Even as victors are selected, there are many who chose not to submit to their greatest falls. Just as there are those who attempt to avoid being subject to the consequences of their actions, there are those who are more than eager to reap what they have sown. Where many see an ending, the strongest see their defeat as a reason to struggle for the cause that is most important to them. Such has been the nature of humans since the dawn of war. It is for those who live to witness history that such defiance is judged. The year is After Colony 225. This principle remains unshaken.
Episode 44: Consequences of Mercy
The city of Djanet remained quiet as the Gundams continued with their refueling and the remaining Ursa units kept an observant eye over the horizons. Mercurio stepped out of his cockpit as he wandered closely to the location of the other mobile suits and brought his hands together in a series of claps as he tried to stave off the boredom he felt himself endure.
He heard someone behind him walking before hearing Ermes ask, "How's it going cus?"
Mercurio turned around when he greeted his cousin, "It's been going as it should be. I'm honestly surprised that the Coalition hasn't attempted to get the word out on our location."
He saw Donna walk up to where the two cousins stood when she asked, "Are you really surprised? We aren't exactly on the frontlines right now."
Mercurio turned to her when he told her, "We let one of theirs get away with just an injury. She is not going to repay us with some kind of favor. We're in even deeper trouble than we have been before."
Donna told him, "We probably would have some trouble if we didn't let her go. We're in enough of a rush as it is to get to my father before the Coalition finds him. He will be discovered by the Coalition soon enough as is."
Mercurio kept himself from snapping his response as he leaned against the nearest mobile suit and told Donna, "It's our duty to be ready to embrace our roles as soldiers more than ever. We can't afford to let ourselves be weak. Especially in front of the enemy."
Ermes entered the conversation when he told Mercurio, "You really sound different from what the others have told me cus. This who time you've been one of the three Gundam pilots, they said you were the guy who wanted to rally the best in others in spite of what we were about to face. They always said you tried to find the hope through even the hardest situations. Were they exaggerating or something?"
Mercurio answered, "I'm not sure what they saw in me because I'm not them. But the betrayals have become too great. When Aleksei Federov on Mars along with his insert Blaylock both planned to separate from the Coalition, they were met with the only fate fitting for them. Sally went in and had them and his supporters killed. We only processed it as a victory for us because none of us were caught in the upheaval. And now we've become traitors ourselves."
Ermes found a solemn truth to the evaluation when he pointed out, "We weren't supposed to come down here to destroy the people who were supposed to support us. That can be a messed-up thing to deal with."
Mercurio viewed his cousin with an air of intensity, "General Carmine and General de Lombard are both dead at our hands and God knows how many others we've forced them to join. We are past the point of where we can be given another chance at some kind of leeway. We have to be strong and meet anyone affiliated with the Coalition nothing but our strongest responses. I have to be real and just say what needs to be said. Everyone in the Coalition has to be met with the only way any opposing soldier should be."
Donna found herself shaken by the grim answer Mercurio had given. There was very little of the man she had come to remember Mercurio was since she first introduced herself back in Rome. She placed a hand on Ermes' shoulder when she told him, "I don't think he is willing to discuss much else." She turned to Mercuiro when she told him, "Try to keep a watch for any enemies if you can."
Mercurio nodded as he turned his gaze to the Sahara and waited for any potential appearance of an enemy unit. Donna and Ermes made their way to a nearby area where there were no other pilots to be seen. Donna sighed as she told Ermes, "Things have changed greatly. And it would not seem it was for the better."
Ermes observed, "It does seem like it. For a while I thought I was talking to someone else entirely. I guess Roy is probably the closest approximation."
Donna told him, "For a while I believed that he was an example of what people from Earth can truly be like. I thought it was possible for him to be someone other than just another soldier."
Ermes observed, "You were hoping that he was something different from what guys in the Coalition would be like. Some brainwashed young kid who believed that his cause for maintaining the status quo was a greater one than having a humanity that is both united and free. I guess That just really did a number on him and from what I saw some of the others."
Dona looked down when she added, "We tried to let as many of them live as possible. It really was an extraordinary situation. We either risk the very chance we have to save the Earth Sphere and everything our mothers and fathers believed in, or we sacrifice the ones who were forced to do this with risk of seeing the entire Earth leadership killed."
Ermes observed, "For how hard of a situation this has been, you at least seem to be handling yourself pretty well."
Donna agreed, "It's probably different for me not to be in the same mindset as Mercurio is right now. I've always had hopes of learning that the people of Earth were strong. I only want to be strong myself. I guess it is for things like this that make me think that I was never really meant to even be here."
Ermes told her, "That can't be the case. I mean you were born here on Earth, weren't you? You are your fathers daughter, right?"
Donna answered, "I was the youngest of five siblings. For the longest time it seemed like I was just meant to be the least special person in my family before father married me off to some other wealthy family. For me it was virtually a blessing to see Instructor W choose me as the pilot of Sandesgeist. I believed that I was going to be truly worth something and I had to become strong and prepared for the worst of all war scenarios."
Ermes decided, "So it was that Instructor W guy who told you that something like this might happen. I guess when a war hits 11 years, anything can turn out for the worst."
Donna corrected, "I prepared myself. My Instructor warned me that there was going to be harsh conditions I would have to face but he seemed to shy away from the idea of enduring a betrayal." She looked down at her hands to notice herself only shaking a little before adding, "Even after going through something so real, I still only feel a little. I don't feel as though I have no strength but that I should be ready for something like this to happen multiple times over."
Ermes observed, "That is certainly an interested way to look at things. I guess even if everyone has to handle something like this differently, at least everyone here has a way of marching forward. I have to say I'm personally worried though. Are you guys going to be able to handle yourselves when we get to Brussels? This sort of mentality is one that is going to be hard to integrate post conflict setting."
When he told them, "That's a pretty optimistic way of looking at it. I think you're still missing a big part of what we have to face down the line."
Ermes and Donna turned to see Gawel when Ermes asked, "Is there? Our goal is to save the capital and have the Earth Sphere has a fighting chance after all."
Gawel told him, "You're assuming that we are all going to come out of this alive. Let's see it for what it is, we save the parliament, we are still going to be seen as criminals after they decide to publicly congratulate us for being war criminals. It's either have us killed or become a rouge nation of criminals that nobody in their right mind would support."
Donna agreed, "I guess it all just boils down to the fact that we are here for a cause bigger than ourselves. We all believe in the united Earth in some way. And we all come to value I more than ourselves. That is the whole point of being a soldier anyway."
