Chapter 35

RedRat8- Char won't be taking part in negotiations. He's still a captain in the military and should have no reason to participate in the negotiations unless circumstances force him to do so. And I didn't think he really made Paraya a fool (Not that he needed to anyway.), he just used Paraya's misunderstanding of his motivations to his advantage.

Also, no offense, but that seems kind of a silly way to diverge from cannon. Not saying I won't use it, hell no, but it seems kind of foolhardy to rely on durability against a rival that has weaponry that can easily penetrate your armor with just a few shots, even with Luna Titanium, or with just one well-placed one and he can do it all with ease.

RoyalTwinFangs- This carmine will live. The others…I don't know.

R reyes- I didn't hate Paraya at all. Neither Quess, although I found her to be an insufferable brat along with Hathway. He's a coward, sure, but it seemed he had good intentions, which is something of a rarity in the Federation government when you're a higher up. To me, its his lack of understanding who Char is, at that point in time, and his beliefs that led to his demise.

I'm pretty sure that, since Amuro was the only one that actually saw him, he didn't report it in. Possibly in fear that the Federation or Zeon will capture him and try to make him advance their mobile suit technology, though they'll first have to fix his brain, which I'm not sure is possible. And given that Side 7 colony ran out of air and all surviviors were on White Base, I can assume that the Federation written off Tem as just another casualty of war, especially since it seemed that the entire Project V staff died in Side 7. And the Zeons probably didn't send anyone to Side 7 after Char reported in its decompression and the White Base. They probably would have been to busy with that ship to bother sending anyone to look for spare Project V parts.

Moonreaper666- Its written in the chapters, only up to five hundred ships are allowed to have Ais with all carriers being given one. Tianem will have one in his flagship for his superweapon and, at best, the ratio for mobile suits with AI and those that don't will be one to four. And you'll have to wait for the kill ratio when its revealed.

Look, the counter measures for Zeon will come in due time. With the foremost being Newtypes. And yes Gato will survive. Whether in one piece is up to me.

You let me worry about Axis and the Delaz fleet along with Char. As well as operation Stardust.

"Councilors." Started Grato as he looked at the council for the Riah Republics. "While I the utmost faith in your ability to lead your people, I must advise against you all in joining the Federation in the war against my people. If you choose to side with them, it'll be the first stepping stone for the Federation to strip you of your independence."

"And I suppose you have an alternative?" Asked a female councilor.

"Yes." Said Grato as he spoke up again. "First off, what will happen after the war is over? Do you expect the Federation to allow you to keep your independence? When the Federation had first started the Sides, they refused to give you all independence. It was only after that the Republic of Zeon had announced its independence that the very first independent side was made."

"And where are you going with this?" Asked another councilor, a brown-haired man with old-fashioned glasses. "They allowed you to keep your independence so long as you pay your taxes, never go to war with the Federation, and to have a Federation garrison nearby to ensure that you stay true to those terms given to you." Some grumbled at how unfair those terms were, but otherwise everyone kept silent.

"My point is that, councilor, the Federation doesn't like it when its subjects want independence from its rule." Said Grato. "I could understand the Federation wanting to have a garrison during the initial time period of the independence of Side 3. They could have removed their garrison after the first year of our independence, but they didn't. Instead they strengthened the garrison on Side 3, even though they claimed we have our independent and, as a result, not be subject to Federation authority." Grato then drank a glass of water.

"And that brings me to one of my points, councilors. The Federation is full of hypocrites and liars." Said Grato. "They claim to be looking out for humanity's best interest, but do those interests involve segregating Earthnoids and Spacenoids? Especially if most of those Spacenoids were from Earth in the first place? Then there's the fact that they still had forces in your Side even when you had your independence. It was only after the war started were they all pulled out and it was done because of the war, not because of some benign motive. They'll be back once the war ends. That is if the war ends with the Federation still around." Grato then took a deep breath. "So please, I beg of you all, don't join the Federation in the war. You'll only doom yourselves to further Federation tyranny. If Zeon wins, we will let you keep your independence. We'll even help you with whatever problems that you have in the future." With that Grato stopped. Once he did, the speaker spoke up.

"Thank you, ambassador, you've given us something to think over." Said the speaker before looking at the Federation ambassadors. "Now, ambassador Paraya, you have the floor." Gulping in fear, Paraya got up and spoke.

"Thank you, speaker." Said Paraya before looking at the entire Side 6 council. "Councilors, while my opposing ambassador has given some fine points about the Federation, I believe that supporting us in this war is still the better course of action for Side 6."

"And pray tell, how?" Asked a councilor in support of Zeon and Side 6's continued neutrality in this war. "We'd be sending our men and women to their deaths in a war that doesn't affect us in any way shape or form. We'd just trade with the winner of the conflict."

"But wouldn't it be better if the Federation won?" Asked Paraya as he spoke out to everyone. "Grato has brought up several points in the Federation history. Some of which are quite terrible." Paraya spoke that last sentence with such regret that made some people believe he actually genuinely regretted the corruption and the previous wrongdoings of the Federation. Before anyone could decide if it was Paraya simply acting, the man spoke up again. "But what he doesn't account for is the future economy of Side 6 should Zeon win. And all the Sides for that matter." All the councilors rose an eyebrow at that.

"What do you mean by that, ambassador?" Asked another councilor, a dark-skinned man that was starting to show his age. "By all accounts, we enjoyed lucrative trade with Side 3 for quite a long time. Not as profitable as trading with Earth, but still lucrative. How would Zeon winning this war be detrimental for us and the other sides?" Paraya cleared his throat before speaking.

