"The bottom line is that something has to be done. The merchants that travel the Earth Sphere shouldn't have to worry about whether or not they will be raided by pirates between stops at the colonies and the mining sites." A councilman from Earth stated amongst a meeting of his peers, looking around at each one individually as he spoke. The issue was one that had plagued the Federation for some time now; criminal elements robbing, hijacking and destroying vessels that were out past the Federation's sphere of control on essential journeys to Earth's furthest populated areas. "Why is the E.F.S.F. not heading out to these reports to investigate?" He questioned, looking to another amongst the group on the other side of the table a fee seats down; the elderly man's uniform clearly showing that he held quite the position of power within the Federal Navy, likely an Admiral of some degree. His hands stayed folded in front of his bearded mouth as his eyes shifted up towards the councilman who questioned the Navy's response to the pirate threats.
"Well, the answer is quite simple; we don't have the manpower to do so. Taking from the sphere's core to head out into deep space takes away from the ability of the fleet to keep the Earth and the colonies safe." He replied as a few laughed and some others whispered to one another about the Admiral, who seemed less than pleased by their ridicule. "Safe from what? Asteroids?" One scoffed as the Admiral's glare turned on him. "This isn't about your crackpot theories of a Zeon remnant attacking Earth again, is it Cousland?" The head of the Federation council asked as the Admiral turned to him, scowling upon realizing who had made such a comment; a young man by the name of Dorian Wright, barely over the age of thirty. He held no respect for those who came before him and was rushed into office in a political power play to change the direction of the once strong Federation. This was the kind of men the Federation had defaulted back to in peacetime just as they had before the war.
"It has been eleven years without as much as a whisper of any kind of fourth Zeon uprising. Eleven years." The counselor stated in a matter-of-fact manner, sitting straight up at his seat at the table as he continued to challenge the Admiral in a staring contest. "Not Zeon directly, Counselor. But there are plenty of others that would contest and harm the people of Earth and her colonies. Rebels, insurrectionists, terrorists; even the pirates we are here to talk about. Threats are out there." Admiral Cousland advised, while lead Counselor Wright shook his head and sighed. "Do you have any evidence to support that there is an immediate threat to Earth or the colonies?" He asked and immediately the Admiral stared without a word. Evidence of imminent threat? There was no such thing; not yet, anyway. Without admitting his lack of evidence, Cousland turned back to face forward in silence, causing Counselor Wright to smirk.
"That's what I thought." He replied for the Admiral, lifting his head as he took a deep breath. "So we are all in agreeance then? Something has to be done, and it shall be the Navy's responsibility to handle it. Is that understood Admiral?" Wright asked as the Admiral reluctantly nodded. With a large smile related to his victory, Wright stood from the table and looked to his peers. "Excellent! I would say that this concludes our conversation for the day gentleman. I will see you all again in three weeks, and Cousland; I will look forward to your report." Wright instructed with a brief smile, though it was clear that the only joy he was experiencing was in the tight hold he held on the man's throat. Unamused, Cousland simply nodded and stood with the others, leaving the room once again in defeat.
Walking back through the halls back towards his office, he stared down at the floor; disappointed both in the council's failure to understand the source of his concern as well as the lackluster job he had done preparing for another one of Wright's meetings. For nearly six years he had held the position of Assistant Director of Naval Operations, and for six years he had fought against the Federation's constant downsizing and retirement of their naval forces; especially the retirement of the Gundam program, which had long kept Earth safe. Just because they had achieved some level of peace amongst the colonies and Earth did not mean that the threats had gone away. The people of the colonies had long shown their tendency to rebel against those who ruled over them; not of necessity, but for their own wellbeing. Left to their own the devices the colonies would slip into disarray and war, destroying one another just as the nations of Earth had done during the third world war.