Ermes agreed, "We all had to prepare for coming to terms with those words. And I just thought it was something we told our superiors just to make them approve of our being in the ranks."
Gawel agreed, "We all did at some point. Right now, we just have to keep our eyes open for anyone who could potentially reveal our location."
Donna told him, "Hopefully getting to Tripoli should be enough. We'll let you know if anything else happens."
Gawel nodded, "If things go well, we should be able to actually steal some mobile suits when we find the next base. Just wait, we'll be a big fighting force soon enough."
The two nodded as they were left alone again and Ermes pointed out, "It would be nice if you could have that sort of attitude to go with the way you think."
Donna looked to the sun when she told him, "It would be nice if I could. I can't say I ever thought about trying to be more optimistic. Gawel isn't even usually looking forward to something like this so much."
Ermes told her, "The point is that if you could be more outspoken like him you could probably be a better pilot for it."
Donna told him, "Why do you think it has been so easy for me to accept everything? I've always tried to avoid being able to be with others. They would find me as an odd example of a person for it.
Ermes was curious about the response when he asked, "Have you allowed that idea to determine everything about you even before becoming a pilot?"
Donna was reluctant when she answered, "Yes. Ever since I was a girl. It's just the only way I've been able to handle being around others."
Ermes was saddened to hear the answer when he told her, "It must be a difficult way to live most of your life. Is that the sort of thinking that made you decide going to the military was something you wanted to do?"
Dona admitted, "It might have played a part. But I've just always felt like I didn't really belong on this planet. You're probably one of the few people I've talked to who I've told this. As of right now I don't know if anyone is willing to hear something like this."
Ermes understood, "Worries like those are pretty secondary when we have a lot of other concerns in front of us. Right now Donna you need to focus on the more immediate. You have to be willing to survive and push through whats been laid in front of you if you're going to have a humanity that will even consider accepting you. The fact that you made it this far shows how strong of a person you are. The fact is that some of the guys here might need you as their support the closer we get to ending this war."
Donna smiled when she told Ermes, "It's nice to hear that. My father would probably say the same thing just a little harsher if he were here. If we both come out of this alive, one day I would like to see your home on Mars without the devastation that has cursed it."
Ermes agreed, "It sure would be nice. It would be another great chance to see what it looks like one day when we see a terraformed planet just like we all hoped to see it become."
The conversation Ermes and Donna had was one among a few as the band of Rogue Wing pilots found a way to pass the time for the remaining mobile suits to reflect. Dana couldn't hear everything but was able to look over many of the mobile suits lining up to prepare for their order to move out. She saw Pascal at the foot of her Artemis when she heard him ask, "You find anything out there captain?"
Dana sat back in her open cockpit when she answered, "Nothing but sand as far as the eye can see. The good news is that I'm not seeing any mirages trying to fool me. I hope you and the others are managing."
Before she heard anything else, she saw Suchart make his way up to the open cockpit when he answered, "Water's nice and all captain, but do you think it's enough to keep us going?"
Dana recognized the small complaint when she told him, "Believe me, no one wants to grab the chance to calm nerves down as much as me. You and Richter are good drinking buddies I take it?"
Pascal brought himself up when he greeted, "Guilty as charged. I seriously thought we might have brought some spirits for a situation like this."
Dana nodded "Regulations just don't let us consider the idea. We go out there with our sense shot and we might do something we regret. That's the idea anyway, but I can't exactly stop you boys from having your own business on the ground down there."
Suchart told Dana, "That's the problem with being in countries like these. We're in L4 and now we end up out here. Two places where good drinking is practiced about as much as an actual road racing is out in this big blanket of sand."
Pascal pointed out, "Most of it can probably only be blamed on circumstance. A lot of them sound like really shitty ones to."
Dana agreed, "Sally, William, Alberto. They're really all gone, and we've had to endure what happened at That. All of these should have reduced me to a wreck right now and here we are trying to press on. I never thought a war could get this convoluted and messy."
Pascal agreed, "I never thought it could either. I hoped we would be able to honor William's sacrifice better than this."
Dana told him, "You've probably done enough surviving what happened. We need support and we need to have as many people help take back Brussels as possible."
Suchart agreed, "I still think we should have some kind of punishment for Gilliam. Seriously, the man could have killed Mercurio and we'd all be seen as cowards who took the easy way out."
Dana corrected, "He was following the orders of his superiors. No one in High Command could have thought that we would rebel against the Earth sphere for its existence."
Pascal asked, "So that's why you and the others were tasked with being escorted by a squad huh? They wanted to make sure you stayed in line? We sure had a lot of stuff in our favor if Gilliam was the only one to want to follow on that order."
Suchart told him, "All part of being a unit. Yuy and the captain here have been with us for about two years prior and made us feel like we were all important. We've all built a bit of a soft spot it would seem. I only regret that we couldn't all have a nice night out at the local bars together when we could have."
Dana asked after a chuckle, "And that was what? Once every moth you were able to sneak out of the base?"
Suchart nodded, "Exactly captain. You have to give me credit for holding back when Yuy just planned to spend most of his free time in extra PT or simulation exercises."
Dana agreed, "We've gone through several passages of hell, here we are reflecting on simpler times. Maybe our situation isn't as bad as it could be after all."
Pascal pointed out, "We've got a lot to look forward to as well. This period of reflection is something we should always be happy that we had a chance to enjoy."
Dana heard the fueling signal light up when she said, "Looks like the rest of us are officially ready to go. Ready to continue our journey boys?"
Pascal confirmed, "I was ready to get to Tripoli last week. Just lead the way out there captain."
After he made his way down the Artemis, Suchart told his captain, "I'll get Peacecraft and let him know how much you miss him."
Dana allowed the two men to leap down from her Gundam before hearing them announce it was time to move out. The few mobile suits that weren't Gundams stepped out in a formation while the Uriel and Sandesgeist waited for their leader to take the front. She saw Ermes climb into her cockpit and sit in the back seat when he asked, "You ready to see something other than sand as much as I am captain?"
Dana answered, "I am. And I can imagine you're just as excited to be in your own cockpit. Let's see if our next stop has anything better than some secondhand Leos." She shut her cockpit shut before preparing the Artemis to march forward and begin a running motion ahead of the units following her.
With a leap into the air, the Artemis transformed into its flight mode and flew ahead of the Rogue Wing units. Dana contacted them, "Follow me everyone. We'll be entering Libya soon and that's some progress in our end."
The Rogue Wing mobile suits all began their gathering across the desert with the city of Djanet leaving their view. As they all made their departure there was one witness among the city who was the most observant to see them leave. Coralie waited for them to disappear form view as they continued their progress and sat up with a cane as she forced herself to walk through one of the alleys. The pain in her knee from the shot was still ringing but she pressed herself on as she made her way to the north most part of the small city.
