Chapter 2.2 (1/2)

Van Khushrenada effected similar reforms in the Alliance Headquarters as he had in the Foundation. He removed the old soldiers who were often ridiculed for being steeped in senility. For the surpeme commander of the Alliance, he installed Kyrie atalonia as a general; and for the OZ Specials, in battle he awarded them the privilege of independent action at any time [and for any reason] Kyrie who held the post of commander in chief of the Specials but essentially, it is thought that Treize Khushrenada fulfilled that capacity.

If you think of this as ”pure potential” instead of ”harvesting fruit to green to be picked” then this was the only time where Van Khushrenada could have made all those decisive reforms. Van distributed the wealth of the foundation very nearly equally and this made for more powerful cooperation within Romefeller. However, Treize's enrollment in OZ was special. Vast operating capital was given to OZ from the Foundation. They [OZ] were undoubtedly the ones who could use the mobile suits with profitable results and no one could complain about the economic benefits [made possible by the use of mobile suits].

During those six months, Van's reforms stayed on track for the most part. Of course, some [opposed the change and] said [Van was taking] it too fast. By this time, however, the Khushrenada family had vast power within the Romefeller Foundation. There was a thorough-going system whereby objectioners immediately found themselves in a minority faction and regardless of [social] standing, if it was someone spoke out against Romefeller, they ultimately either received a sinecure or were driven out of the Foundation.

Why did Van continue this out and out reform? At the time, no one understood the deeper meaning.

Similarly, Treize completed his own system[atic reforms within OZ]. With the mobile suits now joining the fighting, the Alliance's overwhelming military power was quite firm. Treize's suggestion of tactical level mobile suit use permeated [OZ and/or the Alliance] and nearly all disputed and internal conflicts were concluded with much the same results as his first battle [that is to say 'decisive' and 'total']. However, the Rebellion was also establis.h.i.+ng a mobile suit corps and when facing other mobile suits, it was increasingly difficult [to fight] with the diverse tactics. Treize would, in those situations, devise a new strategy and give new instructions without regard for the Alliance staff officers. From the [new] data collected he would knit his [new/revised] plan (lit: tactics). Naturally, as the instructor at Lake Victoria, he taught his cadets these new tactics and effective strategies. Furthermore, that practical application was put into actual practice in mock battle and Treize drilled the cadets to think on their own [about strategy, presumably...] And through continual drilling, they acc.u.mulated valuable experience equal to that of real battle. It was certain he was raising excellent soldiers.

Take action as you deem appropriate.

For future soldiers.

This was the slogan Treize delivered without exception. In the future, Zechs Merquise and future Lake Victoria instructor Lucretia Noin learned the drills at this time. Those words were comprised the most helpful phrases [they learned].

That point would become a huge difference between the Alliance mobile suit corps and the OZ Specials.

AC 186 SUMMER

Essentially, tactics and strategy are not [set in stone (lit: common sense, standard practice)]; it was vital to gather, mull over, and sublimate (to the self) knowledge garnered from the history of war, military theory, battlefield a.n.a.lysis and the like and see if all that could be put into actual practice. That was what Treize advocated in cla.s.s. As such, even with mobile suit warfare being mainstream, the principle [theory and rules] of past battle actions [must be understood in order to] continue drafting new tactical plans, he added.

A good example of this was the Ocean of Storms War, also known as the First Lunar War: a huge war fought between mobile suits.

The laborers at the Marius Plant had been the ones to start the war. Despite Van's reforms that shortened work hours, living for extended periods of time on the moon lead to great (lit: the epitome of) dissatisfaction. For a human, [living on the moon with its] one sixth of Earth's gravity can be pleasant for the first several days. However, after about a month, the stress builds up and sleep and rest lose all meaning. [Although] the factory head and plant manager lived with those same conditions, they did not sympathize with the laborers' horrible working conditions and did not [even] discuss it with the laborers. Antagonism between the management and laborers became violent and eventually, an accident at the fusion reactor lead to a strike and that became a demonstration [against management]. At that time, if the management had made the effort to bridge the gap between them and the laborers, the [whole thing] may not have escalated. However, the b.u.mbling management requested Alliance forces stationed at the Silent Sea on the moon to take control of the situation. The Alliance, for the purpose of currying favor with the Romefeller Foundation, was quick to send three Chimera ((Leo II)) and they suppressed the laborers demonstration with military force. This only enraged the laborers who then took ten of the new model Chimera ((Leo III)) and attacked the Alliance's Chimeras, which were summarily defeated.

