Chapter 7

RedRat8- Yes I have heard that having someone to be there for you can actually help a soldier during wartime. As for the question, yes. He'll get a new suit. No going to spoil which one it is though.

11/8/18- Fixed some writing errors.


"Are you ready you two?" Bright asked as Kai and Amuro were in their respective mobile suits.

"We're good to go, Bright." Amuro said, waiting for the signal.

"Let's just get this over with, sir. The mess hall is serving soon and I want first dips." Kai said as he waited in the other hanger.

"You'll get the signal soon." Bright said, ignoring what Kai said, before speaking with the AI. "Vega, are you ready?"

"Affirmative, sir." Vega said while remotely controlling a core fighter from the Gundam. "Just send the word and I'll send the core fighter out."

"Good." Bright then turned toward the operators. "Have you pinpointed the location of the Zeon patrol forces?"

"Yes. We're uploading the coordinates to the mobile suits now." One of the operators said. Bright nodded and saw that everyone was ready.

"Operation is a go. Vega get ready." Hearing that, the Gundam and Guncannon walked to the edges of the hangers before using their thrusters to get on top of the ship. Once there, they quickly looked around for the Zeon patrol ships before quickly gunning them down.

"They're down." Amuro said. "Launch the core fighter."

"Roger that! Launching core fighter!" Isaac yelled before the core fighter launched.

"This better work." Kai said as he watched the core fighter being launched into the upper atmosphere. "I betted a lot of money into this."

"You actually betted if the core fighter can actually do this?" Amuro asked, disapproval in his voice. "And there's actually a betting going on?"

"Oh yeah. You wouldn't believe it. Anyway, think this can work Vega?"

"Indeed. The intensity of Minovsky particles isn't as dense in the upper atmosphere as on the ground. And without the added detriment of Zeon jamming, A transmission might be able to get through. Albeit, weakly." Vega said as he steered the core fighter toward the upper atmosphere.

"Well, that's good enough for me. I just napped a hundred bucks." Kai said with a laugh.

"That much money?" Amuro asked incredulously. "How many people participated?"

"More than I thought. More than I thought."

"Stow it, you two." Bright said, hearing their conversation. "And be at the ready. The Zeons may try and send a someone to check up on what happened to their scouts."

"Right. Sorry." Amuro said as he and Kai went into defensive position on the White Base. Meanwhile, on the bridge, Bright was speaking to Al and Chan.

"You sure this will work?" Bright asked.

"Positive, sir." Al said before bringing up a paper for him to see. "Though Vega was primarily made for the Gundam, we believe that it can manually control a fighter or something on the ship if retrofitted correctly. Or if it has weak firewalls."

"And since we needed some way to get a transmission out, we thought this would be a good test." Chan said.

"Well, I don't approve of on the field testing, it looks like it was unharmful." Whitley said. "Plus, it could be beneficial to us."

"Agreed." Bright said. "But are you sure, he can get a transmission out?"

"Of course. He has access to the core fighter's communication lines. If there's not that many Minovsky particles out, he should be able to get a message out." Al said.

"I guess we'll have to hope. You're dismissed." Chan and Al then saluted Bright before leaving. As they were leaving, Carmine was approaching Bright.

"Sir, I would like to report about the crew and refugees." Carmine said.

"What is it?" Bright asked, waiting for his report.

"The crew is performing in optimal levels." Carmine reported. "We're not having much dissidents from them. From the refuges, however, we may have a problem." Hearing that caused Bright to look at him. That wasn't good.

"What's exactly the problem?" Bright asked.

"It was only a passing comment, sir, but one of my men caught the civvies complaining about not feeling the ground of Earth. It was nothing serious, but eventually, complaints like this were happening more frequently. People are starting to complain openly sir when they think my men aren't around." Carmine explained. "Fortunately, Miss Fraw Bow told me about this."