Coralie came to a patch of desert that had a hatch underneath a thin layer of sand. She opened it and brought herself down feet first to land into a cockpit seat while feeling the remainder of pain ring through her knee. She bore through the pain before reaching for the computer terminal and activated her hidden mobile suit. Waiting for the first available action she saw, she established contact with a signal in another area. She heard a voice greet, "Is that you Forward Scout 2? What is your report?"
Coralie answered, "This is Forward Scout 2. I am now confirming the presence of the fallen targets. The undams are passing through and preparing to head further east. They're probably hoping for a smooth travel to Tripoli without interruption."
The voice asked, "And did you allow yourself to be taken by surprise Forward Scout? Did you allow them to get away unscathed?"
Coralie sighed her regret before answering, "They took us all by surprise. We didn't have a chance to attempt any damage and the squad along with occupying forces were wiped out. I'm fortunate that they left me off with just an injury."
The voice confirmed, "You're more fortunate than most people Forward Scout. Your orders are to now begin pursuit of the approximate path the Earth Sphere mobile suits are taking. You have no reason to retreat even if you are discovered as you should remember. Once you receive our signal, you are to prepare to make the first attack with the other scouts and have them face defeat."
Coralie accepted, "These people do need to be stopped before they proceed any further. They tried to warn us of falsehood that can discredit everything we've achieved."
She was reminded by her superior, "That is what we are fighting to prevent. Can you confirm their next potential location?"
Coralie answered, "Base on their current path they should be headed for Ghat. Based on their mission and plans, we may be facing them somewhere north of the city away from local populace."
Her superior agreed, "Good to hear that much is specified. We'll meet you at the point of contact. Move out."
Coralie's contact was ended as she was left to her mobile suits and prepared the controls. Within the depths of the sand, he Scorpio Minor shifted and turned to the general direction of the Rogue Wing mobile suits and began a slow advance beneath the best cover she had. Her mobile suit in vehicle mode was a moving mound of sand that could have been noticed by observers, but the sight of the sand would provide cover when she prepared to find the first strike where the Rogue Wings would not notice. The capability of her mobile suits avoiding the radar detection in vehicle mode would also ensure that she would not be spotted right away.
Her mobile suit continued its advance before she began contact with her other scouts, "All units, the targets have been found. We are to begin the pursuit and prepare for contact with offense squadron."
She heard the voice of her captain congratulate, "Good job Scout 2. We'll make sure that you have our full support by the time we rendezvous together."
Coralie thanked, "Good to hear the plan sir. Continuing pursuit." She shut off her communications before finding the gathered signals of mobile suits she was sent to pursue.
Coralie continued her pursuit when she heard her superior praise, "The only ones who will have a right to take issue with leaders are the ones who are wronged by what they promise. None of you have that right and none of you will that right when this is over."
As she said those words, the image of Mercurio wrestling her to the ground was the most immediate thing that she had the intention to repay for. Someone as violent as him was not a man that Coralie was able to respect easily knowing that he would still be in the world creating chaos. She knew that he was the very threat she had been hoping to see extinguished. "You most of all. I'll make sure a man as wrong as you does not have the chance to continue spreading a path of destruction."
Normand stepped out of the entry doors of the building he occupied when he called to Agent Zelma, "You believe that there is a duty more important than finding the Mad Lord right now agent? What sort of news are you basing your action off of?"
Zelma turned with a salute to the colonel when she answered, "We have recently received word of the Gundams making their way across the Sahara and leaving the city of Djanet. My mission from the president is to ensure above all else that they are destroyed. Once they are, the Mad Lord will have nothing and very few supporters who will stand in favor of his last-minute rebellion."
Normand nodded when he told Zelma, "I shall send a few squads to accompany you then. You might be enough to destroy these hinderances we are hoping to eradicate, but we would do better to see this destruction be swift."
Zelma shook her head when she told him, "This is something I must do myself. This city must remain as occupied as possible in order to be ready for whatever Lindemann has prepared. Did the president not warn you about the potential army he might be raising to come to his aid?"
Normand was reminded of the announcement when he accepted, "It may be for the best that we do so then. I hope your mission is swift and successful agent. Everyone here is anxious to see these final obstacles of our city be removed."
Zelma agreed, "I will inform you if I need any assistance if things do not go as planned. Be ready colonel."
Zelma offered her parting words and made her way towards the hangar bay that had been set next to the building the colonel occupied. She made her way inside and saw her Tallgeese Authority waiting for a chance to be piloted. She walked up to it and heard one of the mechanics announce, "Agent, we've done the rearmament process just as you requested."
Zelma told him, "Good work. I will be heading out right away."
The mechanic shouted, "Clear way! The agent is moving out!" While a small scuttle of people inside the hangar cleared the way of the Tallgeese, Zelma looked up and told herself, "Father. This will not be the instrument of destroying your legacy as you feared. Everyone will soon learn the truth of what this conflict was built on."
The foot of the Vosges Mountain was a sight that was not immediately welcomed, but the lack of Coalition presence gave the recently defeated Earth Sphere mobile suits a chance to not be on the run for a brief while. The Nornir Gundams were left to cool down while their fellow pilots were left to reflect on their situation. Christian was among the few who did not contain his anger as he slammed his hand on a boulder. Richard asked, "You think you pounding that thing a few times is going to make for a decent PT substitute or what?"
Christian turned to Richard when he asked, "Well what the hell else are we even supposed to do? Do you even recognize what we just lost more than half of the people who agreed to support our cause?"
Richard told him, "I get it. Pan and the others believed we had something great going and we didn't live up to keeping them alive. I'm just happy that we aren't out there trying to redeem their deaths with what you got planned."
Christian told him, "My plan is to have that whole brigade be wiped out and wish they never met us. I want Pan and the others to not have made their sacrifice be for nothing. What the hell is the point of being a group of Gundam pilots if all we're going to do is run away from the next challenge that comes our way?"
Daisuke, Elna, and Fredric came up to the two brothers when Daisuke answered, "Hey we're all in this glorified pickle. We get it already. You ever stop and think that maybe our guys in the Scutum never had a plan to go out in a suicide mission like this? Be real here, charging to that army now would only result in all of us getting caught in the same explosion that got so many of us killed out there."
Christoph showed up when he told everyone, "We aren't able to achieve anything if we keep arguing about what we could have done different. I'm pretty sure that dad didn't give us the chance to branch our own path into Brussels just to see us whine about a hardship we're facing."