There were leaps and bounds of technical innovation. The newly manufactured Chimera that the laborers piloted were more excellent than those the Alliance soldiers had. Of course, that the laborers piloted a greater number of machines than the soldiers was also a predominant cause their success. There was also a repertoire the laborers had with their tools [the mobile suits] borne of a daily use that even the professional soldiers couldn't match. As a result, the laborers came to occupy the Marius Plant and all the soldiers and management were turned out. One resistance group after another began to arrive at the Marius Plant. Especially from colonies L-1 and L-2, which were closest to the moon. The smoldering remains of the anti-Alliance [#3] highjacked shuttles and a.s.sembled [on the moon] by the dozens. They didn't need weapons; even if they arrived empty handed, they could get brand new Chimera at the plant. The plant could roll out ten mobile suits a week so it took two months for them to prepare enough suits to equal the forces of the Alliance. The problem wasn't the machines but the pilots; however, there were already some fifty terrorists and anti-Alliance soldiers and it wasn't more than a few days before there were some one hundred pilots for one hundred Chimera and the corps was completed.

The lunar s.p.a.ce forces at the Silent Sea base were indignant about the rebellion.

”This is no laughing matter,” said the commander, General Million Liddell-Hart. He was the supreme commander of the lunar s.p.a.ce forces. ”The moon will fall into the rebel's hands.”

He immediately sounded out Brigadier General Kyrie at the Alliance Unification Headquarters for permission to mount a full attack with the Alliance s.p.a.ce forces. The extent of the firepower at the lunar base consisted of the following: 40 s.p.a.ce-worthy Chimera, 20 s.p.a.ce fighters; 10 lunar-surface worthy Tragos (Tragos II); a Sagittarius, a battles.h.i.+p so huge it should have been called a mobile fortress; and its sister shop the Centaurus. General Million believed that even if he faced an opposing force of 100 Chimera at Marius Plant, with those two behemoth battles.h.i.+ps, he would gain an easy victory. Those battles.h.i.+ps were not capable of flight. Honestly, they were not (battles.h.i.+ps), nor were they even (boats). They were more like giant tanks that moved like caterpillars. It was their navigation of the lunar oceans (which were actually ”seas” of sand and rock that had acc.u.mulated in craters) that made General Million refer to them, almost entirely out of his own personal tastes, as ”battles.h.i.+ps.” Nonetheless, with its twenty-five triple barrel 260 mm gun towers; two 1300 mm beam canons; one hundred double barrel machine guns; and a total length exceeding three hundred meters, the Sagittarius and Centaurus truly were imposingly majestic to see. It is said the firepower was along the lines of fifty Chimera and fifty Tragos. Sagittarius and Centaurus could both face one hundred mobile suits [easily].

”Just looking at the numbers, it's plain that we will win!” That is what General Million planned Liddell-Hart believed, he was the last of the great [dreadnought blockade advocates #1] of the late AC era [oh, so would seem to imply that AC ended pretty d.a.m.n quick after the original run of GW. Also: AC is definitely after the Common Era and we were almost 200 years into AC history at the start of GW. At the start of Frozen Teardrop, we're in MC-022. Which makes ME wonder why the h.e.l.l Sumizawa is using all these references to Napoleon and Hitler and scores of historical military figures. Not just to explain military theory, but for character names (e.g. there was some English military dude in the late 18th century named Liddell-Hart and that's where I the hyphenated spelling of the name. I guess it's ”accurate” but honestly, who the f.u.c.k knows? I mean, is this recycling/borrowing just supposed to reinforce that history repeats itself?]