"Just what we need." Bright said with a sigh. "Keep an eye on the dissidents but do it discreetly. We can't afford a mutiny. I'll talk with them once this is over." Carmine saluted before leaving. With him gone, Bright began to focus on the task in hand.


Meanwhile

California base


"Astonishing," Garma said as he saw the data they managed to get from the enemy mobile suits during their last encounter. "It isn't much, but even with this, its clear the Federation has created mobile suits more powerful than our Zakus." Char just nodded, thinking something else. The white mobile suit. Something about that mobile suit seemed off. At one point it managed to get an accurate shot off that crippled his mobile suit, yet in another it acted like a complete amateur, making rookie mistakes. Something was off. And he had a hunch.

"Could the Federation have installed an artificial intelligence in the white one? Would make sense on why it sometimes fights like a veteran and a rookie at times. Plus, it would seem like something a Feddie would do." Char thought. Before he could tell Garma his theory, a Zeon soldier suddenly barged right in.

"Forgive me, sir, but we have a situation." The soldier said.

"What's wrong?" Garma asked, wondering what's the situation. "Is it guerillas again?"

"No sir, it's about the patrol planes that were sent to keep an eye on the Trojan horse. They suddenly stopped transmitting." That caused both Char and Garma to look at each other. That only meant one thing. The Federation must have destroyed them. But how? The patrol planes were told to keep a distance so they won't be spotted and shot down. How did the Federation spot them so quickly that their soldiers couldn't warn them or break away?

"That's unfortunate." Garma said. "Now we won't know what they're attempting to do until we get another plane to spy on them."

"Not necessarily." Char said. "Get me an altitude chart with the Trojan horse's last known location." A few minutes later a chart showed up in the largest computer in the room, showing Char's requested information. "Now add in the last few reports from the spy planes." Several dots then appeared that were below the Trojan horse, showcasing that it was getting higher and higher.

"Are they attempting to break through our jamming?" Garma questioned, seeing that data suggested so.

"Possibly." Char said. "It does seem like it." He then turned to Garma. "I'll try and figure out what they're trying to do. Can you get a response force to back me up?"

"Of course, but it won't be much. Just Dopps." Garma said.

"That'll do. I'll get ready immediately." Char was about to leave when he remembered his theory. "Oh, and Garma. Look into the white mobile suit more than the others. I fear it has something." Garma raised an eyebrow.

"Something? What exactly?"

"Its just a theory, but if its true, then we have a major problem." Char then left, leaving Garma to wonder what Char was talking about.

"Always somysterious." Garma said with a chuckle before ordering a response force to go with Char and for his technicians to focus on the white mobile suit.


White base


Amuro and Kai were patiently waiting for Vega to return with the core fighter and hopefully good news. As time passed, Amuro decided to speak with Kai, turning on a private connection.

"Hey Kai. Got a minute?" Amuro asked.

"Oh, I got plenty to spare." Kai retorted, bored out of his mind. "After all, we're just standing on top of this ship, waiting for an AI to call for help from a government that's losing a war with one of its, now rogue, sides, despite a large numbers advantage." Shaking his head at Kai's remark, Amuro spoke to him.

"How come I never heard from your parents?" Amuro asked, recalling that all he ever heard about Kai's parents were that they would be disappointed in him. He never saw or even met them in person.

"Eh," Kai said, not seeing any reason not to tell Amuro. "No point in not telling you. Dad was an engineer that died during the first month of battle. Mom never got over it and died in a car accident, so I was left to fend for myself." Amuro was shocked to hear that, feeling bad for Kai.

"Sorry about bringing it up." Amuro said. He knew the pain of losing a parent, but both? That must have been hard for Kai.

"Eh, don't be. Dad would have killed me if I didn't move on from his death. Well maybe mom might have stopped him, but who knows." Kai said. "Besides, got enough good memories of them to know that they'll actually be proud of me. Well, maybe not the delinquent stuff." The Guncannon then turned toward the Gundam. "Got fond memories of yours? Heard your dad is dead, but nothing about your mother."