But yet these newcomers, these young guns and dreamers that flood the Federation, they do not see it. They had not seen the carnage and destruction wrought by the colonies during the one year war. They did not watch cities and entire continents disappear from the face of the Earth. No, they only read and look through pictures on the internet and in books, they do not feel the toll, and they do not understand that what he seeks is for the safety and prosperity of all of mankind; no matter the cost. Approaching his office the Admiral quickly made his way inside and shut the door behind him, making sure to lock it well before approaching his desk and setting his briefcase down. With a heavy sigh he removed his hat and place this down as well, then made his way to the window, overlooking the great city of New York, situated in the old North East of the United States. It had undergone much change since the One Year War, and was but a shell of its former glory, but it was beautiful to him all the same; especially at sunset.
Picking up a glass from the display next to him, he grabbed the nearest bottle of liquor and poured himself a glass of imported bourbon; UC 0068, a fine year, and one of the last shipments to come from the colonies before the One Year War. Old enough to fight back then, but not to drink, he saved it to open until the war was won, though due to constant aggression from the Spacenoids, that would not come for almost twenty years later. With a final look out of the glass window of his office he took his glass to the large mahogany desk where the sun lay and sat down, looking at a report he had received the day prior from an associated of his in the outer rim. Taking a sip of his bourbon he looked over it one more time, reading each line carefully as he formulated in his mind the correct course of action to such news. After finishing what had to be his seventh time reading the letter, he turned to the phone on his desk and picked it up, dialing into their secured communications network.
"Operator." The voice on the other line stated, confirming that he had dialed correctly for the network, to which he replied one sentence. "Get me Cordova." His voice sternly commanded as the operator began to switch-board him through the secured network to his desired location. "Contacting Special Operations Base Cordova, please standby." The operator replied as the line fell silent, with only a light beeping tone audible to remind the Admiral he was still on the line.
"Admiral Cousland," A voice on the other line stated with a bit of an upbeat tone, surprised to be receiving a call so late in the evening. "What an unexpected surprise." The Admiral took another sip of his bourbon, looking down to the files on his desk. "It's been a short while Delacout. How's the Alaskan weather treating you?" He asked as on the other line Delacout looked out the window at the dark night sky, snow falling over the small base of operations he maintained watch over while listening to the phone call on speaker phone. Being one of the few young officers that Cousland could stomach, Delacout was a redheaded man in his late twenties who made his claim to fame quelling a series of mining colony uprisings a few years prior; true wetwork that would have been beneficial to Cousland's plight now, though these files were to never be released under any circumstances.
"Cold, and at this time of year, dark. Thought I can't complain really. How are things in New York?" Delacout asked in return as the Admiral huffed with a bit of a snicker. "Shitty, like usual. The council the President of the Federation appointed just doesn't get it; no matter how hard we fluff it." He replied, looking down at his drink as he swirled it around in his hand. "And to make things worse, I got a message from our friend in the outer rim two days ago. It seems his load of mobile suits has been stolen. Some group claiming to be fighting for the 'freedom of all who live in space' intercepted a fuel freighter that was contracted to refuel his two transport freighters. They docked, assaulted and boarded the vessels, and then managed to fight off the pirate lord as he attempted to reclaim his weaponry." He complained, his voice seeming a bit more intrigued than anything else.
Delacout sat back in his chair and looked back outside at the falling snow, scratching his head in thought. "The 'freedom of all who live in space' huh? Zeon related, perhaps?" Delacout question as Admiral Cousland scoffed. "If that were true, this would be a massive breakthrough for us Delacout; which means that isn't the case, knowing our luck." Cousland complained, still swirling his liquor in a mesmerizing fashion, staring intently into it as if to focus on the conversation better. "More than likely they are some kind of rival pirate faction who got word of the shipment. You know how pirates are; no more loyal than the dollar amount they receive. Despicable lot." Delacout chuckled at the Admiral's views on the pirates, knowing very well that if it had not been for the dire situation at hand, the Admiral would have already hunted down and destroyed every war band and gang of pirates out in the voids of space.
