroy the station.”
The two Gundams made their way further into the enemy lines when Oleg agreed, “Easy enough.” As if on cue a squadron of Sol Thero units made their way to the front with their gunfire in an attempt to hit the leading Artemis. The Golem fired a volley of missiles as the planet defensors went down and Oleg reminded, “Like I said. It’s not going to be easy for you bolt heads!” The Golem fired its gatling gunfire when they were fully exposed and left a trail of wreckage for the Artemis to pass. The progress towards the end was further in sight until Oleg saw more Sol Theros attempting to gang up on him.
Mercurio saw the Golem being stopped from progressing when he asked, “Are you okay Tsubarov? Can you handle things from there?”
The Golem continued to fire its missiles when the pilot promised, “I’ll hold them off here. You just worry about getting that bomb of yours into the station.”
Mercurio prepared the jets towards the Invictus’s entrance when he ordered, “Hold them off and see what support you can get.” He saw the mobile suit forces doing everything to end the carnage but kept his gaze forward when he promised, “It’s up to them to make sure we can still make our way towards that station. Every price we pay will only bring us closer.” He kept this determination within his mind when he tried to focus on the mission at hand.
The situation had become direr when the red mobile doll prepared to utilize its beam arm again and Mercurio could see this one would be enough to wipe out what remained of the fleet. The Zero System warning only offered escape maneuvers but not a way to stop it. It was in this moment he hoped for Naina’s final sacrifice to be worthwhile.
The Artemis made its dash towards the red mobile doll before making a quick upward movement to dislodge the mobile suit from behind it. Within the remains of the cockpit the systems were activated to utilize the self-destruct mechanism before a mighty explosion blasted forth between the Artemis and Sol Atlas. While the two machines avoided the explosion it managed to be enough to reach the edges of the Sol Invictus’s entrance cracking several areas of the Invictus cannon.
The explosion subsided after a few seconds but the rest of the station was still intact and was preparing its fires within. The Sol Atlas from the front was no longer red but a mechanic gray that showed its interior with most of its armor plating removed. With its current position compromised it made its way further into the burning halls the Invictus had formed. Mercurio gave a final warning when he contacted the other forces, “The red mobile doll is still active. It’s heading its way down the station.” Without any consideration the Artemis primed its jets and flew towards the remains of the Sol Invictus prepared for a final encounter.
The Artemis found several Sol Theros in its way but saw a familiar shield spin its way through their blindsides. The Uriel prepared its Testudo cannon and fired while Dana contacted Mercurio, “You take care of that little girl Yuy. We’ve been through too much together to both get fried.”
Mercurio continued his path through the wreckage while he answered, “No problem Captain. I have to make the final run into the station though. I don’t think assistance will be possible.”
Dana recognized the heat signatures building within the charging weapon when she checked the readings on her nearby panel, “That stymphallic armor is proving to be something really invaluable. Just don’t let it go to waste.”
“I’ll be sure it doesn’t Captain. Just be sure to prevent any of the enemy from killing more of our guys out there.”
The Uriel turned to face the escaping enemy when Dana asked, “Orders aren’t really on this field right now are they?” The Uriel swept down and made another attack on the nearest Sol Thero unit. The way was clear for now but the enemy continued to build on its efforts to reaching the fleet. “At least when it’s a matter of human survival!” Dana answered herself when she threw the disc shaped shield towards the Sol Thero units before her.
Franz oversaw the damage report flashing on the battle map when the programming warned, ‘Warning. Panel damage reaching 14%.’
He shrugged off the damage when he promised, “It should still be enough. Even then this fleet will not be the one to destroy the station.” He saw two signatures making their way through the interior of the panel halls when he observed the Sol Atlas trying to stage off against another. “And just how much more of an issue will the will of their Gundams be?” He wondered.
The Artemis made its way towards the encircling flames and saw the red mobile doll prepared to make its way in. The readings on the bird mode Gundam recognized the intense heat signatures building but the stymphallic armor was for the moment able to handle them when Mercurio did a systems check. He only had the final mobile doll to worry about for his encounter. The red mobile doll turned to face the incoming Gundam and prepared a beam from its remaining arm. The Artemis transformed with a beam saber in hand and met with the Sol Atlas’s strike. A duel had begun as the two flew within the limits of the flames while attempting to slice one another.
Mercurio kept focus on the Zero System patterns when he turned to his communication channel for the Sol Invictus. “Attention all station personnel. Evacuate the station immediately.” He didn’t hear anyone on the channel for a while before he tried again, “Is anyone picking up this signal?”
“There is no one to evacuate here. This station is under my command alone.” Franz answered to the pilot’s hails.
