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 52: Upended Victory
As soon as Franz and the soldiers of Grendel team began to make their way towards the edge of the city, he found a perfect opportunity to secure his victory. He stood behind several soldiers before he pointed out, "Over there. President Falson is attempting to make an escape. Capture him!"
The Grendel team followed the order to capture President Falson. "Very well sir." the sergeant responded before following. The infantry immediately shot the bodyguards that protected President Falson and surrounded him so he can't escape. They cuffed his arms and brought him to President Kecker.
The results were perfect when Franz saw the tables turned against his enemy president. "Very good. We shall be taking him with us." He instructed the men towards the edge of the city where several Coalition vehicles waited for new drivers. "We will be able to make it past the blockade in Amsterdam with these. We begin the escape now." Your chance to end this has ended Nathan. In the end I was the one to outlast this gamble. Franz thought to himself when he saw Nathaniel escorted into one of the nearby vehicles.
Nathaniel heard the gunshots take his men by surprise when the Earth Sphere soldiers made their way to his location. He could only "What?"
One of the leading guards tried to order, "Protect the President! Don't let them -" It was too late when they were all shot dead and Nathaniel was taken into custody. The look of dismay at his situation was visible when he saw what happened. He followed the soldiers in his arrest and offered his regret to no one in particular. "I was the one intending to save this planet. And now I must pay for my actions."
"The Coalition has made their way in! Defend yourselves!" Malcolm warned. The Coalition soldiers began to make their roundup of the representatives when the soldiers raised their guns against them. In that same moment the representatives began to fire with their pistols and kept away from the possible attack. It didn't last long when the smoke grenades began to fill the room.
Relena dropped her gun when she tried to cover her mouth for air. She saw her fellow representatives fall to the floor while she fell to the floor attempting to call for help. "H... Heero..."
Rayen saw the smoke was interfering with the senses of the representatives who made a pitiful final stand in hopes of resisting their capture. He ordered among the other soldiers as soon as the smoke began to clear, "Round them up! Take as many representatives as we can!" The soldiers moved in to disarm the nearest representative they could and used some quick plastic handcuffs to drag them from their hall.
One of the soldiers reported to Rayen, "We have the vehicles outside ready to receive the representatives sir."
"Take them in. We must prepare to make our way to Amsterdam."
"We may not have enough vehicles to store them all sir."
"Force them into the vehicles as best possible, comfort for them will be the last thing on their minds when we have them prepared to arrive on L2."
The soldiers agreed to this decision when he ordered to the soldiers at work, "Men, process the representatives as efficiently as possible. Let's move we have to get this done now."
Donna didn't pay attention to Oleg escaping and lunged the spear through the cockpit. Everyone would be expecting a powerful nuclear explosion with the defeat of the Aquarius but the Magnaspear managed to disable the reactor. The Sandesgeist's manipulators continued holding the hilt as the spear pinned the opponent on to the ground. She felt the power of the dirty reactor started to fade. "Did I do it?" She asked herself.
There was a call from Instructor W. "You did it!" He commended. "You prevented an explosion that could've wiped out the city!"
The wear of the battle took its toll on the Sandesgeist. The leg weakened and stressed by previous lashes from the heatrod tore itself off. The arm of the Gundam continued to hold onto the spear but the weight of the unbalanced Gundam made it lose grip. The legless Gundam fell to the ground.
Instructor W ran to the Sandesgeist for the safety of the pilot, running over the debris made from the fight. He pulled the emergency lever to the cockpit and found Donna with no visible sign of injury. "Are you alright?" Insructor asked.
"I'm perfectly fine." She replied. She unlocked her seatbelt and got out of the cockpit to see the aftermath of the fight from another view.
The Instructor got his radio on to relay the news. "This is Instructor W, the Aquarius is defeated." He reported.
The Artemis' buster rifle managed to hit the Anaconda, damaging it immensely. The attack also made the Gundam lose balance, causing it to spin to a building. Tano managed to survive thanks to reinforcements made to the cockpit for pilot safety. He sat in his seat, his thoughts now blank in defeat. His radar showed his snipers destroyed in one shot and believed it was the Gundam. "I failed again..." He said in defeat.
Ludwika heard the transmission and knew it was probably the other good bit of new she could hear today. "It looks like we're making progress after all."
Roy was moving his mobile suit out from behind the wreckage when he commented, "Great to know. It looks like we might make it through in the end."
Keijo was the first to remind them of what Dana knew was currently happening with the Coalition's final stand. "You heard the Captain's warning though. Mercurio is headed to the Parliamentary Building and it sounds like he wants to take on the rest of the Coalition army by himself."
Roy shook his head when he heard the scenario. "Sounds in character. What do you guys say? Ready for a final oorah against these sons of bitches?"
Zachariah was the first to answer, "We'll do this for everyone."
Keijo contacted back to his captain, "We're ready to move Captain. We're moving in and rounding up those losers."
Mercurio found the battle line between the Coalition forces who remained and the final defense of the Earth Sphere soldiers to be rather weak. He managed to grab one of the dropped assault rifles before making his way towards the nearest opening he could find the way toward the building. He threw a hand grenade to some unsuspecting Coalition soldiers and on explosion found his way through. The fire team was cast out of the way but the crossfire continued.
"I have to get through. They have to know about what's happening." Mercurio found the opening and began to rush with what stamina he had while throwing debris towards the building to indicate his presence.