"Well, I will not deny that Zeon has good exports in many areas, it has to be because it's so far away from Earth, it doesn't take into account the costs of war that the Zeons are no doubt trying to hide." Said Paraya. "I won't deny that the Federation is in debt, financing the amount of men and ships we have along with those that were requested to face the Zeons, but it's still manageable and will for years to come. The Zeons, however, never had a military to begin with nor a military budget. Their defense budget alone isn't enough to pay for all the ships and personal they had at the beginning of the war, not without massive loans. I imagine the Principality is struggling to pay all their soldiers along with death gratuity pay for the families that lost their loved ones in this war."

Everyone hummed in thought of that. It was true that the Zeons initial defense budget was only enough to afford enough ships and personal to defend their Side. To pay for all the new ships, personal, and R&D costs must have caused them to borrow heavily from corporations within Side 3. As the councilors were thinking of this, Grato looked at Paraya.

"And you're Federation isn't suffering the same problems?" Challenged Grato. Straightening his tie, Paraya spoke.

"As I said, the Federation is in debt in order to pay and feed our soldiers as well as building and maintaining our warships. However, due to tax revenue from the sides, along with trade, we're still able to pay back all our debt within a reasonable time frame. The same, however, cannot be the same for Zeon, I imagine." Grato sneered at Paraya, knowing that the ambassador was right.

In order to help pay for all the new Zeon military, they had to cut back on certain items, like food for their front-line troops. They also had to lower recruitment standards in order to have enough soldiers to both replace and fill in roles within the battlefield, which is why some Zeon soldiers were fifteen years old. Then there was the famous "Zeon is exhausted" speech from Revil, who told every single human being in the solar system about the major problems Zeon had after the battle of Loum and their struggle to replace all manpower and ships they lost from that battle, which further added to their debt to certain companies like Zeonic.

Though the Zabi family assured both the military and populace the debt will be solved after the war, some economists feared that Side 3 will face severe economic problems even if they won the war as they're running dangerously close to being unable to repay the debt without printing massive amount of money, thus causing massive inflation problems for Zeon and their money system.

Before Grato could think of a counter argument to Paraya's point, the speaker spoke.

"Thank you, ambassadors, you've given us something to think about in terms of Side 6's economic prospects. For now, though we like to focus on another matter. Why should Side 6 ally with people that committed vile war crimes and atrocities to the human race." The speaker then turned to Grato. "As you know ambassador, your people had, more or less, completely destroyed Side 5, leaving the people there without a home, essentially making them refugees. Then there's the fact that your military attacked the other Sides as well, killing billions of civilians. Then there's the fact that Zeon attempted to launch a nuclear missile, despite it being banned by the Antarctic treaty. Why should we ally with a people that has committed so many war crimes against humanity?" Seeing he was on the floor, Grato spoke.

"I know of the atrocities you speak of, speaker, and I can't deny that they are horrible actions done by Principality's military, but you must understand we did it to bring a swift end to the war. It'd be better for millions to die instead of billions. Don't you…"

Grato was then interrupted when a councilor slammed his fist on his desk before going up on his feet.

"You dare to justify the destruction of an entire Side, along with most of its inhabitants, as a way to save more lives!?" Demanded the councilor, glaring at Grato with hate in his eyes. Some other councilors agreed with the sentiment, a bit angry that Grato had tried to justify the destruction of Side 5.

"A poor choice of words, councilor. I apologize." Said Grato, quick in his attempt to diffuse the situation. "I completely understand your anger with the Principality's military decisions at the onset of the war, but I implore you understand. If the war continued, many more would have died. That was why our top military officials destroyed Side 5. It was a regrettable act, but our top analysts believed it was the best course of actions for Zeon. An extended war with the Federation would have cost humanity more lives, as you all know."

"That is still justification for what you did to Side 5, ambassador Grato." Pointed out a blond-haired woman with glasses as she glared at Grato. "Side 5, while loyal to the Federation and was between the moon and Earth, was no threat to your mission for independence. Even if it was in your military goal to invade Earth at some point, you didn't need to utterly decimate the Side, leaving only a few working colonies and nearly ninty-five percent of the Side's population dead." Other councilors grumbled in agreement.

"I know." Said Grato, bowing his head in submission. "We didn't need to destroy Side 5. It was a terrible decision from our military high command. Our own populace was enraged to hear that we destroyed a fellow Side in our war for independence. The uproar was so great that Dozle Zabi, the admiral in charge of the battle of Loum, to publicly apologize to our people in a broadcast that was meant for Side 3 inhabitants only. He even went to his knees to apologize, showing his humility." He then turned to Paraya and Kowen. "Something I think none of the Federation admirals are capable of doing."

Paraya shuffled his legs in discomfort while Kowen stayed silent, not rising up to the bait. With no reaction from them, Grato looked at the councilors again.

"When this war ends, I promise you, I will do everything I can to ensure that reparations are given to Side 5's surviving inhabitants. Zeon will even pay the reconstruction of Side 5 in its entirety." Promised Grato.

"How are you planning to pay such a thing?" Asked a councilor with brown hair. "Your struggling to afford your military. How can we expect you to keep that promise?"

"Simple." Said Grato. "With the war over, we no longer need a powerful military. All we need is enough forces to defend our territory and interests. The excess military funds can be used in the reconstruction of Side 5." While some councilors were convinced with that, others were not, suspecting that Zeon was more bankrupt than Grato was letting on.

"And as for the nuclear missile launch during the fighting at Odessa, the commander in charge, M'Quve, would have faced vast charges for his violation of the Antarctic treaty. That is, if he hadn't committed suicide. I was told that we would have given him over to the Federation to show that we take any violation of the Antarctic treaty seriously."

"And why did this M'Quve commit suicide?" Asked another female councilor. "Based on his public records, he doesn't seem the type to commit suicide over such a decision."