"But let me guess; Lord Kirun requested that we deal with it, and let me guess again, you want to send Cerberus Division?" Delacout asked, impressing the Admiral with his ability to foresee just what would be asked of him. "If you would be so kind; this operation is quite delicate, and I can't think of anyone better to send but our star wetwork operator and his protégé brother." Admiral Cousland responded as Delacout now looked up to his younger brother Tegan, who sat silently across the desk from him, listening intently to the conversation. "I'm game." Tegan replied as the Admiral chuckled on the other side of the phone. "Good kid, good. That is what I like to hear; the true Federal fighting spirit reborn." He laughed, taking yet another swig of the glass of bourbon to finish it off; the clunk of the glass back down to the wooden desk clearly heard through the phone.
"We will head out first thing in the morning. Any idea where they are heading now?" Delacout asked, writing down a few key details on a notebook in front of him as the Admiral groaned in exhaustion, leaning back in his own chair while watching the rest of the sunset, pouring himself yet another glass to help deal with the disappointing evening at the council meeting. "The last he knew they were heading towards Heaven's End, having given them permission to do so. You'll never find Heaven's End, however, as even Kirun won't betray the location of the criminal underworld's only remaining fortress. You will have to search for them out there; I will provide you with their last known location. Sound good?" The Admiral asked as Delacout nodded and replied. "Yes sir."
Shortly following the completion transfer of parts and supplies between the Kurin's Pride and their own vessels, the Zeon Reformation Movement set out on a course to Heaven's End with a promise to Lord Kurin and his crew that they would send a tow vessel upon arrival. From the coordinates that the pirate lord provided, the navigators determined their journey out to Heaven's End would take an additional two days, and under Monty's orders, an encrypted message was sent to the Tortuga, ordering them to press forward past their initial rendezvous location to Heaven's End; Captain Monty unwilling to wait the additional two days in place. With their vessels and mobile suits damaged as well as their ammunition, fuel and food supplies diminished despite a slight resupply from their cache of Kurin's goods, Monty believed this would be their best course of action. All hands were on deck for those two days in flight, with everyone who was able to assist in the reconstruction of their mobile suits doing so, no matter the task.
As he promised, Amaury assisted with the recovery of their machines following the battle with Lord Kurin as well; a large task giving the amount of damage their three existing Zakums took. Carina's plan had originally been to create two more Zakums from the parts they had in their inventory, however that number quickly reduced to maintain a fleet of three for the time being. Tome's Zakum received an arm from one of the projected constructs while Sam's received the legs. Amaury's suit was essentially constructed over again from the ground up; the damage sustained to the torso module as well as the reactor was too great to repair while in space, and would require proper dry dock facilities. Monty's GM was in the same situation and as a result it was sacrificed to repair Geoff's GM back to full working order. Even though he had lost his mobile suit for the time being, Monty had a hard time expressing any sort of displeasure, for just as Amaury had asked Carina to rebuild the Kampfer for him, Monty had instructed her to restore and construct the Gundam frame, which would be under his command once completed.
This was not entirely Monty's decision, as it was decided that the most experienced and skilled pilot would use the vessel; which just so happened to be Monty, though Geoff's name was originally mentioned before he declined to pilot the suit. Carina's task was not an easy one however, and as Kirun stated in the hanger that night, the Gundam frame was in an advanced state of disrepair. Due to its Minovsky reactor being unique to the unit, it was not an easy fix, and the girl spent nearly six hours on the first day of the project trying to even gain access to the reactor. Once inside she grew even more confused; Federation Minovsky Reactors were typically quite different than those produced by the several Zeon manufacturers, but this reactor did not appear to be from any unit she had ever seen in pictures of read about. Although she continued to gain ground here and there, she frequently became frustrated with the machine and would go back to Amaury's project to clear her mind, as luckily it was a different story. Despite its complex nature compared to other mobile suits, the Kampfer was still much less complicated than the Gundam frame and she had been able to appoint some of her general crewman to reassemble the machine up to a certain point.
This allowed her attention to remain primarily focused on repairing any damage and improving the machine past its original limits, while right by her side remained its future pilot. With everything that had happened so far on their journey, and now knowing the dangers that lay in wait for them in space, Carina made it her mission to spend as much time as she could with her friends, though most of that time was spent with Amaury. She didn't mind however as he seemed to reciprocate this intent, and to many around them the two seemed to be nearly inseparable. This included Monty who could feel his influence slipping away from the girl by the day.