At the same time, General Million planned the construction of s.p.a.ce fighters-- battles.h.i.+ps equipped to both navigate s.p.a.ce and attack [there]-- in an effort to help piracy from increasing. Until that time, while there had been s.p.a.ce convoys (troop s.h.i.+ps) a s.p.a.ce battles.h.i.+p had not existed. That was due to the fact that both the Alliance and OZ decided it [i.e. the s.p.a.ce battles.h.i.+p] was no necessary. It was only natural to think that and up until that point in history, there had never once been a [military] (lit: naval) engagement where s.p.a.ce served as the battlefield. Both s.p.a.ce [worthy] battles.h.i.+ps and fleets of s.p.a.ce worthy craft were things relegated to [science] fiction-- a dream within a dream. Nevertheless, General Million was effecting a plan to make that dream a reality. To draw up the plans for the construction of s.p.a.ce fighters, he asked Mike Howard, resident technician instructor [instructor of technology?]. The name of the vessel had already been decided: Peacemillion. Superficially, the name was intended to provoke a feeling of peace for all mankind, but the name rather had the impression of General Million trying to sell himself first and foremost. In fact, ensuing large battles.h.i.+ps of this type were thereafter referred to as being in the ”Peacemillion” cla.s.s. However, it was AC 195 when the [original] Peacemillion was completed, six years after [the Lunar Wars]. Howard, who was in charge of the [blueprints], was very particular bout the propulsion engine and delay after delay in the plans was caused by slow progress in achieving the kinds of power (lit: ability) necessary to carry the s.h.i.+p beyond the solar system. General Million didn't live to see the completion of the s.h.i.+p which bore his name. The Peacemillion would go on to be piloted [used] by Milliardo Peacecraft and Howard; and even later, as a supply and preparation aircraft carrier for the mobile suits used by the gundam pilots.

At the Alliance Unification Headquarters on Earth, they were desperate for finding some way to quell General Million's youthful vigor. Of course, the Marius Plant's being occupied by its laborers and rebels was something they wanted to take care of immediately. However, the problem like in General Million's personally. He was famous for advocating the use of big guns [this is the same expression as appears before at note #1], [he would] probably use the giant beam canon on the lunar battles.h.i.+ps, blow the whole plant to kingdom come, and drive out the enemy Chimera. Even in the [good old days], it was clear he was thinking of (opening) war on the moon.

”That,” Van was the first to speak from among all the fresh faced generals, ”from a strategic point of view will not lead to victory,” he cooly judged. ”Our primary goal is to recapture the Marius Plant. If the plant is destoryed, by enemy or ally, it will be a failure on our part.”

”Mr. Van, if we had Romefeller's power [influence/money], surely we could [simply] rebuild a plant or three,” said Lieutenant General Venti who was sitting [across] (lit: confronting/holding his own) from Van as per usual.

”The Foundation's budget cannot afford the luxury of being entrusted in the incompetent hand of military personnel.”

”Then is there another effective means to work out this problem?”

”We shall have the Specials head directly to the site. I wish General Liddell-Hart would refrain from opening hostilities until they arrive.”

”In that time, the enemy's power will just grow [stronger],” said General Noventa aptly after considering the situation. The Chimera's would increase at a rate of 10 per week. For Treize to leave Lake Victoria and arrive at the moon and prepare for battle, it would take at least seven days. The enemy would be in possession of 110 brand new (new model) Chimera. They would be overwhenlmed by the [sheer] size [of the rebel force]/

”[If we wait for the Speciats, t]he war we could win [now] will become impossible to win [then].

”......” Van said nothing. It was cla.s.sified Romefeller information, but [actually,] there was an important resources deposit at the Marius Plant. At one time, the place where the Marius Plant was located was called the Marius ill of the Ocean of Storms and there was a pit, through which a lava tunnel pa.s.sed, called ”Marius Hills Hall”. There, the neo-t.i.tanium (or luna t.i.tanium) was extracted [mined/(lit: gathered)] for use in nearly all mobile suits' armor and drive parts. And though they had yet to successfully refine the compund metal, the wholly new ”gundanium” alloy was near completion. ((With the gundanium alloy complete, mobile suits would become a more perfect weapon.)) Van looked to General Kyrie, supreme commander.

Please, protect the plant somehow. Van implored with his eyes.

General Kyrie slowly nodded.