"I would not know, madam councilor." Said Grato. "I've never met the man, so I wouldn't know why he would do such a thing." The councilors looked at each other, whispering amongst themselves. Eventually, one of them spoke.

"We'll discuss this further later." Said another councilor, a man of African descent, before looking at Paraya. "Now it's the Federation's turn. While the Federation hasn't committed any war crimes that are as massive in scope as the Zeons, you still have several companies made up of teenagers in your service. The foremost being the Moore brotherhood." The man than brought up a file.

"Based on our intelligence, this company is composed of either volunteers or conscripted teenagers, with the oldest being in their twenties. This company is barely trained and lack the equipment given to ordinary companies. To make matters worse, they're all from Side 4, refugees from destroyed colonies. Rather than try to find them a home, the Federation took all of them, volunteer or otherwise, and set them up for a rushed training session that lasted only two weeks. Then there's the fact that are rumors abound that your most powerful mobile suit, a white mobile suit with a V fin, is piloted by a teenager. Why did you do this when you already have sufficient soldiers to repel the Zeons and pilot your weapons of war?" Asked the councilor, looking at the Federation envoy with anger in his eyes.

Paraya, shuffled his feet in nervousness, having no knowledge of the Moore brotherhood nor the White Base itself. As a result, he looked at Kowen, who then stood up.

"I won't sugarcoat this, councilors." Said Kowen. "The Moore brotherhood is one of many reasons why you would want not to ally with the Federation. Initially, the Moore brotherhood was meant to be a volunteer only company, made up from displaced people from Side 4, after Zeon attacked it, but when command saw how few were volunteering and how much they needed more soliders, they forced many teens to join the Moore brotherhood, either through promises of money or revenge against the Zeons for destroying their home." Stunned by Kowen's honesty, some councilors were looking at him with surprise and shock. They knew Kowen was an honest man, but they didn't expect him to reveal the truth of the Moore brotherhood, which was given to them by the few Federation officers that were native to Side 6.

"And once this war is over, will the Moore brotherhood be disbanded?" Asked the councilor that started the conversation about the Moore brotherhood. "Along with your other underaged divisions?" Kowen just sighed. Much as he wanted the Moore brotherhood to disband, along with other, mostly teen companies, he knew that he didn't have the power to do so. The Moore brotherhood, and other teen companies, were under the command of Gene Coliny, a stubborn Federation traditionalist that hated Revil and his cohorts for their attempts to change the Federation and its policies. If he wanted to disband those companies, Kowen needed to place a request to the military high command and the Federation council while also having a good argument on doing so. Closing his eyes, Kowen told them all the truth.

"I can't make that promise, councilor Adam. I may be an admiral in the Federation space force, but I don't have the authority to disband all those underaged divisions, all of whom are placed under the command of another admiral. The best I can promise now is that we'll give them all the necessary post war reparations to them for their service in the Federation, whether forced to or otherwise, as well as their future disbandment. That is if they don't want to leave the military." He then sighed again. "I'll be honest, I don't expect Side 6 to join the Federation in fighting the Zeons. We've made numerous mistakes over the many decades that the Federation existed. We unfairly taxed the Sides, given them no representation or say in the Federation council, and treated them like dirt over the stupid notion of Earthnoids being superior to Spacenoids. At times, I thought of retiring and becoming a leader in the Side 6 defense force, but…" Kowen then took off his hat and looked at it.

"I have hope that the Federation can become what it is meant to be. A government that can succeed in uniting humanity under a single organization. To succeed where the UN failed to do. We just need the right people in charge in order to make that hope a reality." He then looked at everyone. "So, I'm begging you all. Help us fight the Zeons, even if it's just using Side 6 as a base of operations for our forces. Because if Zeon wins, then their way of doing things will only further divide the Sides and Earth amongst each other." After Kowen was done, he put his hat back on and sat next to Bright and Paraya, both of whom were stunned by his speech.

A bit stupefied by Kowen's speech, the Side 6 council recovered and looked amongst themselves. After a few minutes, councilor Adams spoke.

"A naïve dream, Kowen, but admirable." Said Adams as he looked at Kowen. "But dreams do not affect our decision to ally with either the Federation or Zeon. We're looking at logical, economical, and moral reasons for us to join either side in this conflict. We're not here to discuss the future reconstruction of the Federation after this war is over." Coughing a bit, Adam looked at both parties.

"However, you've given us all some things to ponder on and think about. You are all dismissed. We'll summon you when we've made our decision." With that the councilors all got up and began to leave. As they were leaving, the envoy for the Federation spoke amongst themselves.

"Well, that could have gone better for us." Said Paraya as he drank a glass of water. "I've never been so nervous before in my life."

"Don't worry, ambassador, you've done a good job." Said Bright. "It's all up to the Side 6 council now to decide."

"Indeed." Said Kowen. "If they side with us, it'll bring this war to a quicker end. If they side with Zeon, it'll make this war last longer. And I don't think any of us wanted that." Paraya and Bright nodded in agreement.

"A question, if I may sir." Said Bright. Nodding his head, Kowen allowed Bright to speak. "Did you really believe your home Side will not ally with the Federation?" Sighing, Kowen nodded.

"Yes. As I said before, the Federation has done a lot of bad things in its lifetime. Some that are not exactly for the benefit of the colonies." Said Kowen. "Some that I tried to fight, but couldn't stop in time." He then sighed before drinking a glass of water, drinking it all in one go. "Some of those things affected Side 6 quite a bit. I imagine some of the older councilors still remember them and hold a grudge against us." Bright looked at the ground at that.

"Are there enough of those to drastically affect the decision?" Asked Bright. Kowen shrugged.

"Possibly." Said Kowen. "That's why we need another reason for the Side 6 council to join us. To give us a better shot." He then looked at Paraya. "Is there anything that can help us?" Paraya just rubbed his neck.