"Alright, now go ahead and fire up the thrusters; only half power for now." Carina instructed as the boy sitting patiently in the cockpit did as she asked, gently increasing the throttle as the Kampfer's back thrusters slowly fired up and increased; the unit remaining stationary due to being locked down to the deck for the test fire. The project was still in its infant stages; guaranteeing that the machine ran well at its baseline while gathering information and data about how to improve the design, since not much information was available on the suit itself. Reaching half throttle Amaury stepped out onto the cockpit hatch and looked up to Carina who floated above the machine, taking notes down on a yellow notepad.
"That's half thrust; all reactor readings are normal." He called out to her with a bit of a yell so that she could hear him over the loud hum of the reactor and the thrusters. "It seems to be running well, but we won't know until we get it out for a test flight. I don't want to run the full thrust while it's in the hanger." She stated while writing down her calculations before looking down to the boy with a smile. "Alright, you can shut it down." She instructed, the boy acknowledging with a nod before heading into the cockpit to throttle the monster down; its reactor hum slowly decreasing until little more than an occasional pinging noise due to the heated metal cooling down in the cold hanger bay. Floating over to the cockpit she stopped on the entrance door and stepped inside, ducking to avoid hitting her head on the low hanging entranceway. "How did it look from above?" The boy asked, looking over the instrumentation all around him, still having a hard time believing that just two days prior this machine was in the hands of their enemies. Finishing what she was writing on her notepad Carina looked up to her partner and smiled, turning the notepad in her hand towards him.
"It went well. Even at half thrust this machine reaches close to eighty percent of what a Zakum is capable of, so at full power it appears this machine will be at least fifty percent faster and more agile; give or take a bit depending on the payload it is hauling. That is its default as it sits right now, and I'm not sure if that is before or after Kurin's tech crews worked on it. I'm going to see what I can do." She replied as he looked at the paper in her hands, though to him most of it was incomprehensible. "I'm not sure what any of this means to be honest, so I'll just take your word for it." He replied as she giggled a bit, turning to look at the screens inside of the cockpit as well. "You trust me so blindly; it puts much more pressure on my shoulders you know!" She teased as the boy shook his head and say back in the seat to give her more room as she floated over him, her lower back almost making contact with his face. "Well it's not really blind trust." He replied, causing the girl to look down to him, her face darkening a bit when she realized just how close she had come to landing on his lap. Just his smile alone was enough for her to understand that he trusted her with his life; something that she did not take lightly in any manner.
Quick to reposition herself she turned around so that she was facing towards him from an elevated position. "My only concern as far as the integrity of the suit goes is the armor is rather thin, even around the cockpit. I'm going to try and improve that as much as possible without sacrificing too much mobility." She added, biting the inside of her cheek as she flipped the page to an external sketch of the cockpit she had doodled earlier with several optional armor pieces in different configurations drawn around it. "Any one of these will increase the safety of the cockpit, even if just by a bit." Unable to see the sketches she had made from his seated position, Amaury stood up to where they were almost pressed against one another, taking the left side of the tablet in his hand while she continued to hold the right. The close proximity to him brought the girls eyes to his face, so close to hers that she could clearly hear his breathing. Did he intend to be so close?
"You don't have to worry about it too much Carina, I'll be okay. I just gotta keep 'em from hitting me, that's all." The boy replied with a smile, knowing that the more work she had to do on the Kampfer the more she would stress and with the pressure to finish the Gundam for Monty, he knew she was under enough stress as it was. Turning to her he watched as she huffed and playfully pulled the tablet from his hands. "Do you really think that's good enough for me? To just hope you won't be shot from the sky?" She asked, staring with her green eyes at the boy in front of her who was so frivolously willing to risk his life to save her from working harder. "Anything over an 80mm round will easily shred through this cockpit armor and turn you into nothing more than… nothing." She added as the thought of what could happen forced a shiver to run down her spine. She had seen the aftermath of the battle with the pirates; pilots torn to shreds, reduced to nothing more unidentifiable pieces of flesh and bone. She couldn't bear the thought of that happening to any one of her friends.