Christian walked up to him when he told Christoph, "The only thing you can accuse me of whining about is not wanting to just sit back and let the Coalition push us back when we were getting close to reaching the capital. Just what the hell are we supposed to do?"
Christoph told everyone, "The Gundams should be cooled down pretty soon. We'll have a chance to maneuver our way around the brigade once we have a decent strategy that should find a way around their advance. Right now, we just have to go off the idea that they think we're going to be too worn out to try and push through their little trap."
Richard pointed out, "The least we can expect is that there should be as much mobile armor for us to push through, right?"
Elna reminded, "That's one thing we have in our favor. But how exactly are we going to be ready for another tactic like we just had to endure?"
Christoph told her, "They have numbers as an advantage. Our best chance would be to widdle away at them as much as we can while making a charge towards the Testudo and where it should be located by now."
Fredric agreed, "We'll have a chance to destroy it with that cannon weapon the three combined Gundams have right? At least if that's possible then we should be able to life the one thing the Coalition has over the capital. It should even be enough to draw the occupying forces away from their comfy spots."
Christoph confirmed, "We'll have to make sure that this is something we can pull off without any hitch. We'll be in trouble if we don't go in with our best shot."
Christian told him, "Going out there as soon as we can is all that we need in order to be successful. I at least want to make sure that we didn't defect from General de Lombard's ranks just so we could only cause a little trouble for the Coalition. Anything less is going to be a complete waste of time. We can't have all of the sacrifices we made out here and everything we destroyed be rendered pointless just because we didn't have the numbers or willpower to stand against the Coalition."
Daisuke asked, "Christoph is there any way that you can knock some sense into his skull? This plan of rushing head first is going to get the rest of us killed."
Christoph told Christian, "I get that you're anxious. I want everyone ready to see things right for us as well. We aren't going to achieve it by just being rash and not thinking things through. If you don't want everything we did to be pointless, then try and wait before we have the best chance to make a difference."
Christian sighed when he accepted, "Alright big leader, I guess it's up to you when we decide to set everything right. Just remember that if you are going to force everyone to accept this plan, it's all on you if we come out of this with disastrous results or if we don't come out at all."
Christoph accepted, "Right now we just all need to make sure that we are on the same page. If me being a leader makes you feel better, then okay I'll just have to agree to that. Everything that happens from now on is one me."
Fredric asked, "So we're supposed to throw it on you if another one of us dies right? At least that saves us a little bit of worry for who to lap the blame on."
Elna pointed out, "We've managed to at least confirm this much. Now what are we supposed to do with our current situation?"
Christoph answered, "If we keep situated here, then we should be able to get the brigade to think that we are still looking for an opportunity to resupply. Once they get ready to make their way here, then we head west and make as fast of a scuttle to Brussels as we can. If our position has anything to confirm, we should be able to reach Tongeren and it will be just a westward trip to where the Testudo is now."
Richard asked, "It's broad, but we'll be able to slip our way out if any major force that comes our way right?"
Elna agreed, "It's better than going in like lunatics."
Daisuke asked, "So right now we just sit on our asses and wait for the enemy to get here and hope we can outrun them. I've heard worse ideas."
Chirstoph told him, "That's what we need you guys to help us with. We're asking that you try to scout ahead and let us know when the brigade gets here."
Crhistian told him, "This better not be because you're too afraid to head out yourself."
Christoph told him, "Here's something you should try and think about. If they catch our Gundams out there, our cover is blown, and we have to move out until we're surprised. We have nothing out there now and we can't make a forward assault like we want. If the others head out, we should be able to maintain some amount of cover."
Christian groaned at the answer when he accepted, "Whatever. You're the guy who decides this."
Daisuke offered, "I'd like to head out. You guys will hear me when I find the first sign of Coalition advancements."
Richard added, "We probably just need one guy out there anyway. It's not like they want to put up with taking new numbers into their ranks regardless of the circumstances."
Christian sighed at the answer when he told everyone, "I might as well do something and act like I have some use other than sitting on my ass for an hour."
Christian made his way to his Urth Gundam while Christoph was left to tell the others, "Everyone head to your mobile suits and keep an ear open for Daisuke's report. Stay on the lookout for anything that heads our direction."
The group parted as each pilot made their way to their respective mobile suit while Richard was left with Elna when she told him, "I don't know how you and your brothers do it."
Richard ask, "Which one? How we manage to keep a clear head through any hardship we're offered or try to work out a plan for what would work with our conflicting ideas?"
Elna answered, "I guess you made it sound like your brothers getting to argue means it was something you had to worry about. You guys really allow those arguments to be significant?"
Richard laughed a little when he agreed, "It's pretty stupid that we let ourselves work that way huh? I guess all of it boils down to the fact that we allow ourselves to take the family ties out to the field doesn't it? I guess that is also a way that we can handle seeing others take charge. It's messed up isn't it?"
Elna agreed, "Better us than you guys. Honestly it seems like that's the only way to handle taking a loss. We're asked to make the enemy die for their cause and yet they have the same goal. Somebody is going to win out. We're just fortunate to have three guys who at least care a little bit about making a proper offense and not all of them are like Christian there."
Richard looked ahead to see Christian shutting the cockpit of his Urth Gundam when he agreed, "We've all had our ways of handling conflict. It's something our dad had us do since we were little after mom died. Christian just seems to be the most passionate one out of us."
Elna was reminded of the history that came with the lineage of the Lindemann family when she recalled the death of Griselda Lindemann many year sago. She watched the Leo III that Daisuke piloted take off to the north when she observed, "Every one of you had your own way of processing a day that reached to you all. Somehow even when we find ourselves out here we just end up having even more of that sort of tragedy piled on our shoulders and we just somehow become stronger without even knowing it."
Richard agreed, "That is the truth."
Elna asked, "Do you think your sister is able to grasp that sort of concept a little too well? If what Nathaniel Falson says is true, then she must be willing to cut down some of our own men at this point."
Richard was troubled by the question when he answered, "I never hoped to see anyone do what we were just shown. But I have to admit, I am worried that the youngest sister we had isn't going to be the same person we knew if she did all of that without a second thought. I just have to hope that she can still be saved after all this time."
Elna observed, "It sounds like you believe there is still some kind of hope even for people who have committed and act of treason comparable to this."
Richard asked, "We are technically traitors ourselves aren't we? Anyway, this is a story that we were told by our instructor a few times so there is something to understand a little. When our instructor was pretty young, he suffered a significant loss that almost made him destroy some of his best friends because he believed that humanity was headed down a dangerous path that he wanted to stop them from following. From what I've seen it almost looks like the other Gundam pilots had the same idea as her or they just had to beat each other into submission before agreeing to pull of what they did. The thought of either situation playing out is honestly a little worrying."