While Heero and the other tried to take down what soldiers remained he heard one of his own report, "Major, one of ours is headed this way."
Heero took a look outside and immediately recognized who it was. "Provide covering fire! We have to see him get in!"
Mercurio heard bullets headed his way but at the same time saw some covering fire come from the Parliamentary Building. It was a small trek before he made his way inside and found his father prepared under cover. He took cover behind one of the windows when he reported to his father, "Major. The Coalition mobile suit forces have been pushed back. It shouldn't be long before they are forced out."
Dana saw the landscape and while most of the city was in ruin at this point it seemed like the Coalition would only have power on the ground by now. "Not too bad of a job it looks like." Dana moved the Artemis towards the Parliamentary Building when she surveyed the area Mercurio had made his way across. The Coalition fire teams were smaller than she thought they would be but she had a feeling this wasn't all they had. She dropped out of the Artemis with her side arm and came out preparing to fire on the nearest Coalition soldier.
Hyrum followed Franz with his other men when he assured, "We're right behind you sir." He saw the soldiers making their way into the nearest vehicle while they prepared for their escape. Right as soon as he saw one of the Coalition soldiers making his way towards their location, Hyrum assumed the worst case scenario. "One of the Generals! Attack!"
When Instructor W helped Donna from the Sandesgeist, they spotted a large number of Griffon Mobile Suits. He brought out his binoculars to look at the Mobile Suits in detail and seeing the markings, they were the reinforcements from Corsica. "The cavalry from Corsica arrived." He informed the Rogue Wings on the radio.
Ermes prepared his pistol with a suppressor attached for ground combat. He exited his Ursa to join the rest of the team but before he did he found the Tallgeese and his sister outside the building. He approached her to see if her mission includes this too. "Sis." He greeted. "So you trust cus also?"
The soldiers escorting President Kecker were quick to respond to the order. A skirmish began between the two parties with cover taking by the attacking party. President Kecker, Hyrum and their prisoner were also escorted to cover to avoid get caught in the crossfire.
Hui was leading the soldiers in their last attempts to secure their leader. The force was small by comparison to the escort, but he was determined to see his suicide run was not going to be in vain. "Quickly! If it is our last effort, we must save the President!"
Nathaniel looked outside his vehicle to notice the firefight had begun and noticed his loyal general making an attempt to stop Franz's escape. Franz obviously knew the city better than Nathaniel and it led to his inevitable defeat. "Hui. Please don't make this final effort in vain." He hoped to himself.
The firefight wasn't going well when the Coalition soldiers continued to drop from the shots by the Earth Sphere. Hui heard one of the men point out, "We can't move any further sir! We don't have the numbers!"
"Don't fall back! The President must -" Before Hui could offer any encouragement he fell to the ground from a gunshot in the middle of his defense.
"General!" It only took a brief glance before the soldier could tell Hui had been shot dead. Shaking with a lack of morale for any more fighting he signaled to everyone who remained, "Everyone fall back! We have to retreat!"
One of the soldiers was able to comment on the defeat as they began to make their way back from the escape sight, "The President has been captured and our leaders are lost. I don't know how much more of a loss we can take."
Oleg had just found his way out of the Sonian forest before he was able to look on to the retreating Coalition ground forces. "Where're they going?" Just a few seconds later his question was answered as he saw them driving various Coalition vehicles out of the city. "Damnit. I take it I'm stuck here... Have to find a way out." He cursed holding his side.
"Lieutenant Kiprotich, withdraw. Hurry. Just get out of here."
An operator ordered Tano on the radio. He listened to the order and moved his Gundam out of the rubble it was buried in. It was barely alive from the fight with its verniers destroyed, forcing him to use a long way to withdraw. While looking at his side-camera, he thought he saw Oleg who somehow lost his Mobile Suit. He decided to take him also and he sent out a Morse signal with the eyes of his Gundam. "GET ON". After it was sent, the Gundam brought its manipulator to the ground.
"A retreat... I guess I don't have any other option now." Oleg thought to himself when he saw Tano's signal. If there was going to be anything he could do to help his Coalition, it would probably be to live and continue the good fight. He limped along towards what remained of the Anaconda and grabbed onto the nearest part of the Gundam he could hold. "Let's not be too quick to go underground. We have a cause to continue supporting." He said as he leaned into the nearest panel of the Anaconda's leg. Fortunately for him, just about any fellow Coalition soldier would believe this to be a worthwhile excuse to keep fighting. Although he had brief thoughts wondering how his job would go without Nathaniel to provide for him.
"Sir, we have the signal of President Falson's signature prepared to make way towards Amsterdam."
Rayen was prepared to find his way out of the city and towards the city when he asked, "Do we have all of the representatives?"
"Yes sir. They won't prove to be much of a problem."
Rayen issued a final order, "Begin the evacuation now. We will leave all others behind as we make our retreat."
Dafina saw her brother rushing towards her when he began to offer assistance for the ground forces. She was able to counter he blessings when she could see him willing to hear her out. She nodded to confirm Ermes's question, "I'm afraid I don't have a choice now. It will be the only way to end this war." She looked on towards the battlefront when she saw Mercurio and the others making their way towards the Parliamentary Building. "The most I can hope for now is that we weren't too late in stopping Franz from being executed. Otherwise this victory the Earth Sphere will be short-lived."