"Well, its just a rumor, but I've heard that the Zeons used nuclear space mines to cover their escape from Earth." Said Paraya, recalling a conversation he overheard while he was making his preparation to leave Earth.

"Really?" Asked Kowen in surprise. "I'll need to speak with high command of this right away. Follow me." With that Kowen got up to leave. Seeing him get up, the other two Federation envoys got up and followed him.

As they walked, Bright wondered what his crew was doing.

Chan

Amuro Ray's room

"So," Started Chan as she sat on Amuro's bed, stroking Amuro's back as he finished his story of meeting his dad, tears falling down his face. "Your father is still alive, but…he's not all there."

"Yeah." Said Amuro after sniffling a bit. "He said that he was jettisoned out of Side 7 during the fighting there. And during the process, his helmet broke. So, I could only guess that he has permanent brain damage." He then buried his face in his hands. "He's only focused on the Gundam and nothing else now. He's a shell of what he once was." With that, he cried again, thinking of how far gone his father was now.

Chan, who had been hearing it all out, just stroked Amuro's back as she embraced her boyfriend. Though she knew that they had a somewhat distance relationship, Amuro still loved his dad and it hurt him that he was so far gone from what he used to be.

"Amuro, I'm so sorry." Said Chan as she looked at her boyfriend's back. "Your father may not be the best man, from what you described him to me, but it sounds like he did care for you in his own way. It's a cruel fate that he's so damaged now." Amuro just nodded as he stopped crying and looked at Chan.

"I know." Said Amuro as he rubbed his tears away. "We weren't close, but its not fair that he's what he is now. If only I was skilled enough to disable the Zakus without them exploding, maybe dad wouldn't be what he is now. Maybe if I didn't pilot the Gundam in the first place, nothing would have happened to him." Chan frowned at that.

"Amuro, you know that's not true." Said Chan. "If you didn't get into the Gundam, even with Vega alone piloting it, more people would have died from the Zeon attacks. From what Vega told me about it, the Zeons didn't discriminate in their slaughter. They just kept shooting and destroying everything in Side 7. Even if Vega destroyed them both, the destruction could have been more devastating."

"You don't know that, Chan." Said Amuro as he looked away. "Vega could have disabled them both without destroying them and he could have handled Char the first time they met. All I've been was a burden to him." Not wanting him to be sucking more, Chan slapped Amuro in the cheek, light enough to not impose lasting damage, but forceful enough to get her message across. As he looked at his girlfriend in shock, Chan placed her hands on Amuro's cheeks.

"Stop doubting yourself." Said Chan, looking at him with pleading eyes. "Your right, Vega may have done all those things by himself, but that doesn't make you any less relevant than him. What if Char survived his first encounter with the Gundam? What if he continued in surviving? Eventually, he would have been able to take down Vega because, without you, he can't think outside the box or think about the importance of the bond between an artificial intelligence and a human pilot." She then began to stroke Amuro's injured cheek. "I'm not saying you're wrong in what you're saying. I'm saying that to not just focus on what could happen without you in the helm of Gundam. Because there are other outcomes that can happen if you weren't the pilot of Gundam, some better than what we have now, others far worse than what we got." She then let go of Amuro and looked away.

"If you don't believe me, you can go ask Vega. He can help you with convincing yourself of your worth." Said Chan as she looked back at Amuro and held his hand. "But once you're done wallowing in your self-doubt, come find me. We should go on a date while here." With that, Chan got up and left, leaving Amuro alone to contemplate his thoughts. Holding the cheek that Chan slapped, Amuro thought on her words and their validity.

Side 6 council

Assembly building

"It's clear to me, along with most of you, that the Federation is a far better ally than the Zeons currently." Said councilor Kimball as he looked at his fellow councilors, who were debating amongst themselves on which side to join in this conflict. All the Side 6 councilors that held great amount of influence with the other councilors were in a large corporate room, complete with a large round table. All the others had already chosen who to side with or were on the fence and waiting for their judgement, trusting their decision. With them were several economists, PR relations officials, and military strategist/officials. They were all there to help the councilors decide on what to do concerning Side 6's role in the current war.

So far, they were all arguing with each other. Kimball and a handful of others were on the side of the Federation, representing the majority, while Edward represented the few that wanted to join the Principality. Both men were ideologically opposed to one another.

Kimball, a brown-haired man with a square face, was a man that much preferred the Federation over the Principality for all economic and protection benefits such an alliance can give Side 6. While the Side 6 defense fleet did a remarkably job in protecting Side 6 and its interests, the added benefit of having the Federation space force protecting Side 6 would ensure that no pirate would ever endanger Side 6 again. If there was anything that got the Federation's attention, it would be a danger to its ability to making money. That and trade with the Federation was far more lucrative than trade with the Principality. Some may not want to say it, but trade with the Federation was always more profitable than trade with the Principality. Sometimes as much as four times as much than what they get with trade with Side 3. The man didn't care if they lost Side 6 independence as a result of siding with the Federation, who will most likely want them back into their fold, but as long as Side 6 is economically happy for its citizens and they don't have to worry about pirate attacks, then he would be satisfied.

Edward, however, was the opposite of Kimball. A man that was in his eighties, he saw the Principality as a much better alternative to the Federation. In his advance age, he saw countless examples of Federation negligence and corruption. What he had seen, both during his time as a teen and an adult, has made him believe that the Federation is a doomed state. That it would be better to create a new federal government over the current one they have. Even though he looked down upon the Zeon's attempts of genocide and their nuclear missile fiasco, he saw those acts as the Federation's fault due to their past corruption and negligence. And while he's supporting the less popular choice amongst both the council and the populace, he still has some sway over the people, though whether its enough to give Zeon the support they need is up to debate. Nonetheless. he was currently arguing with everyone on who to support in this war.