”Allow the Alliance forces at the lunar base to (sally) [attack] under the command of General Million Liddell-Hart.”

”What?!” Van made as if to stand; he looked at Kyrie who spoke the following words with control:

”However, using the Sagittarius and Centaurus are prohibited.”

”General, Liddell-Hart will be lost without them!” the usually courteous Noventa even raised his voice at [Kyrie's p.r.o.nouncement].

”Without the Sagittarius and Centaurus, they'll be fighting with nothing but mobile suits!”

”Just the numbers show that the enemy [will have or already has] superior numbers!”

”It's the same as ordering them to their deaths!”

”Mr. Van just said our goal is to recapture the Marius Plant, or have you forgotten?” General Kyrie said with a sharp glare. ”If we permit the use of the giant battles.h.i.+ps and beam canons, the plant will clearly suffer heavy damage.”

”Then we prohibit the use of the beam canons only. We are not the one who will die on the battlefield, the solders will,” said Noventa. It was only natural to think of [sparing] his subordinates.

That was one of his merits; the reason he garnered respect from the officers under his command.

”Hm,” for a moment General Kyrie's resolve wavered at the proposed compromise. He also was a man with more humanity beyond [what the average] cool-headed military man possessed. ”In that case, it might be worth considering.”

”Just a moment!” Van couldn't help but stand up. ”You must also consider General Liddell-Hart's explosively dangerous disposition!”

It was then that Alliance tactics aide Lieutenant Colonel Septum stepped into the fray. He had, several months prior, gone into service on Earth and was [now] seated in the end seat as an Alliance Unity Headquarters a.s.signed advisor. Normally, this as not a position from which one could speak.

”Mr. Van, if you think tactically about this-- sending out the Centaurus and Sagittarius-- I predict the enemy will not easily leave the plant. In other words, we'd come to a deadlock and likely end up fighting a war of attrition.”

”A war of attrition?” Van, too, stumbled over the word. If he stalled for time, Treize and the Specials may arrive on time. ”Very well, but they cannot use the beam cannons. That is nonnegotiable,” Van compromised.

As a result of the meeting, a declaration of full war was made; General Million at the lunar base was given the order to attack wit the full force of the Alliance's s.p.a.ce unit.

However, that sort of compromise and middle ground was strategically and tactically unbelievable. It was the same as saying: it's okay to take weapons with you, but don't use them. As long as Kyrie and Van held these strong positions, even General Million would not attack rashly-- but that likewise was a war of attrition. Furthermore, there is no doubt that to reinforce (back up) the goal, action, and strategy of the mission, it was clearly labeled with the name ”Operation Recapture Marius Plant.” Speaking from a strategic point of view, it was not strictly necessary to take out the enemy. Bloodshed was not the end-all be-all of war. Buying time with political means like negotiations was supposedly a possibility. Compromises and concessions were not just rhetoric held in a conference room, but for the soldiers in the battlefield, they were the utmost form of trouble [annoyance].

Kyrie and Van's decision then could be called their fatal mistake. However, with six months of promoting reform, these two were suffering chronic fatigue. There was no one to blame for that [but themselves].

When General Million received the orders and read that last line, he was so enraged that he nearly smashed the monitor.

Please mind both beam cannons of both the Sagittarius and Centaurus must not be used.

Million ground his teeth and his eyes were bloodshot.

”Don't use the beam cannons?! What madness is that Earth bunch on about! Don't screw [with me]!” He hadn't the first intention of obeying the order.

Made a decision on the battlefield, I'll fire them if it's necessary. That much ought to be obvious!

He thought [to himself].

An aide worried about General Million and attempted to soothe him.

”But, General... this is an order from Headquarters.”

”All units, deploy for battle! Send the mobile suit unit and the Sagittarius and Centaurus!” he ordered promptly. At the same time at Lake Victoria, Treize Khushrenada was also requested to make a sortie. Treize was perhaps the sole level-headed person on the Alliance's side. Treize seemed to address the full moon which was visible from his window; ”For this sortie, we must be as prepared as possible.”

I will die.

Send out the corpses.

Enemy and ally alike.

”Fighting in s.p.a.ce is something wholly different from fighting on Earth.”