Elna decided, "Maybe we'll be able to learn what she thinks if we ever meet with her. She can't think that she has to go through her brothers to be successful do you think?"
Richard agreed, "With what we set ourselves up for, I don't think she'll even think we have the intentions of getting in her way."
Another two hours had passed before the Rogue Wings finally made their way towards the outer edge of the city of Ghat. The city was visible, but the nearby base was the first thing Dana had in mind to engage. "There's the catch. Let's get ready to move in."
When the soldiers made their touchdown outside of the range of the base Dana began to devise the plan for taking the mobile suits. "So here's what we have planned. The military will be in training right now. If we move in we'll be able to catch them by surprise and we'll have them pinned down."
As the gathering of Rogue Wing mobile suits waited to learn of the discovery, the Artemis came back to their location as it flew over their heads and Dana contacted Mercurio and Donna. She told them, "The good news is that this base is pretty outdated. They shouldn't be ready to have any reinforcements if we cut them off here."
Mercurio asked, "Is there anything that we should be concerned about captain?"
Dana answered, "This appears to be one of the few Earth Sphere bases that was left to be isolated out here in the Sahara. We probably won't have much else for a while to get to."
Donna recognized the danger that was involved when approaching the base. "They will recognize us right away and we may find ourselves caught in some of the pursuit. The entire Earth right now is still our enemy."
Dana told them, "Get to this location. We'll have to set up a plan before we approach." Mercurio and Donna saw the location Dana designated as Donna agreed, "We'll be there right away captain." The Gundams led the way for the gathering location before setting down to signify the chance for the gathered mobile suits to prepare a plan out in the desert air.
Nasir was among the first to land on the desert and when he saw everyone else land near his location and Roy asked, "What are they hoping to achieve by meeting out here for something?"
Nasir answered, "Probably for something that will take too much energy to keep our mobile suits going. If we get a surprise attack, I am going to be exceptionally pissed for letting ourselves be left this open."
Dirk and Keijo met up with them when Keijo decided, "If we have any of those red sand dwelling mobile suits to worry about out here, then it sure would be a nightmare scenario."
Trenton told him, "Those Scorpio units? Yeah. WE haven't seen any of them yet but I'm getting worried we might regret it pretty soon."
The pilots saw Dana alongside Ermes and the other Gundam pilots walk up to them and set a square in the sand before they began.
Nasir asked, "Quick question captain, this plan does sound like one that should give us a window of opportunity to strike and that is great, but what are we trying to achieve by not going in with a full-on attack that would get them off our backs for good?"
Dana answered, "that is the hard part. We're moving into an Earth Sphere location." The squadron pilots were left with a heavy weight when they heard those words. They were about to approach a base that housed their allied pilots to have a chance at moving forward.
Belle spoke up, "Well the least we can do is try to avoid taking any more lives on our side. I'm worried that we aren't looking at a very pretty outcome for our advance."
Dana confirmed, "It isn't. They're probably going to be ready to pursue us if they go out when they're prepared. If we move in now, we shouldn't have to worry about any more casualties. At least that's what I'm hoping."
Trenton agreed, "I guess it doesn't matter if we spare them or not, but we might be able to feel a little easier on our minds."
Mercurio told him, "It will make a difference because we don't choose to be the renegades that the Coalition wants us to be seen as. A dedication to our duties will be enough to remind us of what we can still aspire to achieve."
Donna saw a glimpse of the Mercurio she had come to respect when he said that promise to everyone around him. She kept herself prepared for what was about to come however when she told everyone, "We may be rogues, but we will keep ourselves dedicated to the Earth Sphere cause. Don't let anyone next to you break that dedication."
The pilots stood up when Dana agreed, "Let's move then! No range of how long their PT is going to last!"
The pilots made their way to cover as they watched the Gundams prepare to move out. Zachariah was leading them when he observed, "They're headed down. We might need Mercurio to stay close to us."
Roy told them, "Either that or we prove to them how much we got over him. We don't have to kill them, just punch them to a pulp is all."
Maurycy told him, "We don't need any of that if we can help it. Seriously let's just keep our heads down and wait for them to seize the base."
Roy grunted when he told him, "We're supposed to be full rogue out here and we still follow some form of procedure. Kind of defeats the purpose of an infiltration I say."
Ludwika told him, "That's why you aren't leading this mission. Things go for the best, we should have your own Ursa unit soon enough."
Zachariah pointed to the area the base was located when he told everyone, "Get ready to move. The Uriel is making its advance."
At his signal, the three Gundams made their advance towards the Earth Sphere base while the Sandesgeist and Uriel drew out their primary blade weapons. The Uriel made a leap forward with its sword in hand and dashed alongside the Sandesgeist when Mercurio told Donna, "Follow the captain. Make sure she's covered."
Donna confirmed, "Right away."
The Uriel continued its dash while the other two Gundams headed towards the base and Mercurio was soon able to see the Earth Sphere soldiers on the ground panicking at the sight of a Gundam in front of them. The sight did not stop all of them however as Mercurio saw one of the soldiers rushing up to him. He was able to see the dedication he had come to be familiar with even before the invasion at Warsaw. "You all have a mission. And I won't punish you for it."
He raised his buster sword before making the Uriel deliver a mighty slice across the desert sand while the Earth Sphere soldiers were blown away by the force of the swing. Even from where he sat, Mercurio could still see the look of fear that crossed the faces of every soldier beneath him as even the leading officer signaled for them to return to the base. Mercurio moved the Uriel around the retreating soldiers when prepared the arm cannon on their location and spoke to them through his megaphone system, "Stay where you are! This will not result in any of you being killed!" It was a few seconds before he heard Dana contact him, "This place is secure. Nobody is ready to resist now."
Mercurio confirmed, "Offering the signal now captain." He reactivated his megaphone system to contact the pilots beyond the nearby hills, "Begin the advance! The base is secure!"
At those words, Mercurio saw the Rogue Wing pilots make their rush towards the base that was in the distance. Before they continued, he saw one of the pilots running towards the captured gathering of Earth Sphere soldiers. Mercurio came to the idea that Roy was the one making his way to the soldiers before he dropped his buster sword blade in front of the pilot. He told him, "Follow the plan and get to the base!" The deviating pilot returned to the group before the advance continued as it was intended. Mercurio kept his observation as he saw the group of pilots pass the trapped pilots and drew his buster sword onto the back of his Gundam. Mercurio did keep his arm cannon raised as he made a few steps back with the Uriel and keep the weapon focused on the soldiers forced to remain in place.