Franz saw that his vehicle was loaded with Nathaniel behind him and several guards of the Grendel team ready to protect him. He turned to his driver with the instruction, "Begin our trip to Amsterdam. Do not permit Nathaniel to make an escape. If we happen upon the blockade, do not open in hostile engagement. Our mission is to arrive within the city."
Heero saw his son for the first time in a long while but knew it wasn't the proper time to allow emotions to overflow onto the battlefield. Thankfully Mercurio knew this as well when he reported to him and addressed him as Major. "We have to find our way out of here first Private. Reinforcements are going to be the only answer to pushing them back and you're not enough in number."
"They will be arriving soon sir." Mercurio looked up to see the Griffon units making their way across the sky and gave great assurance their occupation would be able to tell the human race the Earth Sphere had not completely fallen. He pointed to their arrival, "Up there. They should be ready to move out."
"Hey Yuy!" Mercurio looked back down to notice members of the Rogue Wings were making his way towards him while Dana and several others fired in various directions at the ambushing enemy soldiers still putting up a fight.
Zachariah was the first to rush up to him and point out, "Looks like you made it out kid. Please tell me you got to secure the Parliament."
Mercurio answered the concern, "We've been trying to prevent the Coalition from making another push in. They're close enough as it is."
Roy took a quick look around the area and saw how low the fire team effort was. "Great you managed to play the rush in without a scratch, it looks like they've been pushed out by now."
Even Keijo knew the situation was odd considering how many men had already dedicated themselves to taking out the Earth Sphere forces. He voiced his concern when he asked, "That was all of them? Have the Coalition ranks been drained already?"
It was obviously the last thing on Heero's mind when he turned with several soldiers making their way to him. "We need to see if the Parliament is safe. Keep an eye open and don't let any Coalition soldiers find their way out of here."
Mercurio repeated the order when he searched the area for any further attacks from the Coalition. "Yes sir. Let's sweep the area everybody." He had a quick glance in the distance when he saw the Uriel still positioned above the Tallgeese Throne as though it were prepared to end it. If anything it seemed like Dafina was at least able to keep good on her word. Perhaps soon it would be time to see if her trust could be earned or if there was some inner working he didn't see.
Heero made his way down the halls with every hope of seeing the entire Earth Sphere parliament safe from harm. The hope was dashed when he noticed one of the representatives making her way through the halls clutching to her dripping red side. Heero rushed over asking, "Representative Maggio? What happened?"
Elena slunk to the floor when she answered, "Major... The Coalition... has the house..."
The concern grew when he heard these words. His duty to protect his leaders had been unfulfilled. Even worse was the possible fate of Relena. It was this moment that took over his judgment as he asked, "What?! What just happened?!"
Elena gave what record she could before she slipped further into shock, "They gassed us... and captured most of us... A few managed to... find a way out..."
As Elena began to shudder from her wound Heero was quick to clasp his hands over the exit wounds to prevent any further bleeding. "Medic! Get a medic here!"
Ludwika was the one to hear this command while the others followed close behind. The sight of the wounded representative giving them a stark indication of what had been done. Ludwika took out a kit while she began to treat the bullet wound. "Hold on. This is going to take some time. Nobody think about moving her for a bit."
Cinzia looked across the hall when she asked, "Major, is the Parliament still in the meeting hall?"
Heero tried to maintain what composure he had before he answered, "... We may have an issue if we wait too long. The Coalition has just captured the remaining representatives."
The realization was as hard on Mercurio as it had been on his father. Losing the Parliament was a danger on its own but he was probably about to lose someone dear to him. "D... Damn. How could they?"
"It's likely they found an opening when we weren't looking."
Roy face palmed at this when he asked, "This whole thing is just not going to end for us. We've already lost too many good men and now our government has to get captured?!"
Heero stood up with a new determination when he answered, "It will get worse if we leave them to be abducted." He had an immediate mission prepared for the Rogue Wings when he told them, "I'm going to require soldiers for this operation. Anyone who is up to the mission must be willing to accept the likelihood of a dangerous ground mission."
Mercurio was the first to step forward when he tried to retain his professional demeanor on the mission. He couldn't let anyone think that his judgment was being clouded by anything but his desire to serve the Earth Sphere. "Sir. With your permission I would like to volunteer for this mission."
Heero turned around when he began to move back outside, "Permission granted."
Zachariah made himself mentally prepared when he tried to focus on the upcoming mission. He decided to ask his fellow soldiers when they neared the exit, "We've got a serious mission here. How many do you think the Major is going to need?"
Cinzia shook her head when she pointed out the obvious, "Just a hunch on his position, but probably as many as he can take under his command."
Hyrum and his men were able to focus on the state of their president's status once the convoy had begun to make its way out of the city. Hyrum was allowed to have a moment to wonder by himself when he worried for the Earth Sphere representatives, "It looks like we managed to secure the President. Wonder if he has the Parliament in mind by now?"
One of the soldiers pointed out the obvious, "Might not matter for long sir. We've managed to secure Nathaniel Falson himself and he did declare 'The King Stands on His Own'."
Another one of the soldiers was "That's pretty troubling. Do you think the President still has saving the representatives as a key mission after declaring that order?"
"Let's just hope so. We've got good men out there who gave everything they had to take this city back. We can't let them handle things themselves especially if the civilian population decides to return at some point."