“Franz…” Mercurio saw the face of Franz Kecker appear on his channel and accused, “You caused all of this. What reason did you have to force the Falsons into this war?”
“This war is all done for the good of humanity. The destruction you have seen before you is only the beginning. This war shall end today and it will at last give all of humanity a reason to fear the true face of travesties.” The Sol Atlas took an opening to the Artemis and only managed to miss from a small edge but managed to slice at the left side of the armor.
The Artemis flung its beam saber to meet contact with the Sol Atlas beam when Mercurio confirmed from Franz’s reasoning, “You believe the human race has yet to learn from its past actions. Despite that you didn’t have any major supporters. That’s why you have mobile doll technology.”
Franz was no less deterred when he answered, “It is because there are too few humans in existence who are willing to do what is right. They cannot see that destruction of this scale is necessary to begin the progress towards a united humanity. It is only greater destruction that leads all into a more perfect unity.” The Sol Atlas prepared its strikes when the Artemis began to circle around behind it. The beam was growing in power and was more difficult for the Artemis to block with its comparably smaller beam saber.
Despite these odds Mercurio was able to accuse his former leader, “And you take it upon yourself to be that cause of the greater destruction. You’ve already caused more pain than anyone in human history with this weapon. Your place in hell has already been sealed!”
Franz didn’t show any regret in his voice when he agreed, “I am well aware of this. But it is my place in hell that will grant the greater scope of the human race a chance towards redemption. Even without me another war would soon erupt. Perhaps it may erupt despite my effort. It is only my responsibility to achieve what the previous generations who promised such devastation have failed to realize. For they are the only ones who saw what such death of this scale would achieve for our race.” The Sol Atlas moved away from the dueling area with the Artemis and the Zero System was able to determine the next area of attack. The Sol Atlas prepared a beam from its ultimate attack while the Artemis was able to project the next hit. Even if it missed him the fleet outside would be next to be destroyed. The beam shot forth from the empty arm of the Sol Atlas leaving the Artemis a precious few seconds before it could be stopped.
The Artemis prepared his beam saber when he dashed forward into the quickly moving swipe up when he promised, “No more!” With a final slice the beam melted away at the Artemis’s armor on its right side but still lost connection with its original area. The beam was active for only a few seconds more when the arm separated and sliced into a small portion of the Invictus’s halls. The taller mobile doll was defenseless now but began its attempts to ram into the Artemis with its body. Mercurio found contact with Franz again when he warned, “You are a lost cause. You actually believe the human race must be disciplined this way. Your faith in this beginning has only brought about forces that you did not account for… Those with the will to accomplish what must be done to defend humanity!”
Franz had by now become familiar with the status of the Sol Atlas when his voice was more frustrated but stating, "You have such hopeful insights to the progress of the human race don't you child? You truly expect the strength of humanity as it is now to succeed beyond a power it cannot yet fathom?" He offered a final challenge to Mercurio when he told him, “If you so truly believe that the human race has already achieved the state of unity necessary to overcome the worst it can conceive, then perhaps our work here has concluded.”
The Artemis took its beam saber and thrust it into the Sol Atlas when it began to make another charge. With this final motion the Artemis pushed it forward to meet with the inner areas of the Sol Invictus. The damage around the station began to accumulate when the lower areas where struggling to stay intact but the Artemis began to speed its way away from the area of destruction. At the advice of the Zero System the Artemis used the procedures necessary to dislodge the stymphallic armor that remained attached from the previous duel. The systems warnings showed that it would only be able to handle the extreme temperatures for another few minutes but Mercurio saw the escape route he needed to make.
Mercurio gave a choice few final answered when it transformed back into bird mode. "This day will mark the end of such destruction. The power you demonstrated us today is only another challenge for the human race to overcome. Like any challenge it is only faced by the determination of those who wield it. As it is, today's human generation is beyond what you give it credit for." The Artemis flew towards the edge of the station when it avoided the building flames. "It shines bright through the hard times." The Artemis transformed into its bipedal mode with a buster rifle in hands facing Franz’s command station. "It burns its way through the conflicts and deaths it sees." The Artemis took aim with its programming and found the area deep within. "It's strong enough..." Mercurio waited before he had the location fully within his sights and gave the final promise to Franz, "TO SHINE THROUGH AN ECLIPSE!!!" With that final statement the Artemis prepared its buster rifle to full power and fired within the depths of the Sol Invictus. The beam made its way above Franz’s command station but the power reactors behind him were exploding for him to hear.
"This can't be!" Franz gave his final proclamation when he saw the destruction in progress.
The programming screen gave a futile warning when it displayed, ‘Warning. Extreme damage to all systems critical. Evacuation is recommended.’ It gave these warnings before a beam of light flashed its way through and destroyed everything within its area.