"My job is to keep all of you safe. And if a few more hours of work keeps you safe, then every second of it is worth it to me." She replied in a stern manner, biting her lip to keep from adding any more to her plight while she continued to stare at him. Sensing that she was upset with his downplay of the situation, Amaury continued to stare into the captivating green orbs before him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." He replied looking down at the floor of the cockpit before her hand reached up and lifted his chin, bringing their eyes back together while her face reddened, replying in a soft tone. "Don't apologize. Just remember that your life isn't just yours to throw away; there are others who care about you." Did she mean she cared? Of course she did, he was her friend after all. Her hand still holding his chin, he knew she expected an answer and after only a brief moment longer he nodded. "Yes ma'am." He whispered in reply before her stern look broke into another smile, and her finger pressed against his nose. "Good." She replied with a hum before turning and floating out onto the ramp of the cockpit, landing at the end as she turned back to the Gundam at the next workstation.
His face beet red, Amaury followed her out of the cockpit and focused on the Gundam as well. Without any armor on the machine, it was impossible to tell what it once was, while at the same time leaving the frame open for whatever Carina could design. "Any idea for the frame?" Amaury asked as Carina shook her head and sighed. "To be honest; no, not in the slightest. It is a lot harder to get running than I thought it was going to be, and until I figure out what its reactor is capable of, there is no sense in pipe-dreaming a workup for it." She admitted turning towards the boy's darkened face. "But that won't stop Monty from asking me every time he sees me how it is going, and complaining when I inform him that it wasn't going well…" She said softly as almost instantly Amaury could tell that Monty was being rather hard on the girl about it. Two days ago they were fighting and now he was asking for favors? Sure, he was the commanding officer of the fleet at the moment and the Gundam being active would be another mobile suit for them to utilize, but to pester her about it like that? Surely he had to understand how much pressure she was under taking care of the whole fleet as well as trying to design a functional Gundam around a frame that hasn't run in what seems like a decade.
"Carina, I'm sorry… I can talk to him if you'd like." The boy whispered, seeing from the corner of his eye the man they spoke of approaching. Seeing it too, Carina shook her head and sighed. "No, no. It's okay; I don't want to drag you into this mess." She whispered back as Monty waved to them on his approach; the two waving back out of courtesy. "Thank you though; it means a lot." She replied with a kind smile as Monty drifted to a stop on the hatch between them before Amaury could protest and voice his concern. "Well good evening to the two of you." He stated, looking up at the armless Kampfer they stood on. "This appears to be coming along swimmingly if I had to say so, though alotta good an armless suit will do you out there Amaury!" Monty laughed as he jokingly hit Amaury's back, the boy staring at his leader with only the hint of a smile visible across his lips; unhappy with the way he was treating Carina. With the absence of a reply from the boy, Monty turned to Carina and then to the Gundam frame. "How about the frame? Any luck getting that reactor started?" He questioned like clockwork; just as Carina said he would.
Looking to Amaury first and then to Monty, Carina sighed as she too looked towards the frame next to them. "No, not yet. I just don't understand it. It should be like all of the other mobile suit reactors, but it's just a very strange and temperamental design; it had to have been created by either a small time company or maybe it was a prototype." She replied as Monty's somewhat content look faded a bit, looking to the girl from the corner of his eyes. "I will figure it out eventually though; it is just taking some trial and error. I thought it was going to start this morning, but unfortunately it did not. A few more days and I will get it going; I promise." She replied with in a confident but apologetic manner, knowing that this was currently the highest priority on Monty's list of things that needed to be done; a fact represented by just how intently the man listened to her words. After a moment or so he sighed and turned his full attention back to frame before them, crossing his arms.