Hyrum didn't find any way it could be altered now when he dismissed, "Right now we should be concerned about getting him to safety. Maybe we'll have a chance at saving them after our mission is done."
Dana looked around to see the fire teams the Coalition had sent out were all but completely decimated while trying to find their way out of the city in retreat. "Well it sure looks like I got here late." One of the reliefs came from when Gawel and Nasir had showed up to report to her.
"Got that right Captain. We've just managed to get another situation on our hands." Gawel told her.
Dana stretched her arm a little before asking, "What is it now?"
Nasir gave the rundown, "The Parliament has been kidnapped. It looks like the Major in there is ready to move out at his first chance too."
"Who's in charge?" Dana asked before she saw Heero making his way out of the building. "Ah. Makes sense. How many of us are there left?"
Nasir gave a quick count before he answered, "Including me and Gawel we've got about ten Ursa pilots left. Predictably you and the other Gundam pilots aren't out of commission. Is Patrick still in recovery from his injuries?"
Dana nodded, "Last I checked yes."
"Makes nine then."
"Damn. Even losing two is hard enough on our numbers as it is." Dana cursed at their luck. The Testudo could have easily taken out more of them if they didn't have the firepower of the Gundams. She tried to find out about the future mission when she asked, "The good Major giving us and idea of when we'll be headed out?"
Gawel shook his head when he turned to the building entrance answering, "Can't say sir. He sounds like he'll want to regardless of our volunteering though. If it makes any difference, it sounds like Yuy is going regardless of any objections."
"Thought so." Dana saluted to them and made her way over to where the other pilots were making their way to the entrance. She found Mercurio and had to confirm what he was going to be heading into. "Yuy. You're headed on this mission to save the representatives I take it?"
Returning from treating Elena, Ludwika wiped her hands quickly before meeting up with the others, "Hey. So what do you think this is going to be like when we finally call it a day? Are we being recognized by the Earth Sphere or not?"
"Even if the government believes what happens, the human race will still have to hear it and have a hard time believing it. I'd say at this point we've given up every chance at having a normal life ever again." Zachariah reminded them.
Keijo managed to find some honor in the idea when he shrugged, "Might not be so bad if everything works out."
"Depends on how you look at it I guess." Zachariah reluctantly agreed.
Cinzia broke up the conversation when she reminded, "This is all assuming we manage to save the representatives right? 'Cause that mission is still on our checklist."
Roy began to make his way up to his own Ursa when he asked, "Yeah. Let's move out and do our duty. So is Heero Yuy himself going to do anything out there?" The conversation didn't continue further beyond that when the Ursa units began to power up and meet up with the location of the Tallgeese Throne and Uriel.
The obvious confusion was pointed out when Roy asked on an open channel, "Who's taking the enemy's mobile suit?"
Mercurio was the one to answer when he spoke on the same channel, "Someone who may have some belief in our cause. Just know that the pilot will remain close and support us."
Dafina heard the message and knew that this was the closest thing to a compliment she would get for now. She permitted this much to stand for the preparations.
Till assessed the damage of the city starting from a parliamentary building. Behind him was a familiar face.
"Hey Till, how's the war treating you?" A man asked.
Till turned to see Baron Andrew Stuart arrive to greet him. "You got the message from me Andrew?" He responded with another question.
"Aye, we had an OZ rebellion in Scotland." Andrew explained. "When we got your message, I moved most of my forces to help with your attack on Brussels."
"Kind of too late." Till reminded him. "The Gundams did the job."
"Aye, I wish I was part of that project now." Andrew replied.
Till changed the subject. "Until we get the parliament back and know where President Kecker went, I'm thinking of acting as an interim leader." He explained but stopped when Donna was seen preparing to leave. "Just a moment." He apologized.
Donna prepared to join the mission that will go to rescue the parliament. Instructor W left to bring the Sandesgeist for repairs and to oversee the safe removal of the Aquarius' volatile reactor after overhearing the conversation. "I'll begin repairing your Gundam now." He said as he left.
Till appeared to her when she was going to declare her contribution. "Donna, I need you for a couple of hours." He told her. The news frustrated the Gundam pilot for her father has a different set of priorities.
Lord Lindemann tried to look for President Kecker but he didn't find the President. "This is Lord Lindemann, I can't find President Kecker." He reported.
Instructor W sighed as he heard the report. "That's unfortunate." He responded. "We will meet at the Parliament building according to Nantakarn. It doesn't sound like good news."
Donna was with the Instructor and found Dafina and Ermes at the entrance. "I heard we got bad news." She said.
Ermes nodded. "Most of the Parliament have been taken away." He explained. "Uncle Heero's hatching a plan or something."
Hearing what he said. Donna and the Instructor proceeded to the Parliament building. They saw everyone else gathered and Lord Lindemann was the last to arrive.
Mercurio answered to his leader, "I'm going to be moving out with the Major sir. This mission is the highest priority the Earth Sphere is instructed to rally for."
Heero stood before the men who had defended the Parliamentary Building and the Rogue Wings who still managed to maintain their vitality for the mission he had in store. "I don't think I need to elaborate that the representatives need our assistance. But it's clear the Coalition won't let this place go without a small victory. I'll need as many of you to follow me there and prepare to give anything to keep these people from being taken into enemy territory.