After the small siege of the base had been completed, Mercurio was able to view the hangars continue being worked on by the Rogue Wing pilots preparing to move out. He looked at the activity beneath him before he warned Dana, "Captain, I think they're going to try and stop us."
Dana confirmed, "Not surprising. Wait here, I'll do the negotiations." Dana shut off her radio before Mercurio could offer an answer and saw the cockpit of the Artemis open while Ermes followed her. Mercurio grit his teeth when he prepared his pistol and opened his cockpit before preparing to slide down the leg of his Uriel. He heard and exchange of words when Dana told the base soldiers, "We are not trying to cause any more violence. Give us a shot at negotiating."
The plan didn't seem to work as Mercurio heard gunfire from behind him and someone else shout, "Hold your fire!" Mercurio didn't see anyone take the bullet, but he had a wild guess that the shooter was right next to him. He turned behind the Uriel's leg and slammed his backhand holding his gun into the face of someone's face. He turned to see a woman on the ground but her hand on her face recovering from the recent blow.
He kept his gun pointed at her when he told her, "Step away now."
The woman held up her hands when she brought herself up and asked, "You really don't have any intentions to kill us after all. How do you plan to get anyone to help you guys out? It's not like you have anything to justify what you did."
A voice interrupted them when they heard, "Private Back! Get into formation!"
The woman ran form the view of Mercurio as she saw the other pilots standing at attention in front of Dana and their captain. Dana turned to see Mercurio on the ground when she asked, "She alarm you Yuy?"
Mercurio confirmed, "I was worried captain. Things seem to be under control now."
Dana turned her attention away from Mercurio when she asked, "We haven't caused you that much to be concerned about captain. We need these Ursa units though. We are leaving everything else though."
Captain Omer Bergstrom asked, "So you all plan on still stealing from fellow soldiers. Some of my guys heard your intention to keep going at this without orders form the High Command."
Dana told him, "Our goal is to clear our name by saving the Earth Sphere government. We're among those who haven't surrendered, and we aren't going to let all of our struggles be for nothing."
She took a look at the pilots behind him when she asked, "And this is everyone who was assigned to this area right?"
Omer answered, "No reason for us to have that many out here. Our previous intel told us there might be one Coalition base around here. Otherwise we're just an advance team stationed to be ready for another drop."
Dana told him, "The intel is good. We recently passed through Djanet and we took out that outpost. Your choice now is to either keep waiting here or maybe try and offer your support. Either response is totally up to you."
Omer nodded, "My mission now is to protect the lives of my men. Make the way forward you think is right. I have to admit, at least you have more will to continue than most of us. Seems like you guys will at least have the chance to go down doing what you believe in."
Dana greed, "Nice to see that you understand where we're coming from. I know we have no right to ask for favors, but if you could let everyone else down there who's part of the Earth Sphere ranks to not advance towards us, that would make our advance a hell of a lot easier."
Omer told her, "Yeah. You're right. This sort of talk should not even be happening right now. But what do we have to gain by piling more on you right? As long as you raid every Earth Sphere base like this anyway."
Dana agreed, "My mission is to make sure that you don't go on to regret giving us this chance. It seems like something crazy to hold on to, but the Gundams should be able to keep us going forward. One day we'll even see that our enemies have to face a real challenge when we meet them face to face."
Omer accepted, "We'll wait for those results captain." He turned to the pilots behind him when he told them, "This will be difficult to accept, but right now our decision will be to aid these people in their advance to Tripoli."
One of the pilots asked, "How the hell do we accept this? We're supposed to buy into the words of what a bunch of renegades are claiming to be true?"
Another one agreed, "As far as I can guess these sons of bitches got too used to being Gundam pilots and don't want to give up fighting no matter who it is. What sort of plan do we have to assume they want what's supposedly right for us?"
Omer answered, "because they have nothing to gain from being on the run forever. If that was their plan, they would not have gone out of their way to force themselves back here. None of us have to be accomplices to this day or you can join them if you find their cause worthwhile. I don't care about your choice, we are doing this right now with only the intention to help our fellow soldiers. Ones who are determined to go down fighting as they believe they have a right to do." He lingered before adding, "Everyone here is to remain in this area. Once they have left, we resume our daily routine as originally scheduled."
The pilots gave a collective salute as they separated from their formation and remained near the gathering area where their mixed reception to the order was left to be viewed. Omer walked next to Dana and Ermes when they made their way to the hangar bay while Mercurio was left with the bitter air of seeing his fellow Earth Sphere pilots try to handle their situation. He was reminded of their less than enthusiastic attitude when he heard Private Latoria Back ask, "So what is your guys' version of the story? What's causing you to go crazy and try to subject yourself to this new struggle?"
Mercurio continued to look at his Uriel Gundam as he answered, "This was something I never hoped to see happen one day. I always thought we would just remain as two united fronts who believed in seeing the other meet their complete victory. I just didn't stay as easy as I thought it would. And being forced to make one choice was all it really took."
Latoria observed, "There was a choice you had to make when you chose to take on General Carmine and General de Lombard. I always thought the only thing that a soldier would value more than anything was the superiors they served under."
Mercurio agreed, 'That's how it should be. When it came time for me to make that choice though, it was a lot more difficult than I thought. He someone gets into any situation like we had, the only thing that we can see as more valuable than anything is the man standing next to them."
Latoria was reminded, "They were attacking you and your squad as well. I hate to admit it, but I think that most people would do the same as you if we were all in that situation. From the sound of it, sparing us isn't enough to make you feel like you redeemed yourself at all."
Mercurio agreed, "I tried to help everyone by not killing any Earth sphere pilots. Even that was just unavoidable in the end. When it all ended, no one was proud of what we did."
Latoria asked, "Enough to not look you in the eye or just be downright angry at you?"
Mercurio answered, "One of them tried to kill me. Probably the least I deserve but everyone saw that I wasn't any good dead."
Latoria observed, "Trying not to kill any of us is a bit of a plus for your record I have to admit. What happens to you after it depends on your resolve. If you really can save the parliament, maybe more people will forgive you. You guys killing two generals of High Command will be something to make up for though."
Mercurio agreed, "I can only succeed by honoring the sacrifices that they've offered to make all of this possible."
Latoria asked, "The sort of sacrifice that you took advantage of? That's a bit of an asshole thing to brag about don't you think?"