"That is a shame. A Gundam's power is something that is universally feared and respected throughout all of humanity, and to possess such a weapon would surely push us above what we are capable of now. Maybe you should spend some more time trying to get it running; really pull out all of the stops. You've seemed rather distracted as of recently and I'm concerned your work is suffering." He replied to Carina in an almost scolding manner, his eyes shifting towards Amaury as the two stared at one another; the boy angrily grunting under his breath, his hands at his sides tightly clenched together. Was he really going to insinuate that she wasn't doing everything she could to get it working? It sure was easy for him to stand there and act tough, despite not being the one who has to deal with the problems.
"She's been working non-stop for the past five days to get us ready; she and her team have barely had a break to sleep or eat." Amaury interjected without thinking before Monty could speak again. Carina's eyes shot back to Amaury's to stop him, but it was too late; he couldn't take back what was said, even if he wanted to. Why would he do that? Arguing with Monty would get him nowhere, even if it was in defense of Carina. Staring down the boy, Monty turned towards him and crossed his arms. "And you don't think I know that? We've all been working around the clock. Carina's job here is very important and I don't think you understand that, do you?" He sternly questioned, leaning forward a bit to the boy, whose stare had yet to break; involuntarily locked into the contest with his commanding officer. "Of course I understand that, I just-" Amaury attempted to defend himself, stopping mid-sentence as Monty's patience grew thin. "Then why are you bothering her? Can't you see your 'friendship' is interfering with the completion of her job; a job which directly coincides with the success of our mission? I think maybe it's time you two spend some time apart; you know, especially since she is 'not on the market', and we all know that is what you are really after." Monty scolded the boy, his attention not leaving his face for a single moment until finally he turned towards Carina with a small scoff; Amaury's face bright red with embarrassment and his fists clenched in anger. How could he say that, especially in front of her? That wasn't true; he wasn't looking to steal her away from him. Or… was he? No. No, that wasn't right. He wouldn't do that!
"Why don't you go do something useful and man your Zakum, Dietrich? We are about to enter Heaven's End's perimeter, and if for some reason that snake Kirun didn't transmit the authorization for our landing, we are going to be in for a fight." He instructed before the boy could form a reply, angered at Amaury's continuing opposition. With intense difficulty the boy's vision turned from Monty back to Carina as his heart pounded in his chest. What sort of damage did Monty just cause? He didn't think any of this really meant what Monty was insinuating, but deep down, was that the boys goal after all? His heart heavy with what the girl must think of him following Monty's accusation, his eyes shifted to the ground below them and after a moment he reluctantly saluted Monty and jumped from the platform, heading towards his temporary Zakum on the other side of the Gundam frame without a word.
Monty's vision followed him the whole time to prevent him from turning back around to speak to the girl, grinning in the victory he had created for himself in the form of their separation. Once the boy gained some distance from them, Monty turned back to Carina to speak, but she girl seized the initiative from underneath him and spoke first. The whole time the brief argument carried on she stared at them back and forth, but at Monty's mention of what Amaury was 'really after', her vision locked to the boy. On the market? Did Monty really believe that this was what Amaury sought from her? They were just friends; what appeared to be nearly best friends, but just friends all the same. She couldn't deny that this feeling she felt inside for the boy had led her to question what she too had wanted from this friendship of theirs, but she did not expect the boy to feel this way; if that were true. Was it true? Regardless, she was infuriated by Monty's behavior. "Why would you say that?" She questioned, stepping back from him a bit as a surprised look spread across his face.
"What do you mean?" He questioned, attempting to play innocent, but the girl wasn't buying it. Scowling to her boyfriend and commander, she turned to watch the boy as he drifted away towards his mobile suit, his eyes heavy as they drifted back to her momentarily over his shoulder. "What I mean is why are you being such an asshole Monty? He was just trying to help prepare his mobile suit, he… he wasn't trying to do anything else." She stated back in annoyance, turning to face Monty once more with her arms crossed as he did the same. "Really? Come on Carina, look at you; you are wearing his jacket for fuck's sake. Are you really going to tell me something isn't happening between you two right under my nose? I can see it; everyone can see it." He questioned as the girl looked down to the jacket, her face clearly as red as could be. Maybe he was right; maybe this wasn't just a friendship. But if it wasn't a friendship, that would mean it was something more. Is that what Amaury wanted? Is that what he truly desired? But Monty was right, she was in a relationship with him, no matter how lacking and incomplete it may be. Swallowing nervously, she looked back up to her commanding officer and cleared her throat. "Monty… I t-think we need to talk." She stuttered just as the General Quarters alarm began to play overhead.