Many of the Rogue Wings and the other soldiers announced with the formal chorus, "Sir, yes sir!"
Heero pointed towards the northern area of the city when he ordered, "Form up at the nearest exit gate and prepare to move out with whatever you have."
As soon as Mercurio was making his way towards the Uriel he noticed Dafina was waiting for him. He had trusted her not to use the Tallgeese to escape and it seemed that she was honest with her agreement. "Can I even accept her now after all she's killed?" He wondered to himself.
Dafina greeted him as soon as he arrived to the Uriel, "Mercurio. I know that we've had a different approach to solving the Earth Sphere situation, but you should know I would never do anything to bring harm to Aunt Relena…"
"Make any move that seems like a deviation from our course and I won't spare you a second time." Mercurio interrupted before she offered any further words. His accusing tone managed to mask the mixed feelings he had about his cousin's promise. She killed good people both military and Rogue Wing… What am I supposed to even feel now? He maintained this attitude as he entered the cockpit and began to activate the systems to prepare the small trip. He lifted the Uriel's blade from the Tallgeese and made a short flight towards the northern wall when he waited for the convoy to begin its trek to the next city.
Dafina had accepted everything Mercurio told her when he began to make a flight away. "I can at least understand why. Father said to expect this if things went this way… At least now I have the opportunity to earn his trust from him."
She turned to her brother with her own instructions, "Ermes. Please support him regardless of what he decides. Our concern right now should be to make sure Franz doesn't make his way into space. If we take him, then this day won't be for loss. Hopefully then we can reveal his true intentions." She then made her way into the Tallgeese and prepared to take flight with the others. The story was going to be a hard sell but for right now there probably wouldn't be a great deal of complaints against having more support.
The remaining number of Rogue Wings was falling with the continuous battles but their sacrifices were hopefully going to pay off soon. The group began to make their way towards the Ursa units left from the battlefield before getting ready to meet with Heero's company.
"Will do sis." Ermes assured Dafina. "I'll make sure your contribution won't be wasted."
The conversation was interrupted by Donna. "Can you tell everyone else that I can't join thanks to a damaged Gundam and some blue-blood priorities?" She requested.
"Sure thing." The Martian replied. "You can trust another blue-blood to do the job." He jabbed at his noble descent that's largely useless. He returned to his sister. "Sis, I'll be off now."
Ermes got back to his Ursa and got it to the rest of the Rogue Wing's location. "I'll be joining this mission." He stated. "However, Donna can't go because her Gundam needs repairs and she has some nobility things."
Her prepared his mobile suit as he prepared to move forward with the rest of the party. Seeing everyone who was originally placed at risk by the threats of war now being placed under his safety was enough to give him the comfort that he had been hoping to see after all of the struggles he had to endure for what felt like forever. "Finally, we're all on the same side again." He remarked playfully.
"Sounds like one more order to worry about before we have a chance to call our own side liberated." Dana commented to herself. It was right to assume that without a government to call their own, rescuing the Earth Sphere from being taken in by the Coalition would be for nothing. This was their time to make things right.
She answered back to Mercurio's commitment, "He's a superior ranking officer to me. If he grants you permission, I've got nothing to stop you. Just don't think I'm letting you go at this without backup."
As soon as Dana gave her answer she began to make way towards the Artemis. Thankfully with the Anaconda out of sight she had a right to hope it was the last she would see of it. She saw Gawel run up to salute, "Sir. We've just received word that the Sandesgeist is too damaged to move out to Amsterdam."
"One Gundam short then. Give Donna the rest she earned, I'm guessing this mission won't be a long one anyway."
"If you say so sir."
As soon as the Artemis made its way towards the company, Dana announced to Heero, "I'll scout ahead and let you know about any enemy activity. It should save us some trouble that way."
The drive towards Amsterdam was without issue so far when Rayen saw his representatives held within their spot. He pointed out to his driver, "We have a Scutum blockade prepared for our arrival. Once we arrive we will be able to prevent any Earth Sphere entry. Even if the Gundams still continue to fight they will only prove their actions at Mount Tahat as accurate. They have no interest in saving the Earth Sphere government after all."
The drive showed interest when he asked, "Pardon me asking but how is that sir?"
"They will risk the very lives of the representatives destroying what remains of the city and they will have to go up against our numbers we have stationed. It would be too inconvenient for them to try doing so on a ground assault." Rayen explained.
As soon as everyone was gathered Mercurio knew that the interception with the city would only be a matter of time. He warned his fellow pilots, "We're moving out. We will not be turning away after we begin making our way." With that mention the company of soldiers and mobile suits began to make their way towards the target city.
Edward and his four most trusted guards looked outside as they saw many remains of what was once the capital of the Earth Sphere nation. Mobile suits on both sides had been destroyed and the remains of the buildings and scrap became a graveyard for the dead. "Most regretfully it would seem one of the Coalition Gundams or Agent Zelma have been able to come out unharmed." Edward noted the report from Celso and asked, "So Captain Tsubarov did everything he could to fight with his dying breath before meeting his end? I don't know how much more I could have asked for. But it would seem that the Gundams that did not have an opportunity to fight back."
Jens agreed, "I saw Celso trying to help Oleg out there and that one Gundam almost destroyed all of us in one shot. I'm not even sure where he cold have run off to by now if he survived."