"I disagree." Said councilor Edward, a Zeon supporter, glaring at Kimball, who glared back. "Zeon is a far better choice. Not only are they fighting a noble cause, they aren't as corrupt as the Federation is. Even if the Federation won, there will always be corrupt individuals in that Earthnoid supremist government. Far too many for my tastes." A few nodded in agreement at that, mostly the councilors that held their positions for a long time. Others, however, disagreed.

"Even if that's the case, they've never been that much of a problem to Side 6." Said Kimball. "Sure, there have been no representation for us in the Federation main council, but we've been protected well by their military. Very little pirate activity has been found in our territory when we were under the Federatin's jurisdiction and the few times that pirates have been a problem, the Federation has dealt with them harshly. Plus, we get lucrative trade from Earth in the form of minerals, animals, and food that can't be produced in space as of yet. All this in exchange for a tithe of money and resources that can easily be done away with." Edward glared at Kimball for his answer.

"You may not see it, Kimball, but the Federation is a cesspool where those Earth elitists can oppress us Spacenoids, simply because we live in space." Said Edward. "Zeon is, in the long run, a far better choice than the Federation, despite its current leadership."

"Are you insane, Edward?!" Demanded Kimball as he looked at Edward with shock and disbelief in his face. "The Principality is run by a single family, whose family members all have great influence in the political and military systems of their government. You want a government that promotes that old, archaic, system over a system that, albeit flawed, allows people to have a chance to become a voice in the government?" Edward waved his hand at that.

"If it means that we can be rid of the Federation's corruption, yes, I would support such a thing." Said Edward, glaring at Kimball. "Unlike you, who would rather sacrifice his freedom so he could have some extra coin in his pocket." Upon hearing that, Kimball was about to launch a punch when Adam stopped them both.

"Enough." Said Adams, glaring at the two, forcing them to stop. "Behave or I'll have the both of you removed from this room. We're here to discuss the very future for Side 6 and I won't have it delayed by politicians that refuse to cooperate simply because of differing views and are willing to exert to physical violence to settle said differing views." Upon seeing them tense up, but eventually calm down, Adams spoke again. "Now, let's try to give even more points to each side. Though both ambassador parties gave good reasons for us to support either faction, I believe we need to elaborate them more so we can make a good, educated, decision." He then turned to one of the economic analysts in the room, a pot-bellied man with brown hair and eyes. "Mr. Bray, what do you bring to the table?" Bray coughed a bit before speaking.

"Well, economically speaking, we only benefit siding with either the Principality or the Federation once this war is over." Said Bray before bringing up a clipboard with some documents. "That being said, there is the possibility of the Federation placing higher taxes and even tariffs on us after this war is over. They'll need a lot of money to help rebuild both Earth, their military, and the damaged Sides. While they are rich, the amount of money and resources needed to even rebuild half of the infrastructure destroyed in this war will be beyond the Federation's ability to pay it all, not without transferring some of the military budget to reconstruction and support from the colonies in the form of manpower and taxes. And considering they're unlikely to do cut costs with their military, they'll likely impose some high taxes on us." That caused some councilors to grumble and look at each other.

While the Federation was unable to tax them much during Side 6's time of independence, they still had to deal with any tariffs on any trading they did with the Sides loyal to the Federation and Earth itself. And if they side with the Federation, its highly likely they'll increase those tariffs once this war is over, just so they can pay for all the damage that has been done in this war.

"Can't they get that money from Side 3?" Asked Kimball. Bray shook his head.

"Even if they strip anything and everything of value from Side 3, it still won't be enough to rebuild what's been lost in this war. And if they did that, there'll be rioting from Side 3 and the other sides for such an act. So, unless the Federation wants another war on its hands, it stands to reason they'll raise taxes to help pay for all the damage wrought from this war."

"How high?" Asked Adams, looking at the economist with serious eyes.

"A fifteen percent increase at least." Said Bray, causing a lot to shift their weight in discomfort. Edward smirked in satisfaction at that, seeing something that he can use to convince the others to vote in siding with Zeon.

"Side 3 would never do such a thing." Said Edward. "They, like us, have suffered from high Federation taxes. They know the risks of such a thing. Plus, if they win, we'll never have to suffer from Federation taxes ever again." While that made some people swoon over to the Zeons, others weren't so convinced, seeing such a thing bad as it could lead to some unforeseen consequences for humanity, but they opted to not express those thoughts.

"While I do agree that, should they win, we'll never have to suffer Federation taxes, I don't believe we should help the Zeons." Said Kimball. "They may have had an initial advantage over the Federation with their mobile suits, but now the Federation has their own and they are steamrolling the Zeon military with ease."

"Only because they won those battle on Earth, where they have had the home field advantage." Argued Edward. "In space, its been proven time and time again that the Zeons have the advantage in space, which is where the war will be won."

"How?" Asked Kimball, stunned at Edward's answer. "If you're referring to the beginning of the war, then you need to get your facts straight. It was only because of the mobile suit did the Zeon military have a chance at the beginning of the war. And during the very height of this war, at the battle of Loum, they nearly lost all of their ships while the Federation suffered the lost of a single fleet. One of their biggest, albeit, but the Federation still had thousands of warships left after that battle, compared to barely Zeon, which nearly lost half of their ships in the first half of the war. I don't think that is a good indication of their fighting prowess in space. Then there's the fact that the Federation has begun making their own mobile suits and have already mass produced thousands of mobile suits. Its only a matter before they produce tens of thousands of these new GM mobile suits. And let's not talk about their recent AI forces. That alone can turn the tide of battle for the Federation."