"My father died during the Zeon attack on side 7, but mom is safe on Earth. Thank god." Amuro said, before thinking about some fond memories of his dad. "Yeah. I remember the time that dad helped me fix this car engine we were working on. When we got it fixed, we went out and got ice cream."

"*Laughs* Nothing like having ice cream with your old man to know you got good memories of him. Same here, but instead we got steak for dinner, which is a whole lot better than ice cream. That can actually fill you up." Kai said before laughing, which was joined by a small chuckle by Amuro. Once they stopped, Kai asked a question. "Hey, going to visit your mother after this?"

"Well, maybe. I don't know if she'll be in my hometown. She could have moved, or the town got destroyed because of the war."

"Yeah. Well, here's hoping that the only living parent between us is still alive." Kai said before banging the head of the Guncannon, causing Amuro to shake his head in amusement. They were about to continue their conversation when they heard Vega.

"Not to interrupt your conversation, but the core fighter is on its way back." Vega said as the two saw that the core fighter was on its way.

"Were you overhearing our conversation, Vega?" Kai asked as he saw the core fighter approaching.

"I have no choice. The engineers didn't remove my processors from the Gundam. They just established a connection between the Gundam and a core fighter. And while I was piloting the fighter, I'm still in the Gundam, which means that I was overhearing the conversation." Vega said.

"You're not going to tell Bright about this, right?" Amuro asked, rather not get a rant from Bright about protocol.

"There was no harm done from doing that. I won't report it so long as you don't let it happen again." Vega said.

"Damn. This AI is a lot better than my old teacher." Kai said before returning to work. The two mobile suits were about to get back in the hanger when Vega suddenly spoke.

"Warning. Dopp fighters and a reentry capsule approaching behind the core fighter." With that, the two pilots went into action. Magnifying their view screens past the core fighter, they saw that Dopps and a reentry capsule was approaching.

"I'll contact the bridge about this. Kai, when they get close, deal with them." Amuro said before contacting the bridge.

"Hey, you're not in charge." Kai said before doing what he was told. "Why in the hell would the Zeon send a reentry capsule? Those things aren't meant for combat." Once they were in range of his beam rifle, Kai opened fire, forcing the Dopps to perform evasive maneuvers. The reentry capsule, however, just went up, confusing Kai. "The hell?" Kai than focused on the Dopps as they pressed forward, destroying a few with the Guncannon's Vulcans.

"Understood, Amuro. I'll have gun crews notified." Bright said before shouting out orders. "Put everyone on level one battle stations! We have incoming Dopps." Everyone then began to take their stations, ready for anything that the enemy will throw at them.

"Somethings off." Reed said. "The Gundam pilot reported in a reentry capsule with the Dopps. What's that doing there?"

"No idea." Bright said as he thought about what it means. He thought of several scenarios before thinking of one. One that Char would be crazy enough to try. "They're trying to land Zakus on the ship!"

"What?!" Reed said in shock. "That's insane!"

"Crazy enough for Char, sir." Bright said. "Sayla! Tell Amuro and Kai to watch out for the reentry capsule! It may try and drop Zakus on the ship."

"On it!" Bright then looked to see the battlefield, which was a one-sided battle for them. Things were going well when suddenly Carmine had barged right in with Hayato and Ryu.

"Captain! The refugees are rebelling!" Carmine said, shocking everyone.

"What!?" Bright yelled, shock in his tone. This was just what they needed. Internal conflict.

"It's not an armed rebellion, sir, but they took some of the kids captive." Carmine explained. "My men tried to diffuse the situation, but one of civvies took out a gun and pointed it at them. They must have stolen it from the armory or from one of my men. What we assume to be the leader told them that they only wish to speak to the captain."

"And that's not all, sir." Hayato said. "Fraw Brow volunteered as a hostage to keep an eye on the kids."