Edward confirmed, "There is a certain danger that comes with his escaping the destruction of his squad. Considering how our numbers are fairing I'm afraid that we are now within an unwinnable scenario. The Gundams are wiping out our forces and we will all soon face the threat of being taken prisoner."
Susanne asked, "How can this be allowed? I always imagined that you would be the one to make us come to our sense general. We can't actually be considering this as our only fate."
Julian told her, "Another detail you might have missed, Rayen and his men are hightailing out of here to leave us on our own. We don't even have much of a shot with ground forces now."
Edward told them, "He has taken the sensible option of what was available to him at the time. How his efforts will pay off however, that remains to be seen. Right now, we must look at our current options. As things now stand, we may be afforded an opportunity to surrender under the best circumstances. If we are taken prisoner, we may be able to have a series of opportunities before us."
Celso agreed, "You were the one who allowed for the parliament to have a chance to stand up and resist. We might have a chance at coming out of this alive."
Edward turned to Celso when he confirmed, "For us to gain that opportunity, we will have to make the correct choices and preemptive actions. Right now, there are a few that I will need you to make."
The occupation of Brussels had crumbled in the course of a short period when the Rogue Wings arrived, and the multiple retreats caused every onlooker to be astonished t the Coalition's loss. John Windham was forced to watch ever second of the loss when he heard Colonel Erikson report, "This is not looking good Mr. Representative. The capital is falling, and we don't have a hold."
John was anxious when he asked, "And what of Nathaniel Falson? Or General Kung? Do we have any confirmation of what either of them are doing to fight to the last man?"
"We've received word from Representative Mashima. General Kung has been killed in action. We have no word of where the Coalition president is. It's possible that he is part of the current retreat."
John slammed a fist on his table when he cursed, "If that man is retreating, he will no longer have anything to do with us! The Coalition has failed us and offered a monumental disappointment!" John sighed before telling his Colonel, "The only choice we have now is to follow suite. Do we at least have any of the Gundams that assisted in our effort?"
The colonel reported, "We've discovered that the Aquarius has been incapacitated and the Tallgeese it defeated as well. The greater issue is that we have not been able to locate Kiprotich or the Anaconda after he was seen taking a direct hit. It is most likely so he can accompany the retreating forces out of here."
John realized the situation he was in when he observed, "Everyone is retreating east where the Earth Sphere's presence has been greatly weakened. We cannot remain out here any longer."
Before John was able to do anything, he saw Felix, Ian, and Norio forced into his tent at gunpoint by several Earth Sphere soldiers. Fredric called outside, "We've got the last of them. It looks like we just got a hold of all of them now."
Christian stepped inside when he confirmed, "We've got all four of the colonial representatives held in one area. Looks like we have a pretty major victory to celebrate at the end of this now."
Fredric called into his walkie talkie, "Good news folks. We have the Coalition supporters all here under one tent. You're keeping this place under gunpoint right?"
Richard confirmed, "They don't have much to defend themselves now. We aren't going to see them putting up a final stand."
Christian agreed to the observation, "Well gentlemen, you heard how serious this is. We'll let your men make the run for now. But with you guys here, we're about to find out if they're as dedicated to their cause as we are to ours."
3 hours had come to pass as Heero's company was making its way towards the city of Amsterdam with relative ease while the remaining Rogue Wings did their best to remain dedicated to this final push for their government. The first challenge came when they saw the blockade set up to prevent them from progressing. Zachariah reported, "Major, we've got an enemy blockade ahead of us."
Cinzia added from her observation, "Looks like Scutum units. We'll have a hard time getting past their firing range."
Mercurio was the one to give his promise, "Keep advancing, I'll prevent their shots from hitting." Before the Uriel sped past its line and prepared to attack the enemy.
The Tallgeese Throne prepared its buster rifle when Dafina answered, "I'll take the left side."
Dana agreed with the attack when she exited bird mode. "It's probably a good idea to make this quick. I don't think their leaders are going to wait much longer before they can take off." As soon as she had the buster rifle prepared to fire she found every Scutum unit that was within her sights. "Sorry I can't go easy on you bastards today."
Hyrum and the others saw the results of the encounter with the blockade when several explosions began. He reported to his leader, "Mr. President, there's explosions from the Coalition blockade. It seems like the Gundams might be making their way here."
Instructor W returned to the scene where the Sandesgeist was damaged and the Aquarius disabled, overseeing the work there. "The Aquarius' fighter knew how to fight." He thought, assessing the convoy loading the legs of the Sandesgeist. "It would also be cheaper to upgrade with this damage. Time to see if logistics can run again." He returned to see the Aquarius, everything but the cockpit beautifully intact. "This can be repaired as well after I have a good look at how it works."
Till and Adnrew made their way into their own meeting room when they saw Klaus make an entrance. From what their map reports offered, the OZ resistance was having better success in North America while a little news came from the Spanish Peninsula.
"We have reason to assume the Americas are based on truth. From what little information Flake has offered, it is consistent with what has been offered."
"We can say Brussels is a bittersweet victory." Andrew assessed. "We've got the capital back in our hands, but the Parliament and the President is missing. Before we fall into anarchy, we will need to immediately establish leadership."
"That is something we will have to prioritize." Klaus nodded. "It will be a decisive blow to the Coalitions desire to continue the war. Provided that should Nathaniel Falson be brought into our hands, we will be able to have a certain amount of leverage to present some form of negotiations."