"All that means nothing." Said Edward. "All the Principality has to do is inflict so many casualties to the Federation that the Federation council has to surrender, lest they want to deal with both the Principality and an uprising from their citizens." Before Kimball could argue with Edward, another councilor spoke up.

"If I may intercede, I believe I could give us points that can help us all choose who to vote for." Said councilor Anabel, the councilor that pointed out the flaw in Grato's claim that Side 5's destruction was necessary. "While it is true that inflicting extensive enough damage is all the Zeons need to do and that the Federation can endure quite a bit of damage still, we aren't focusing on another matter and that's Zeon's own corruption. There have been disturbing reports from our informants that Side 3's government has a fair share of corrupt individuals in its ranks, some that are in positions of power in their military and government. Case in point, Gihren Zabi has recently been advocating the superiority of Side 3's populace over other Spacenoids." She then looked at her fellow councilors. "I don't know about you, but I think Kowen is right. If Zeon wins, I don't believe they'll seek just their independence. They'll want dominance over the other Sides and Earth, regardless if we want it or not."

"And what makes you believe that, Anabel?" Said Edward, glaring at Anabel, who ignored the glare.

"Well, my contacts in Side 3 have informed me of several of several speeches that Gihren made that are secret to all outside of Side 3. Those speeches are all about Spacenoid superiority over the Earthnoids, so if any of you are hoping that Zeon doesn't have a Spacenoid supremist in its ranks, you'll be sadly disappointed. And some of them, quite shocking, emphasizes that Side 3 is superior to all other Sides." Anabel then sighed. "There's also disturbing rumors going around that Gihren is planning to expand the Zeon military even further once they plunder Earth of all its wealth, at the foremost a mega-carrier that rivals even the Jupiter energy ships in size. Mind you these are rumors and can be easily dispelled with proper evidence, but it's still worth mentioning." The other councilors looked at each other, mumbling about that.

"This is all well and good, but we're also missing some important factors to our decision." Said Adams before looking at one of the non-councilors in the room with them, particularly admiral Jin, the admiral in charge of the defense group tasked with defending the capital, along with military analyst Kim. "Admiral Jin and analyst Kim, what do either of you believe is the right side for Side 6 to join in this war. The Earth Federation or the Principality of Zeon?" Admiral Jin straightened himself before speaking.

"Well I would say that neutrality is a better option, but given what analyst Kim has told me, it appears that we have no choice but to choose the side. The problem is that both have their merits and downs. But in terms of military reasons, I believe siding with the Federation is the right course of action." Said the admiral. Adams then looked at Kim, who nodded.

"It's true, councilor." Said analyst Kim as she gave the councilor a clipboard with a bunch of papers. "Our top analysts have run the numbers at least ten times and there's no denying it. With the recent loss of Odessa, the expungement of their forces on Earth, and the confirmed deaths of several of their top officers and pilots, the Principality's likelihood of stopping the Federation from conquering Side 3 is at a low percentage of fifteen percent, especially given how uncaring most Federation officers are towards the lives of their subordinates. But even then, they won't lose no more than ten percent more of their total forces, which will lower if Revil and other, more level-headed officers take the reins of big operations. Based on our analyses, the Federation is the most likely to win the war, even if we side with Zeon." That sentence alone convinced many of the councilors that were on the fence of who to support to voting for the Federation, but Edward wasn't giving up just yet.

"Can Zeon win the war?" Asked Edward, looking at the analyst, who pursed her lips.

"Well, if they somehow manage to get the support of the other sides and have some unforeseen ace in their sleeves, then theoretically they could." Said Kim. "But either is unlikely as the ace Zeon needs to win would be so large that it'll be nearly impossible for them to hide it without either us or the Federation knowing it. Then there's the fact that, even if the other Sides join their side, the amount of casualties fighting the Federation would be catastrophic for us all, even if we win. Then there will be the repercussion from the Federation if they won and we sided with the Principality. I guarantee you the repercussions will not be light." The other councilors grumbled at that, Edward amongst them.

"Thank you, analyst." Said Adams before he looked over at everyone. "So, that's it. One has a very large chance of winning this war, but also comes with guaranteed tax increases should they win, while another won't give us any sort of taxes, but has proven to be, for lack of a better word, evil and willing to sacrifice countless others to achieve their goals, no matter what rules they break. And in just a few hours, we have to make a choice on who to support." Upon seeing his fellow councilors nodding their heads, Adams sighed and told them all that they'll take a break to both sort their thoughts and to relax a bit. Perhaps it could do them some good.

Once everyone was gone, Adams sat in a chair and groaned to himself.

"Things were so much simpler back during the start of this war." Said Adams as he brought out a flask from his dress shirt. Uncorking it, he drank its contents as he thought of what to do when the council made its decision and how to best prepare Side 6 for said decision.

Later

Char

"Are you sure, ambassador?" Said Char as he drove the electric car that he borrowed from the Zeon embassy to his destination. To his disappointment, Grato expressed his thoughts that the Side 6 council will side with the Federation.

"Positive, captain." Said Grato. "I just got a call from one of the councilors that were supportive to an alliance with the Principality. It appears most are being swayed or deciding to join the Federation and their oppressive ways rather than joining our righteous cause. They're too scared of the repercussions of their Side joining us."

Char pursed his lips at that. To be honest, he expected this sort of thing. Back during the initial fighting in the war, Zeon had asked Side 6 if they would support them militarily in their fight for independence.

The council, scared of the loss of life and leaving themselves vulnerable to pirate attacks, Side 6 refused and opted to remain neutral, consolidating their forces in one region of space. A few officers called them cowards, but Char can see why they did so.