"Sir, what should we do?" Ryu asked. Bright just bit his lip as he thought of what to do without this doing downhill for them. They needed to handle this carefully or else someone may die by accident, creating friction between the crew and the refugees. Sighing in exasperation, he turned to Carmine.

"I'll give them their request." Bright said. He then turned to Reed. "Sir, can you take over while I'm diffusing this situation."

"Of course." Reed said. He understood the dangers of having internal strife on a ship and that it needs to be addressed as soon as possible. "Make sure to get the situation over with as fast as possible."

"Understood." Bright then turned to Carmine. "Take me to the refugees. This needs to be addressed." The three men nodded before escorting Bright to the refugees.


Refugee area of White Base


The refugees were patiently waiting for their request to be granted when Bright arrived with his escorts.

"Alright, what's exactly the situation?" Bright asked. He noted with some slight surprise that all of the refugees were elderly. Piecing it together, Bright figured out what the problem was. Still, he allowed them to speak, knowing that it'll help the situation. The refugees just looked at him before, what he assumed to be the leader, spoke.

"Don't get us wrong, captain." An old man said. "We all appreciate what you're trying to do, but this was the only way to make sure that you would hear our complaints." Frowning at the man's excuse for taking hostages.

"If you wanted to speak to me, you should have told one of the crew, I would have granted it if I had the time. You didn't need to take hostages." Bright argued, looking at Fraw Brow and the kids, who looked unharmed. To the refugee's credit, they looked ashamed at their actions, obviously regretting at what they did. Sighing, Bright spoke in a gentler voice. "What's exactly the problem?" The leader just nodded to the other refugees, who all began to speak.

"My son. I haven't seen him since I left Earth." An old woman said.

"I didn't even want to leave Earth. The Federation forced me and my entire family to immigrate to space." Another elderly man said. As more refugees added their complaints to the table, Bright got the picture completely. These people were people that were forced by the Federation to move into space, as part of a space immigration project. He knew of the project and its intent. The intent was that, since Earth's population was growing exponentially, too much for the planet to take, people were to be immigrated to space, living in space colonies that had the similar, if a little different, environment as Earth. Despite having many volunteers for it, it wasn't enough for the higher-ups, so they forced some people to move into space. Bright didn't know how many were forced, but it was clear to him that he had some of those people on his ship.

"So, are you asking me to touch down the White Base in enemy territory just, so you can feel the surface of Earth?" Bright asked, angry at their selfishness. The looks he was getting from the refugees gave him the impression that was what they wanted. "Let me remind you all that you're all from side 7, a side that is technically under Federation jurisdiction. That means that the Zeons will see you as enemies and will either kill you or place you under arrest if we land in their territory. Most likely the later because you were on the White Base. Do you recall the atrocities they did on the other sides? Or do they even matter to so long as you get to touch Earth's soil." The refugees looked at each other, some beginning to doubt their plan. Soon they began to talk with each other, obviously discussing what to do. Eventually, the leader spoke to Bright.

"Look, son, you just don't get it. If it means that we can enjoy the air of Earth and the feel of Earth's soil one last time, we'll happily do it." That caused Bright and his men to grit their teeth in anger. Being the youngest, Hayato shouted out.

"How dare you be so selfish!" Yelled Hayato. "What about the kids!? Or the younger generation!?" He then pointed to Fraw and the kids. "Are you willing to sacrifice them just to walk on Earth again!? What about the crew!? We're fighting out there to make sure you're all safe and sound!"

"Hayato." Ryu said, holding Hayato's shoulder. Though he was angry as well, this wasn't the way to handle this. Ryu then looked at Bright, who simply held his hand to tell him to let him handle this.

"I'm disappointed at your selfishness." Bright said, staring at the refugees in disappointment. "These young men and women are fighting to protect you and your dreams to walk on Earth and this is how you repay them?" He then shook his head. "Despite my disgust with you, I'll talk with you all again after the current battle is over. But let me make this clear, we will not land on Zeon controlled territory, and we will make a compromise. And if you take hostages again, then I'll order my men to use lethal force. Now let the hostages go. And give the gun you stole back." Though they were disappointed with how it went, the refugees complied, letting the hostages go. With that, the group left with the hostages in tow. Once they were out of earshot, Bright looked at Ryu and Carmine.