The Lord turned to Donna, who was also in room, half-heartedly listening to the conversation. "Because we have the Gundams on our side, I believe we can use them for morale purpose?"
Donna sighed at what his father was thinking. "And you want me?" She questioned. "I'm part of the Rogue Wings, technically allied with OZ. You need Captain Houston's permission for that."
Andrew laughed at what looked like a refusal. "Did I miss something in the Lindemann family?" He asked playfully. He received with a stare from both the father and daughter. "I never missed how stuck up the family is."
Donna took the opportunity to leave the meeting as she lamented, "If only my Gundam was still in working order."
Ermes saw how the Gundams and his sister are making short work of the Scutums. He used his missile launcher at the openings in the armor of the Scutums, ready to contribute as much as the Gundams. "I'm not going be left behind in this!" He added.
The Uriel took the right side when it began to move in with the others. "Beginning the first sweep. Let's clear a path for them." The Scutum units managed to provide enough of a defense line to prevent Heero's company from making significant progress. This managed to motivate Mercurio and the others to make their attack with speed. The Tallgeese Throne and Uriel took their own sides
The blockade wasn't enough for Heero when he saw his chance to break through the enemy ranks. "We have an opening. Let's keep pressing forward."
His driver saw the small gap between the Scutum units but was visibly concerned for the company's safety. "Sir, the Gundams are still pressing forward against those things. We're going to risk getting shot."
This didn't bother his superior in the slightest when he ordered, "Our mission is to reach the capital before the Coalition has a chance to escape with the representatives. We won't achieve it if we don't hurry."
The representatives of the Earth Sphere were unloaded from their vehicles to their new location. Hiram was thrown to the ground by one of the Coalition soldiers. "Ah...", he said out of pain when he met the cement. He still felt disoriented from the gas earlier but managed to maintain enough of his senses. He managed to look up and wonder to himself, "Where are we?"
One of the representatives managed to look up to the sky and had at least an idea of where they were. "I believe... We are in Amsterdam."
Hiram shook himself as if to wake from a nightmare when he stated, "Here of all places? This was meant to be our escape away from the Coalition occupation."
Relena was next to them when she realized their scenario. "Perhaps they managed catch up with us here."
Rayen knew that his chance to escape from the Earth Sphere's judgment was before him. "It's unfortunate you believe you'll have somewhere to claim support Edward. At least now I will have the chance to take advantage of this situation." He saw the representatives sent to the ground when he ordered, "Prepare the Representatives. We will be leaving shortly." The soldiers surrounded themselves around the representatives and made sure their prisoners would be guided onto the nearest shuttle. He saw one of them attempting to run when he drew his pistol warning, "Perhaps it is best that you stay there." Rayen warned when he fired his gun into the leg of his target. He couldn't see too many of them dead before the day was out, it would only lessen the hold he would soon have over the Earth Sphere. "Make sure he is tended too. Load them onto the nearest shuttle so we can begin the evacuation." He ordered.
The war Nathaniel had long fought for was about to come to an end as he felt Franz's soldiers push him towards the shuttle prepared for him. He was uncertain of his fate at this point but found that his fate was about to be decided soon. The Earth Sphere soldiers cuffed him near one of the rails that kept him from falling. As Nathaniel was dragged to the shuttle Franz was taking him, he came face to face with the man who had challenged him for the longest time. Nathaniel had used his possible last words to accuse his captor of the crimes he had been prepared to reveal. "I hope you are pleased with your progress Franz. I recognize your plans beyond this point and what is in store for the human race. I truly expected better of you."
Franz saw Nathaniel constrained to a scaffolding nearby one of the shuttles he was prepared to use. He saw the Coalition military preparing to enter the city when he saw them from a distance. He offered his condolences when he answered Nathaniel's statement. "Regrettably you have learned far too late Nathan. Perhaps if you had the chance to complete the trial you would have vindicated the early efforts of what this war set to accomplish. As you might have seen however, you surrounded yourself with men who did not see an opportunity for peace, but rather ones who had their own inner ambitions. You became the head of a war that would have expanded many years beyond the eleven we have already endured."
Franz continued when he had his own confession. "That is not to say my plan didn't have its failings either. I had expected the Gundams to arrive before you had a chance to sentence me to execution. If it were not for the devotion of such a devoted nation, I would have failed myself. Unfortunately, you were unlucky to rally men who did not truly believe in the cause of the Coalition pacifying the Earth for peace. The men you brought with you to power is what threatened to dissolve the Coalition years ago, and now it has brought about your downfall. These men will always find their way into power so long as humanity does not have a cataclysm to rally behind. And even then, they might find ways to conquer those beneath them. Soon I will be able to rectify that." He prepared his pistol and offered some final words for Nathaniel, "This war has made you the inheritor of the bloodiest conflict in human history. There is only one way that you will be able to pay for such crimes now. It will offer justice to those who have lost loved ones and it will absolve you of what crimes await after this war..."
Franz lifted his pistol and aimed at Nathaniel's head before offering his final parting words. "Simply know this Nathan. Few could have asked for a better student." Nathaniel didn't offer any further words for this assurance and simply closed his eyes prepared for the worst. Franz fired the pistol and saw Nathaniel limp forward from his death. For all his efforts, he had won this war with his former student. Franz turned away from the limp body of Nathaniel Falson and made his way towards the shuttle.