Mercurio corrected, "It was a sacrifice they both chose to make possible when we were face to face with them. They told me specifically that I had to either honor their sacrifice to save the entire parliament from execution by being destroyed or by destroying them."
Latoria shook her head when she told him, "That is a bit to take in, but sounds just like something our leaders warned would be possible under a Coalition victory. It sounds like your reasoning could be just a little more vindicated if any of this is true."
Mercurio agreed, "That's what I need to keep pushing forward for. Their sacrifices will be nothing along with the rest of the ones who made the Earth sphere possible if we allow them to be rendered without weight."
Latoria told him, "You better be ready to prove that there's something behind your words if that's what you believe in. Everything that you do when you push forward is made possible because the sacrifices of others allowed for this day and every one that comes after to be possible."
Mercurio turned to face her when he asked, "You believe that everything we do can be for something in the end? How do you feel this can all go some day?"
Latoria told him, "I think you might have a shot at changing this for the better. You aren't exactly the type of person who would believe in a cause that's more important than living. You just can't let the people next to you be seen as nothing but a bunch of extra numbers who want to test you around the world. The living are important as those who make the sacrifices after all."
Mercurio turned to look at the hangar bay when he saw the two other Gundams and four remaining Ursa units standing and waiting for their next order to engage the enemy waiting for them. The rest of the Rogue Wing pilots made their way into the hangar when Patrick asked Dana, "So is this really all we got to replenish our squad?"
Dana confirmed, "The good news is that we'll be able to replace Nantakarn's Ursa with a new camera. Our current situation now gives us a grand total of twelve Ursas under our ranks."
Roy pointed out, "And another four guys at least will have to remain stuck to riding on our sides. And there is no way that we are going to see me become one of those lucky few you got it?"
Dana told him, "We're trying to make sure our best pilots have what they need to defend themselves. I hate to admit it, but we don't have many other options right now."
Keijo told Roy, "Let's just see what our captain decides. We're in the same sector as our destination and it won't even be that much longer by now."
Dan looked up to see Ermes working on removing the Earth Sphere insignia when she asked, "You guys are making sure to compromise the armor right?"
Suchart confirmed, "Just letting us have the chance to differentiate ourselves out there. We are not going out any less better equipped." Before anyone could enjoy a moments peace, a loud explosion was made audible before he asked, "The hell? What's going on now?"
One of the base pilots reached to Omer when he warned, "Sir! We've got several red mobile suits popping out of the ground trying to attack us!"
Dana turned at the warning when she told everyone present, "Get to your suits! Defend this area!"
There was a scramble of pilots as each one rushed to get to a mobile suit, but Omer pointed out, "I though you said you stopped the advance!"
Dana agreed, "Me to. Seems like they had one surprise for us." Dana reached the outside as she saw the Uriel striking the sand while remains of shrapnel from a missile attack revealed itself close to the base. Latoria was next to Dana when she told her, "They got us by surprise! What's the deal with these things?"
Dana answered, "The Scorpios can't be traced. You and the others stay in the hangar unless it gets exposed."
Dana turned to her Artemis when she ran towards the leg and lifted herself up and rushed up to the cockpit. She shut the door before contacting the Uriel and Sandesgeist, "Either of you got an idea of how close those things are?"
Donna answered, "Just enough to have an approximate area captain."
Mercurio added, "They aren't moving in a formation either." Mercurio saw a volley of missiles rise up from the sand before changing his buster sword into shield form. He drew it towards the area where the missiles gathered before seeing a series of explosions erupt near him. The shield found its way back to the arm of the Uriel before Mercurio fired his arm cannon at the area of the Scorpio before it dived into the sands.
Donna in the meantime had sliced the shotels of her Sandesgeist at the first area where she saw a mountain of sand shifting upwards. She felt her left shotel pierce into the front of the emerging unit before backing away and firing her Gundam's Vulcan cannons at the center of the mobile suit. This resulted n an explosion when Donna confirmed, "We have at least one down. I never thought we'd be repeating Mars."
Another two Scorpio units popped out of the sand as they began another attack and fired in Mercurio's area. He raised his shield as he prepared his Gundam to activate Zero System. The lights of his cockpit shined as they prepared his course for to where the elusive Scorpio units would prepare to rupture from next. He saw his two targets make the dive underground the sands before Zero System gave him an estimation of their ascension from beneath a nearby supply house where they would attempt to strike him from behind. He rushed the Uriel towards the supply building before converting his shield into its buster sword form and activated the head mode above the Uriel's head.
With a mighty sweep, the Uriel's sword sliced through the sand before finding contact with one of the mobile suits and grazing the edge of the other Scorpio unit as the contact gave way to an explosion beneath the Uriel's feet and sent the other Scorpio flying out of the sand and rolling into a nearby hill. It quickly transformed into its mobile suit form before releasing a volley of fire towards the Uriel in an effort to deal some amount of damage. Mercurio raised the Uriel's sword as he motioned it around the Scorpio's shots and prepared for another slice after dashing away from the attack. In his dash towards the unit, he made a diagonal slice across the Scorpio's chest before another explosion gave way. He looked around the base when he asked, "Captain, Is everything still hectic out there?"
Dana answered, "Not for long." Mercurio saw the Artemis hovering above the base before drawing out its buster rifle and taking aim at the sands beneath. A roaring beam of energy collided with the ground as the buster rifle fired on the ground and swept from left to right and brought up a storm of sand before three explosions helped send a gust of sand in every direction. Mercurio raised one of the hands of the uriel in front of the eyes of its head as he tried to keep his vision clear.
The small sandstorm subsided after a few seconds before Donan reported, "It doesn't seem like there's any more activity…. Wait!" The Sandesgeist turned around and dashed forwards and right into the middle of the base, another two Scorpio units short up from the ground. They both converted to their bipedal mode before unleashing a volley of missiles that flew over the head of the charging Sandesgeist and Mercurio quickly activated Zero System again.
He saw the destination of the missiles scattering across the base as he prepared his buster sword into a shield and tossed it across the air to where the missiles were targeted to land. He saw that he wouldn't hit all of them though and took aim with his arm cannon at the descending projectiles to see another series of explosions rock the air. Across the field he heard another two explosions as he turned to see the Sandesgeist offer another two slices of its shotels and cut down both Scorpio units as they resulted in the other two explosions that signaled the defeat of the squadron.
Mercurio turned away from the destruction just in time to miss seeing a familiar face fly out of the cockpit of one of the Scorpios. He only kept his view on the remainder of the base to see that his shield had taken many of the missiles but there was still some visible damage that had been accomplished. He heard Donna contact him, "That seems to be the rest of the squad. I'm not seeing any other units popping up."