An area of his command center erupted when there was nothing but the engulfing flames and vacuum of space waiting for his body. Franz pressed himself against the nearest wall when he listened to the remaining explosions when he observed, "So I see... The strength of a united humanity... is truly beyond something... even of this scale..." He lay back when he assured himself, "Now at least... I die knowing my mission... has fulfilled its purpose..." At those last words the Sol Invictus command center erupted in a mighty explosion that was dwarfed by the destruction of the entire station.
The explosion eventually subsided after a few seconds and Norma was trying to maintain her shock at the sudden explosion that had become a second star above Venus. She viewed the two strategists overlooking the sight before them with their mouths agape at the sudden destruction. “They… They pulled it off…” Norma commented to herself.
Zachariah and Gawel overlooked the battlefield and saw the Sol Thero units that managed to survive the explosion didn’t continue in their now worthless battle but didn’t deactivate either. “Hey, those things… They aren’t doing anything…”
Zacharia tried to snap him to his senses when he asked, “That’s the first thing you noticed? The Invictus just blew up into am million pieces already!”
Gawel briefly considered what had just happened when he agreed, “Shit you’re right! These things don’t have programming beyond failing an objective!”
Oleg’s voice sounded when he tried to figure out the aftermath of the entry, “Hey have any of you guys heard from Yuy? He had to have pulled off that stunt of his right?”
Gawel tuned his channel to contact the Artemis, “Contacting the Artemis. Contacting the Artemis. Mercurio do you read us?” There was nothing but static for a short while before Gawel tried again with a brief face of horror, “Hey Yuy. Do you read us?”
In that next moment Mercurio’s voice sounded through the channel answering, “This is the XXXG-02SG Stymphallic Artemis Zero. Reporting target objective destroyed. Mission accomplished.” The Artemis had entered bird mode again and made its way from the destruction of the Invictus in time to be mostly intact. It no longer had the armor but now had a faint red glow from the heat it had absorbed within the halls. It had become a phoenix standing out from the blackness of space behind it.
“Hell yeah!” Gawel cheered.
“Well god damn!” Zachariah gave his observation.
Dana saw the sight they were praising when she added, “That’s what I call taking care of my baby.”
Oleg agreed when he observed, “It’s a regular miracle out there isn’t it? And here this whole thing was supposed to be a lost cause.”
The sniper leader contacted Cao when he asked, “So Private. Did you get a good view of the explosion out there?”
Cao confirmed her observation when she answered, “I didn’t need both eyes to be able to tell we pulled it off. It seems we managed to pull off this final assault in the end after all.”
The crew of the Executor Rising had varying levels of cheers when the mobile suit forces made their way back when while one of the strategists tried to report with a leveled head, “Admiral sir… It’s been done… We’ve pulled off the mission.”
The other evaluated the forces, “Not many survivors. 78 of our mobile suits are still out there but at least we’ll have the ships to accommodate them.”
Norma nodded when she told everyone, “We knew there would be insurmountable sacrifices on this day. What matters is that we had the will to undo what the forces of destruction were promising to bring. These men and women who gave their lives today have earned their place in human history as those who chose to defy the voice of madness and bring the human race a future.” She gave an order to the lower crew of the ship when she contacted them through her panel, “Bring all of the pilots in. Give them as warm a reception as possible. They’ve done everything to earn it.”
Zachariah was shaking his head when he entered the pressurized waiting room connected to the hangar when he told everyone aloud, “God damn, god damn. I never thought a day like this was possible.”
Dana turned to them when she ordered, “We’ve got a hero to welcome out there. Let’s make sure he gets pampered as much as possible.”
Oleg tried to remind them of the team effort when he commented, “Hey it’s not like this was a solo mission you know.”
Dana confirmed the concern when she pointed out, “Of course. But you know who’s going to get all the praise for being able to pull off that explosion right?”
Oleg showed a sign of content from the idea when he simply shrugged, “Good point.”
Gawel made his way between Zachariah and Dana when he suggested, “Let’s just hope for a trip home after this. I swear some of us have probably earned a retirement after this.”
Zachariah agreed with the idea when he added, “And for those who didn’t at least they can rest easy knowing the mission has been accomplished.”
The Artemis had cooled down significantly when it made its way into the hangar bay of the Executor Rising while Mercurio made his way down to the waiting room where the other surviving pilots were waiting for him. His mind flashed to all of the things that had happened within the scope of just a few hours when he expressed his regret. “The sacrifices were so huge out there. At least now they can know it was part of something that was worth preserving.” He promised himself when he made his way for the entrance to the pressurization chamber.