They had no reason to fight. They had no reason to go against the Federation. The Federation while corrupt, wasn't too incompetent in governing. So long as the Sides paid their taxes on time, didn't question their legitimacy, nor try to rebel, then the Federation will generally leave them alone, even if a lot of their politicians and military officers saw themselves as superior to Spacenoids, something that angered some Spacenoids like his father.

But that wasn't enough to make Side 6 or the other Sides to go to war. They chafe when the Federation increased taxes or have federal forces in their territory, but that was all the Sides can take. Heck, during his father's reign, though he led his people to protest against Federation control over the colonies, he still wanted to have peaceful relations with them, seeing a war with the Federation as something that should be avoided at all costs, lest humanity will suffer greatly.

But the Zabis, curse them, didn't see it the war his father did. No, they waged war in order to procure the superiority of Spacenoids over Earthnoids and to plunder Earth of all its riches.

Much as he wanted to go and kill the Zabis, all of them, he knew now wasn't the time. No, if the Federation won, the repressions and demands from the Federation will destroy Zeon, destroying his home Side and that was something that he couldn't allow. So, much to his distaste, he had to continue to support the Zabis in order to protect his home.

Unfortunately, even his efforts may be in vain, because it seems that Side 6 is deciding to join the Federation in this war. And with them, the other surviving Sides.

"Unfortunate." Said Char. "*Sighs* We tried our best, ambassador, but it appears this was a fight doomed to fail from the very start. Still, as men, we must be there and face our failure with dignity. If only to save face."

"Indeed." Agreed Grato. "The council's decision will be made public in two hours. I'll be there to witness their foolish decision. I'm sorry, captain. I've failed our nation." With that, the ambassador ended the call.

"Not as much as I did, ambassador." Thought Char as he arrived to his destination. "After all, I'm still serving under the people that murdered my father, our true leader." Turning off the car and parking it, he got out and walked to the lone house that inhabited the area he was in.

It was one of the colonies many parks, filled with grass and a beautiful lake in the center. Rarely was there ever a house near such parks, but on this occasion, an exception was made for the sole inhabitant of the house, who was special beyond measure.

Getting closer, Char could see the sole inhabitant and smiled.

"Lalah, enjoying the scenery again?" Asked Char as he went up the porch of the house and looked at his friend. Looking at Char, Lalah smiled at him and nodded.

"Its just so peaceful captain." Said Lalah as she looked back at the crystal-clear water of the lake. "Its just so peaceful here. I'm happy that Side 6 allowed me to stay so close to the park. Its so calm and assuring." Char nodded at that, knowing that the Flanagan Institute paid a considerable sum to allow the house to be build. Some may consider it too much, but considering the power Lalah held, many saw it as a worthwhile investment, especially since her Newtype powers seem to work the best when she was calm.

"I can tell, Lalah." Said Char, sensing her calm even when he was miles away from her. His Newtype powers are serving him well it seemed. "As much as I want you to enjoy this peace, I'm afraid its time. Zeon needs you." Upon hearing that, Lalah frowned and her calm aura disappeared, replaced by one of sadness.

"I have to kill people, won't I?" Asked Lalah. Char just nodded before placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm afraid so, Lalah. Such is the price of war." Said Char. "But don't worry. If you ever feel bad about it, come to me and we'll talk. It always help to talk about your problems instead of letting them bottle up, okay." Lalah nodded at that.

"There'll be no more tests, right?" Asked Lalah, worried that she'll have to do more tests, like back in Zeon and Luna. Char shook his head.

"No. No more tests. I'll make sure of that." Said Char, remembering all those tests the Flanagan Institute did to them and all Newtype potential candidates. Out of all of them, only Char and Lalah were able to awaken their Newtype powers, although Lalah's were already awakened so there was no need for her to go through the more…painful tests. Char, however, through sheer perseverance and a love of Lalah, endured and awakened his powers.

The others weren't as lucky, either going into a vegetable state or dying from the tests and experiments the scientists did to them. Fearing the backlash from such experiments, the Zabis forbid any intel of the tests to be released to the public and to falsify the cause of death for the other Newtype candidates. There were still people on the list that were unaccounted for, whether they were stuck on Earth, in a patrol ship, or were sent to Jupiter to acquire Helium-3 from the Jupiter energy fleet, so there was hope that there will be enough Newtypes to save Zeon from the Federation.

For now, they're stuck with Lalah and Char.

"Thank you, captain. I can always count on you." Said Lalah with a smile before looking back at the lake. Can we stay here for a bit? I'd like to stare at the lake for a while longer." Char nodded before looking at the lake with her. Though he detested she would be out in combat, he was happy that she was close to him again. There was an aura around Lalah that calmed him a great deal. And calm was what he needed if he wanted to beat the Gundam and its pilot.

Amuro

Hanger

"And she left, leaving me to my thoughts." Said Amuro as he looked at Vega, who was looking at him. "What do you think?"

"I believe her argument has merits, Amuro." Said Vega, speaking freely. The other AIs were all in the other hanger, letting the two speak in private and Fulcrum assured them that he won't spy on them, out of respect of privacy. "While I may have had far more success in our first battles, that effectiveness would have disappeared quick." Curious, Amuro looked at Vega.

"What do you mean?" Asked Amuro as he looked at his friend, wondering how he would lose his effectiveness rather quickly.

"Predictability." Said Vega. "As you no doubt know, I always recommend the most logical and effective course of action to take first. While this would be fine against the normal rank and file trooper, aces like Char Aznable and Ramba Ral would be able circumvent this and be able to defeat me. If there one thing that I know about humans, its that you have an uncanny ability to defeat impossible odds. Your history is filled with them." Amuro, still not convinced, but a bit hopeful, looked at Vega.

"You sure?" Asked Amuro.