Franz checked outside and saw a final battlefield was igniting beneath him. The Parliament was the prize for now and any Earth Sphere military would be forced to search for them while he could make his escape. He prepared his space suit while preparing to endure the ascension into space. "Humanity will have its salvation soon. Rest now Nathan. I will make sure that this ends with the human race achieving true peace."
He offered these final words to the Earth when he keyed in the commands to activate the computer driven launch. "Voice activation engaged. Computer. Commence primary ignitions for launch towards the site of Sol Invictus."
Hyrum saw the team of soldiers making their way through the city of Amsterdam and further into the city's center. He was concerned when he asked one of his fellow soldiers, "Where is the President?"
"Last we heard he's supposed to be on his way towards the nearest shuttle, sir."
"The shuttle? But he's supposed to be waiting for the Parliament to make its way here."
Another one of the soldiers interrupted the discussion when they saw the Coalition begin to make its way into the city. "I believe that might be the issue."
Hyrum was taken aback when he saw General Vasquez's forces beginning to make their way through. "He... Did he set us down here to take back the Parliament?"
"Not a bad formation guys. We need to get some actual results now." Dana said as she prepared her buster rifle. The rifle fired towards the Scutum units on the far side and prevented any fire from that area.
As Heero and his men managed to make their way past the Scutum units, the explosions and debris managed to find their way towards his location with the others. His vehicle was toppled over and forced him to dive out of the way when this occurred although he saw some of his men too slow to make it out in time. The Scutum units from the rear end were making their way towards Amsterdam's location as they tried to damage the incoming mobile suits but still found themselves at the mercy of the invaders.
Heero didn't watch the battle any further when he found one of the nearest men nearby and ordered, "Get a vehicle ready. We can't let our route in be delayed."
"Yes sir. Moving out." Heero saw his fellow soldier rush towards the nearest jeep while some of the wounded were gathered in the back. Fortunately it seemed like most of the men would find their way through to Amsterdam but the situation was not any less desperate. He knew the representatives would be in danger if he delayed another second. At least this was what he had impressed on his mind when it came to following orders. Relena. Please hang on.
Mercurio saw his father preparing the others to gather into one of the nearest jeeps but tried to make sure the enemy wasn't trying to harm him. He had his chance when he reported to Dana, "Captain. We're almost through. The Major's men are now gathering outside of the Scutum lines."
Dana gave him the answer he hoped for when she answered, "Let's meet up with them and make sure the enemy doesn't think they have a sitting duck out there."
Mercurio had his sword in shield mode when he tried to guard against the shots made by the Scutum units but found they would not make contact. The Tallgeese Throne was making its mark against the Coalition units when it continued to slice away with the heat rods. He heard Dafina report to him, "The Scutum units will still be tailing us if we leave them now. Continue towards the city. I will hold them down here."
"Understood… Thanks Dafina." Mercurio thanked with only minimal issue.
"Anything to help Mercurio."
The Coalition soldiers had the Earth Sphere representatives surrounded with weapons aimed for emphasis. "Representatives, make your way towards the shuttle. We do not want any trouble."
Malcolm denied this order when he stepped forward among his fellow politicians, "We are not your prisoners. The Earth Sphere will not permit its enemies to end this day with even a partial victory."
He saw the same soldier point out, "You are all unarmed without-" Malcolm didn't bother listening to the rest when he grabbed the rifle and struggled to take it from him. The others were doing their best to do the same and another small skirmish had begun.
One of the soldiers made his way towards Rayen when he warned, "General sir! The representatives are trying to resist capture!"
Rayen knew what was happening but couldn't permit things to turn out worse. "Do not kill them. Find one of the leading representatives and bring them to me. They will listen to reason soon enough."
"Yes sir." The soldier agreed. Rayen saw the soldiers below having a harder time trying to contain the violence with the new orders but knew it was necessary to see them transported to Luna.
The Coalition soldiers heard the gunfire come from behind when several of them fell over dead. "Sir, there's more Earth Sphere soldiers on the other side of the spaceport area." One of the squad leaders pointed out.
The squad leader knew he had to follow on Rayen's orders and instructed, "Hold them down. We can't let them have any assistance. Have some of our rear forces hold them off." Only a few moments later the Coalition soldiers had begun to resist against Hyrum and his men. The situation became more favorable when the Earth Sphere representatives were gradually knocked out and carried towards Rayen's location. The Coalition would be able to find their way out of the area with their prize soon but the processing had to be done perfectly.
Hyrum and his men saw the eruption of violence begin when the representatives had no desire to follow the Coalition. Hyrum knew the order he was asked to follow now. "We have to help them out. They're going to be in severe trouble soon."
One of his men reluctantly agreed, "The President sent us on a suicide mission it seems. At least we can do it with a good cause."
Hyrum hoped to see his men more relaxed when he ordered, "Focus fire on the Coalition soldiers. Be careful not to let any of the Earth Sphere representatives be harmed in the process. Let's focus on making sure this mission turns out to be something ideally heroic for all of us."
His fellow soldiers gave a small chorus, "Yes sir."
They turned from the corner of the building and began to assist the representatives as best they could. "Give them hell!" Hyrum announced among the gunfire. The conflict was escalating to a higher height when this happened.