Mercurio turned to see the Sandesgeist keeping a view over the desert when he first noticed that one of the Coalition pilots tried to force themselves out of their mobile suit. He adjusted his camera to close up to the body before seeing the corpse of a familiar soldier he had recently come face to face with. "Coralie…" He recognized the error of allowing her to live just as soon as he saw her and turned away in an effort to forget the sight. He moved his unit over to where the shield had landed and picked it up before converting it back to buster sword form and setting it on his back. He looked down when he saw several bas operatives and the pilots rushing to the side of one of their own and took it as his cue to exit his Gundam and slip to the ground as he tried to rush to their assistance. He saw Omer coming when he asked, "Captain, how are things holding up?"
Omer turned to see Mercurio when he answered, "The base is intact thanks to you. Sadly, I think this is still the most we could have hoped to see be achieved."
Before Mercuiro could ask what he was referring to, he saw the one casualty that was the result of Coralie's squadron making the attack. He heard one of the squad members order, "Latoria! Hang in there! We're not letting you off that easy!"
Mercurio joined among the crowd as he saw the other woman he had met that day lying on the ground and coughing blood from a piece of sheet metal that sliced across her stomach. One of the base members rushed over to the area when he asked, "How is she?"
One of the squad members checked for a pulse everywhere he could before slamming his fist on the ground from the results. "Shit! Shit! Why this?!"
Mercurio felt a weight drop in his stomach when he had to recognize another of his failures. He wasn't able to save everyone. He tightened his hands into fists when he cursed, "Another one. And this could have been prevented."
Omer turned when he told Mercurio, "Kid, seeing this sort of thing up close is not easy. I get it. Frankly everybody in the military knows what they sign up for and that's something you have to face as well."
Mercurio corrected, "That's what you don't understand. This whole thing could have been prevented. We found one of their pilots face to face and we could have killed her. This whole thing really didn't have to happen if we had just felt with her like we're supposed to."
Several of the squad members looked up with a shocked view of what Mercurio had just revealed. Some men looked up with a look of anger at the answer as though they hoped to walk up to him and remind him of what his squads actions had accomplished. Omer stood in front of them and stood face to face with Mercurio when he told him, "Maybe this could have been avoided. But how do you plan on handling this anyway?"
Mercurio told him, "From this day on, no more mercy. I can't let anyone who fights for the Coalition remain alive."
Omer welcomed the answer, "At least you have dedication boy. From now on if even your commanding officer tells you not to take the life of another then?"
Mercurio answered, "No one is going to be aligned with the Coalition and return home with their lives. That's the only thing I can do for this cause now. Everyones sacrifice including hers is going to be for nothing if we don't keep going."
Omer told him, "Her name was Latoria Back. Don't let your motivation be for her. Let it be for the men who died and the ones you don't even know."
Mercurio turned to the Uriel when he promised, "No one will stop me. Stay here and fight for as long as you can. I'm going to make sure that I live up to my promise."
Mercurio walked away without any further words to offer on the matter as Omer and the base pilots prepared Latoria's body for a burial. Mercurio made his way up the leg of his Uriel before climbing into the cockpit seat and shutting the main door. He received a hail from Donna when she asked, "How are the others handling this?"
Mercurio maintained his indifferent composure when he answered, "On casualty. We're clear to move out once the others have their Ursas ready."
Dana added, "You got that right. Let's move out and continue our planned route."
Mercurio agreed, "Lead the way captain."
Donna still had her connection with Dana when Mercurio broke his line and asked, "Is he still prepared for progressing captain?"
Dana told her, "He's still going. He just made a face to face with what happened is all. You need to stay with him and make sure he continues to follow his assigned mission is all."
Donnna wasn't completely assured while she contacted one of the nearby Ursa units asking, "Testing the signal. Who's there?"
Gawel answered, "Ready and primed my lady. Nice to see a small firework display before heading out."
Donna told him, "Sadly it wasn't a harmless one. Do you have the signal with Ermes by any chance?"
Gawel answered, "Yeah just a sec, I'll patch you through." Gawel changed the signal while Donna took not of the new signal she would be able to rely on.
She made contact with him when he greeted, "Hey there Donna. We're about to head out in a little bit. Are things still going okay for us?"
Donna answered, "I have a feeling that we might have some kind of detriment. Mercurio does not seem to be the same man I thought he was any more."
Ermes asked, "How? Is he taking this too hard?"
Donna explained, "In a way that's different than what I would hope. I've seen him for only a brief few seonds but there is something different about him. He is no longer a man with hope radiating in his eyes. He seems to be virtually a different person entirely."
Ermes agreed, "A war can change people. Everything we just put our lives through is something that can chance anyone for the best or for the worst. That is something we have to worry about. What he chooses to do when he is faced with this dilemma. It's an internal conflict that he has to come to terms with the next time it's brought up."
Donna accepted, "I can respect his need to resolve this. But I can't support him like you said. I'm just not changed enough that I can empathize with what he's going through."
Ermes told her, "We do need some people to be taught like that. But don't assume that you don't have the humanity to help others."
Donna saw the doors of the hangar bay of mobile suits opened before they were allowed out of the holding area and began their march to the Gundams. Donna could see that there were now twelve Ursas on their side along with their numbers to form a little more than one squadron. Ermes told her, "We better get going. WE can't let the captain think we're being delayed." Donna accepted the words of encouragement when she kept a view of the two Gundams in front of her and prepared to continue her journey where her father was waiting.
Omer and his men were forced to remain where they stood as they saw the Ursa units leave the hangar bay and prepared to leave them behind. One of the squad pilots asked, "Is this really what we were all good for captain? Just for giving these people the chance to restock their grunt numbers? I really don't know who we're supposed to feel hopeful just by letting more people have the chance to continue fighting when it's all supposed to be winding down by now."
Omer told him, "The only reason we should have any hope at all is because there's at least a few people who believe that this isn't over. They have their own death sentence and they intend to follow up on it."
Another one of the pilots decided, "They're the sort of people Latoria died for. If you ask me this better mean that we're about to see something more than just a bunch of dedicated zealots. Everyone who's made a sacrifice needs to be honored by having those who made a serious promise that they won't fail."
Omer agreed, "That's what we all promised ourselves when we became soldiers. Right now, what we're looking for are a bunch of guys who literally have the weight of the world on their shoulders. Either they're about to show that we're the ones who need to embrace their vision for seeing Earth be saved or they'll be the ones who are swept away by history. That's just the nature of this kind of ultimatum they set themselves in."