"You two keep an eye on the refugees with two others. I'll be back to speak with them." The two men simply saluted, before going back to keep an eye on the refugees. With that, Bright looked at Hayato and the hostages. "Are you okay, Fraw? Are the kids?"

"Yes, sir." Fraw said. "They didn't harm anyone of us."

"I'm sorry for what happened. I'll try to ensure this won't happen again." Bright said, disappointed that this had happened under his watch. Seeing that Bright was beating himself up, the kids tried to cheer him up."

"It'll be okay." The little girl, Kikka, said. "We weren't scared."

"Yeah. You did awesome. Teaching those grownups, a lesson." Said one of the boys. Katz, if Bright recalled. The other boy, Letz, just nodded with a smile. Bright let out a brief smile before getting back to work.

"Still, I want you all to avoid those people until this is over. Hayato! Keep an eye on them. I don't want them involved in another stunt like that." Hayato nodded his head and saluted, determined to keep them safe.

"Yes, sir! I'll try my best." Bright nodded before making his way to the bridge. Once he was gone, Hayato looked at Fraw with worry.

"You okay, Fraw?" Hayato asked, worry in his voice. He and Fraw were close friends back at side 7. The fact that her family was killed during the attack on side 7, made him sympathized with her. And Hayato was determined to keep her safe from any more harm as best he can.

"Of course, Hayato. They didn't really hurt anyone. Though I'm disappointed at them." Hayato nodded in agreement, still angry at their selfishness.

"I still can't believe they would pull a stunt like that. They're adults. They should know better." Though she agreed with him, Fraw wondered what was so important for them to be on Earth again.

"I guess we'll never know why Earth is so important to them. After all, we lived in space for most of our lives." Hayato just nodded. "Anyway, let's go somewhere away from them. I don't want the kids to be hostages again." Withthat they all left for another section of the ship.


Exterior of White Base


"Eat this Zeon!" Kai yelled as he blasted a Dopp out of the sky. The rest began to retreat, having used up all their missiles. "My side is clear. How's yours?"

"Mine just pulled out." Amuro said as he saw his Dopps leaving as well. "Looks like that's all of them."

"Yeah, but what about the Komusai? Didn't see it since the fighting began."

"Don't know." The two began scanning for the Komusai, wondering where it was. Soon, the two spotted a shadow coming at them from above.

"A Zaku?" Kai then looked through his targeting computers to see it was indeed a Zaku. A red one. "Damn. It's Char!"

"We can't let him on the ship!" The two then opened fire, trying to deter Char or even destroy him. The Red Comet, however, dodged all their shots and continued his way to the White Base, taking aim at the bridge.

"Oh no, you don't!" Amuro said. "Vega! Help me out with targeting quickly!"

"On it. Targeting data arriving now." Vega said before showing Amuro where to hit. Using the data, Amuro aimed at Char, waiting for the perfect shot.

"Down you go Char!" With that he opened fire, the bazooka zipping toward the Red Comet. Unfortunately, the Red Comet seemed to have sensed the missile coming at him and dodged, forcing him to miss the White Base. "Damnit! We missed."

"How the hell did he dodge it!?" Kai asked as they watched the Red Comet plummeted toward the Earth's surface.

"No idea. Human reflexes shouldn't have been able to detect it quickly enough." Amuro said, wondering the same thing.

"True. However, there is a theory that may support this." Said Vega, catching their attention.

"A theory. What theory?" Amuro asked, curious.

"Have you heard about the Newtype theory?" Vega asked. The two pilots looked at each other. They both new about the Newtype theory. A theory that originated form Zeon Zum Deikun, the founder of the Republic of Zeon, the name of side 3 before it became the Principality of Zeon. His theory was that mankind was destined to leave Earth and will evolve further than before, becoming Newtypes.