"General Quarters, General Quarters. All hands to battle stations; standby for entrance to Heaven's Gate perimeter defense. Prepare to repel possible hostiles." The voice announced, this time much calmer than it had been two days previous. Knowing that this was not the time to fight any longer or discuss the matters she needed to, Carina took a deep breath and sighed, watching in the distance as Amaury climbed into his Zakum and closed the hatch. "Shall we continue this later?" Monty asked with a smug look, seeing now what truly was happening and knowing what to expect from what she was about to say, finding his little disruption rather comical. Since he first noticed the connection developing between the two of them he had begun rewriting his plan; inserting multiple contingencies for this exact situation had it come to fruition. While a minor setback, this would not ruin his plans. If anything it would make them a bit easier in the long run. Glaring back at the man beside her Carina placed her notebook under her arm and her hands in Amaury's jacket pockets before pushing away from Monty, floating towards the exit from the hanger, every bit of her being fighting the desire to chase after Amaury and apologize for Monty's behavior.
Entering through the initial perimeter towards Heaven's End the crews of both Bastille and Warsaw were placed on a General Quarters standby, just in case Lord Kirun had not been faithful to his word. The secret base was located within a rather thick asteroid belt to aid with detection as well as to disrupt incoming fleets who desired to attack; whether it be the authorities or renegade pirate factions. Upon entering the asteroid field itself it would take a few minutes until Heaven's End became clear to them; a rather tense few minutes for the crew, who remained on edge the entire time. After a few minutes, or what seemed like an eternity, they received an oddly welcoming transmission across their radio frequency.
"Cargo vessels Bastille and Warsaw, we've been expecting you. Welcome to Heaven's End. You are cleared to land at docks seven and nine; ground crews will be with you momentarily." The voice called, much to everyone's surprise. "Son of a bitch; Kirun kept his word." Tome called out with a smirk to the other pilots as Sam laughed. "These pirates have a very strange code of honor. You beat them in combat; they become your best friends. Right Amaury?" He questioned, turning his attention to the video screen to his right when his friend did not answer in a timely manner.
"Amaury?" He asked while the boy, knowing that Sam looked to him through their video connection, reached over and disabled his video feed; in no interest to chat at the moment. He did not intend to be rude to his friend, but he remained infuriated by Monty's behavior. He truly believed that he was trying to steal Carina from him, which to the boy's knowledge was not his plan. They were friends, and he wanted to be there by her side in the hanger working on that machine; wanting to spend time with her before by some course of fate it was all taken away. Thinking about it over and over made him start to believe in what Monty had said. Was he interested in her past their friendship? Even if he was, there was no way she could express these feelings back. There was no way such an intelligent woman could ever be interested in a street criminal like himself. It just couldn't happen. He had nothing to offer her, nothing to give her. Growing sicker to his stomach by the second his grip tightened on his controls while his teeth ground together in anger. At the same time, why did the thought of Carina remaining with Monty make him so angry? Why was he so infuriated by this? "Amaury, you there?" Sam questioned a third time, bringing Amaury back from his thoughts. He certainly was persistent, but the boy determined that it was best that he didn't risk taking his anger out on anyone else.
"I'm sorry Sam, I'm not in the mood to talk." He replied quietly while keeping his eyes on the doors to the hanger, knowing that although they had been granted clearance to land, they might still be in danger. "He's right Sam, stay focused; we might not be out of this yet." Geoff instructed in agreement with Amaury. He could tell from the boy's voice that something had happened, though he didn't understood entirely. "Sorry man." Sam replied as the ships began to progress deeper into the asteroid belt. Listening from a headset on the bridge Carina could hear the sadness that came across loud and clear in Amaury's voice. Clutching her chest with the boy's sweatshirt curled in her palm, she closed her eyes and frowned. She knew that this was partially her fault, but she still couldn't believe Monty would act in such a way. Insinuating that Amaury was the reason the Gundam wasn't done, telling him to keep his distance from her; it wasn't right; regardless if it was done as her commanding officer or her boyfriend.