"I won't lie to you, Amuro, not with something like this." Said Vega as he inched closer to his pilot. "I'm sure that doctor Whitley would be a better candidate for this, but I assure you. Even if it meant that I would be more effective without you as a pilot, I would still not go into battle without you. You're my friend and my pilot. Without you, I don't think I would have learned the value of a friend." He tilted his head. "I also recommend that you to not delve into the past and regrets. I do not know if this is right, but its important to acknowledge you could have done better, but its equally as important to not let that acknowledgement to descend you to self-doubt. Am I correct?" Amuro, in tears, nodded before smiling at his AI partner.

"Yeah, you shouldn't." Said Amuro as he wiped the tears away. "Sorry for crying. Guess I'm not the man I should be."

"Tears are a simple and natural reaction to extreme amounts of sadness and happiness. You should not be ashamed about crying." Said Vega. Amuro chuckled a bit at that.

"You would be surprised with humans, Vega. Some of us see it as being a baby." Said Amuro.

"Then you humans are even stranger than I originally thought." Said Vega, causing Amuro to chuckle again. "Anyway, I recommend you take Chan to a date. As an apology and way to show that you are alright now." Amuro nodded at that, agreeing with Vega.

"I just need to find her." Said Amuro. Upon hearing that, Vega held up the Gundam's right hand.

"No need." Said Vega before bringing his left hand to the Gundam's cockpit. Before Amuro could say anything, he heard the cockpit opening and before he knew it, Chan was on the left Gundam hand, smiling a bit.

"You two planned this, didn't you?" Accused Amuro after recovering from the shock as Chan went next to him.

"Forgive the deception. She put me up to it." Said Vega as he looked at his friends. "Have fun in your date and don't spend too much money, otherwise you'll both get slapped by Bright. I heard its painful."

"Oh I heard." Said Amuro as he escorted Chan away from Vega. "We'll be fine. Stay safe and guard the ship with the others."

"No Zeon or Side 6 infiltrator will get by us until you return." Said Vega as he watched them leave. Once they left, he wondered what their kids will look like. "Blue eyes with brown hair? Or Brown eye with blue hair? Or will recessive genes take over?"

Later

Side 6 assembly building

"Our decision has been made." Said councilor Adams as he looked at the ambassadors of both the Federation and Principality. "The votes are in and we've come to an accord." He then looked at Grato. "I'm sorry ambassador, but for the sake of Side 6's future, the Riah republic will be siding with the Federation in this war. However, we will not be providing our warships to your cause. We will only be sending resources to you and allow the Federation to use Side 6 as a staging ground."

"That is more than I could hope for, councilor." Said Kowen as Paraya let out a breath that he was holding. Looking over at Grato, Kowen could see that man was doing a marvelous job at hiding his disappointment at Side 6's decision.

"No need to apologize, councilor." Said Grato as he bowed his head at the council. "Though this news saddens me, along with the rest of Side 3, I can understand your decision was not made lightly. However, I promise you that the Zabis will not be looking forward to this news. I will do everything in my power to appease their anger and disappointment." With that, he got up and bowed again, leaving in dignity. Once he was gone, Adams looked at Kowen and Paraya.

"With that out of the way, we can conduct further negotiations. As allies in a war." Kowen nodded and asked them if they could further negotiations in a more secure and comfortable room. They agreed and Adams had them escorted to another room in the buildings. As this was happening, Edwards was frowning to himself. He couldn't believe that his Side was so foolish. Did they not see the danger that they have brought themselves in? Something needed to be done and quickly. Getting up, he left the room and out of the assembly building. He needed to make some calls.

Later

Amuro and Chan

"So, your sister is a doctor in a hospital in the capital?" Asked Amuro as he drove one of the White base's jeeps to their destination. It used electricity, thank good or they would have been in trouble with Side 6 authorities as gas-powered vehicles were frowned upon in a colony.

"Yes, she'll be more than happy to pay for our meals. In fact, she'll be overjoyed that I have a boyfriend." Said Chan as she watched Amuro drive. "The only question is, do you want to go somewhere fancy or something like a bar?"

"I was thinking something with a grill." Said Amuro as he drove. "Just as long as its not too expensive. I don't want to annoy your sister with a hundred-dollar meal for one." Chan laughed a bit at that.

"She wouldn't mind. You should see her colleagues. They eat loads of food." Said Chan. "Reminds me of Kai when the food is decent on the ship." Amuro began to chuckle at that. Just as he was done, he suddenly sensed a presence.

Widening his eyes in shock, Amuro felt himself give in to the aura, forgetting that he was driving. It was only after Chan yelled out that he snapped out of it and saw that he was driving off the road. He tried to stop but it was already too late. The best he could do was stop just enough to prevent their jeep into a ditch halfway.

"Shit. Sorry Chan." Said Amuro as he looked at his girlfriend to see she was alright. Luckily, she was, although she was clutching her chest. After recovering she looked at Amuro with an annoyed glare.

"What was that, Amuro?" Asked Chan as she looked at him, partly in concern and anger. "We could have died."

"I know." Said Amuro as he got out to inspect the damage. "Its just…this may sound crazy but I felt something. Something calm and warm." Upon hearing that, Chan looked at Amuro curiously.

"What do you mean?" Asked Chan as she got out as well, going over to Amuro, who was looking at the front end of the car, stuck in a muddy ditch.

"I don't know how to explain it, but something was coming. Something friendly." Said Amuro as he sighed, seeing that there was no way to get the jeep out without help. He was about to tell Chan when a car coming towards them. Thinking they could help, Amuro was about to yell out when he suddenly stopped. Widening his eyes in shock, Amuro openly gapped as the car stopped. Chan, who just noticed the occupants of the car, also widened her eyes. Or rather because she noticed one of the occupants.

"Hello there." Said Char, looking at them with a smile. "Seems you have a problem with your car. Mind if I help you out?"