"Yeah, I heard about it. Something about increased awareness or psychic powers." Kai said. "What you think that Char is one of those Newtypes?"

"Unlikely, there is no concrete evidence of the Newtypes yet. However, if they are real, it would explain how Char was able to avoid the bazooka round." Vega said.

"Shit. I hope not. Don't want to face an ace pilot with psychic mumbo jumbo. Come on. Let's get back to the hangers." With that Kai jumped down to the hanger bay with Amuro following soon.

"Hey, Vega. You think that Newtype theory is true?" Amuro asked, wondering why the AI brought up the theory.

"Negative. Unless there is any evidence to back it up, I don't believe the Newtypes exist. The theory has, so far, no evidence to back it up. And probably never will while this war is going on."

"So why did you bring it up?"

"It seemed relevant at the time. The Red Comet had demonstrated an inhuman level of awareness. He shouldn't have been able to dodge the bazooka round in time. It doesn't seem possible." Amuro had to agree on that. Once the Gundam docked, Amuro got out.

"Well, don't beat yourself too hard on it. We'll get him next time." Amuro said. Vega just nodded the Gundam's head before speaking to the engineering team about the fighter. As he was leaving, Chan walked up to him.

"Amuro, Bright just called. He wants you and Kai to meet him on the bridge in a few hours. It's important."

"What?" Amuro asked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. It's about the refugees. He wants all the pilots to know about it." With that, she left, leaving Amuro wondering what the situation is.


Few hours later


"You're kidding me!? They did that!" Amuro yelled everyone else just nodded.

"Tch. Just goes to show how selfish people can be, no matter how old they are." Kai said, unamused at the hostage crisis.

"Yes. Though I understand their reasoning for doing so, what they did was completely unnecessary." Whitley said, disapproval in his voice. "Bright how did your talk with them go." Bright just frowned.

"The talk went…moderately well." Bright said. "We argued and argued until we reached a compromise. They'll give us three days to find somewhere safe to land to unload them. If we don't, then we'll have to land, regardless of the danger the location is in."

"We're not going to do that, right Bright?" Hayato asked.

"Unfortunately, they outnumber the entire crew by a three to one margin. They'll force us, even if we object." Bright said. "And I can't afford a mutiny, nor will I allow civilians to be killed on this ship."

"So, what do we do, sir?" Carmine asked.

"For now, continue our heading. It's the only thing we can do at the moment." He then turned to the pilots and the engineering team. "The message was broadcasted out, right?"

"Of course, sir." Isaac said. "There was some static, but the message got through. We should expect a message in one or two days."

"Good. You're all dismissed." The pilots and engineers saluted before leaving for their posts or for the mess hall. With them gone, he turned to Carmine. "Sergeant keep an eye on the refugees. In case they back out of the deal."

"Don't worry, sir, my men are doing that as we speak." Bright nodded in satisfaction before going over to Mirai.

"Bright, I'm concerned." Mirai said, worry in her face. "If the refugees do mutiny, will you…"

"I don't want to Mirai, and I won't." Bright said. "I mean what I said, I don't want to kill any civilians even if it means losing this ship." Mirai smiled at that, happy with his integrity.

"I'll try and make sure that doesn'thappen." Mirai said. "Hopefully, we'll find some sort of safe heaven soon." Bright nodded before going back to commanding the bridge.


California base


"You're certain?" Char asked, shock in his voice.

"Positive." Garma said, grimly. "The reports don't lie. That white mobile suit has an artificial intelligence inside it." Char just held his head at that. The Federation was playing with fire this time. Giving the most powerful mobile suit to date an AI. They must either be desperate or foolish. Either way, high command will need to hear this.

"I need to inform admiral Dozle about this."

"And I'll inform my sister." Garma said. "This must be addressed immediately." The two men then walked away to inform their respective commanding officers.