The newly deployed cutting-edge suits were (even more) improved s.p.a.ce-worthy Leo 'Chimeras', a.k.a. 'Gryph (Leo IV)' ((German for Griffon)). Treize left Earth at dawn on the following morning in a large troops.h.i.+p and brought with him twenty five Gryphs and twnety four excellent cadets. Naturally, among these twenty four cadets were the same [soldiers] who had fought at Mogadishu: Zechs, Lurectia, Izumi, Solak, and Elv. For this mission, each of them had been a.s.signed three or four cadets to command. Treize let them (do) as he had done [e.g. let the cadets lead]. Ultimately, whether or not they had battle experience would prove to be a major difference. That could also be thought of as the responsibility of those who fought for the future soldiers.

At Marius Plant, a thin, middle aged woman by the name of Artemis Sedici held command. It was Artemis Sedici's son who, during the White Fang uprising of AC 195, was a general serving as a front line commander. Her name, the same as the G.o.ddess of the moon's, is thought to be a nickname. Despite being in her 30's, she was a knockout and in a plant full of men, she had [something of a] magnetic personality. To her credit, she demonstrated superb leaders.h.i.+p [skills] owning to her clarity of mind. She was certainly worthy of the name Artemis.

”We have received data showing that the Alliance s.p.a.ce forces are on the move. We shall present a united front and show them the meaning of the revolution in s.p.a.ce.”

As a strategist and knowledgeable commander both, she possessed intuition and a calmness like that of the pale moon.

”We have the power of 100 Chimera! We'll make eight units of ten suits. We'll make four flying squadrons out of our best mobile suits, surround the Marius Plant in a double square formation and form the perfect defense.”

This battle formation positioned units of ten mobile suits in two square which in turn formed an eight point star. Nested within the center of that star were four units of five mobile suits that would form single square and provide the pivotal defense. This formation was called the [layered square formation (lit: multiplex square formation) and was the most effective defense formation as it allowed for returning enemy fire from any direction. Foot soldiers from Napoleon's time also used a similar formation. If you thought of a mobile suit as a foot soldier, this was the best formation even from a tactical point of view.

In response to that, the Alliance forces made a V-shaped formation called the ”Crane's Wing Pattern” and at the tip of both the left and right wings were the highly mobile s.p.a.ce fighters in groups of ten. In the middle [of the wings] were units of twenty Chimera- their main fighting force- and in the apex [of the V] were both the Sagittarius and the Centaurus withch were accompanied [on the outside edge] by Tragos, five to either side. This could be considered cla.s.sic, but this was the natural result when Treize's tactics were applied to a large corps. For the mobile suit corps, which placed greater importance on the individual ease of movement and mobility, it was an ideal formation. On a tactical level, both formations were equal, but as far as war potential, the Alliance had a significantly better formation. A basic breakdown of the firepower on the battlefield yields 100:170. 100 rebel mobile suits to 170 Alliance mobile suits. If it did become a war of attrition, there was no doubt that the Alliance would come out on top. With the Sagittarius and Centaurus at the center, there was no way [for the rebels] to break through. If Million maintained the formation and proceeded to slowly [and with caution], there was a possibility of victory without needing to use their main guns: the giant beam cannons.

However--

A small smile pulled at Artemis' lips.

”So, you've arrived...” she said, at the time being fully aware of the Alliance's order for Million to not use the beam cannons. [That was information which] she had learned that from an informant at the Alliance [this is potentially interesting because Treize told Mogadishu about his forthcoming attack while it seems that Kyrie and Van did not inform the Marius Plant about their impending attack. Was it because Kyrie and Van a.s.sumed all the civilians had left?]

”They really aren't going to shoot [the beam cannon]?” asked an aide standing off to the side.

”What would you do?”

”If it was an order, then I would not fire.”

Artemis scoffed, ”One would think... if it were a normal commander [at the helm over there], they'd have plenty of firepower to win.” Her words were soft but the light in her eyes was sharp. ”But they're going to fire.”

”Why?”

”......” Artemis stared straight ahead, glaring at the encroaching huge corps of enemy troops.

”How do you know?”