He did not own her; she was free to do as she pleased. What she had once believed was the stress of his responsibility now turned into the fear that the power of his command had gone to his head, and she was sick of it. Her eyes stared at the back of Monty's head while he stood at the Bastille's captain's chair in disgust. He was so quick to claim she belonged to him, but when or where it really mattered he wanted nothing to do with her; unless he wanted a favor or a task done. As if sensing her eyes, Monty turned to her with a smirk, forcing the girl to look away towards the other side of the bridge where she now noticed Elise stood; her arms crossed as she looked over to her. Her stare was a bit unsettling, but after a moment the woman's appearance softened and she disappeared back into the ship.
Before long the crew watched as Heaven's End became visible through the asteroids, taken back by what they saw before them; a massive asteroid that from the outside was evident to have been hollowed out and a city built within its rocky hull. Structures that resembled skyscrapers shot out from various locations, and scattered across the surface multiple defensive hard points could be seen, as well as what appeared to be external drive yards for docking and ship repairs. A few of the crewman on the bridge stared in shock, including Monty whose grin beamed at the sight of the fortress city in front of them. "Well, I certainly didn't expect this; looks like for a gathering of criminals they must have some form of class." Monty stated, noticing the rather luxurious looking city before them. As they approached the two docks they were assigned to and slowly nudged their way forward until properly placed in the docking area; the facility grav-locks to the sides of their hull engaging and locking the two vessels. They wouldn't risk shooting down a vessel attached to their home; they made it. Standing down the General Quarters, the Mobile Suits on deck returned to their docking pays, and the pilots exited one at a time, approaching the nearest viewing port in the hanger's hull.
"Wow! Look at the place!" Sam exclaimed, seeing the city that outside of the Bastille; it's lights glowing bright against the darkness of the asteroid field. "This place is huge! I thought it was going to be a dump for sure." Tome added, gliding to a stop near the window and jokingly bumping Sam from the window. "Hey!" He exclaimed as she laughed, Geoff floating over as well to look out at what his subordinated gawked at. He had long heard of Heaven's End, but had never suspected this would be the great fortress of the pirate gangs. From the corner of his eyes he watched Amaury emerge from his Zakum, but instead of coming to the rest of the pilots, the boy floated off on his own, to where he did not know. Knowing that something greatly troubled the boy, he remained silent, instead turning to his two wingmen next to him. "Alright you two, stop lollygagging; we've got work to do." He instructed, floating towards the exit of the hanger as the two looked at each other and followed behind. There was much to be done, and not a whole lot of time to do it.
Exiting from the Bridge as the ship's engines dropped to a low idle, Carina turned to return to her quarters to think about what she had to tell Monty, as well as Amaury. This could not be allowed to continue; she had to break the tension before the weight of these feelings crushed her, or forced her to make a mistake that killed someone. Turning left and heading down into the Bastille, a hand reached out and grabbed her, pulling her into a side hallway. Turning to see who it was with a bit of anxiety, her eyes shot up to the long strands of blonde hair floating all around the tall woman in front of her. "Elise?" She asked, immediately wondering what sort of lecture she was about to receive from the woman who she already clashed with once before and had avoided since. "What do you want?" She questioned, not in the mood for any more fighting or drama, and true to Elise' portrayed demeanor, she simply stared to the girl for a moment analyzing the tone in her voice in annoyance. "We need to talk." She replied finally, motioning for Carina to follow her; the girl remaining still for a moment. Did she want to follow her? What could she possibly need to speak with her about? With a sigh, Carina decided to follow her without regard to their past encounter, knowing that if this stern, unfeeling woman reached out to her, it had to be something of importance.