For every attempt to suppress this facet, it returns to claim many more for how long it has been held back. Conflict however is never a simple summary. Underneath every act of brutality is an act of deception and underneath every deception is a mask of the true intentions of justifying the slaughter of others. What those who bear witness to such deception and how they will accept it will inevitably escalate violently. Such is the scenario proposed in After Colony 225.

Episode 61: Two Cities Remain Standing

Zachariah made his way behind the Gundams as he checked the blazing city around him and told his fellow pilots, "How does it look out there? Can we say there's any chance for standard fire to push these things at all?"

Dana fired a shot towards one of the nearby mobile dolls when she answered, "Sorry but it's hard enough to put a dent in these things with heavy fire. Try and keep the others safe."

Zachariah watched the mobile doll defensors absorb the blast that came towards the shields when he determined how unlikely his chances were at assisting. He turned to the gathering where Ludwika and the others would be taking cover and told his superior, "Try not to lose everything. We can't afford any casualties at this point."

Dana moved in with the new Artemis Gundam when she told him, "I'm the one who's giving the orders about who lives Zach. You follow them."

Zachariah heard the order but only had the chance to watch the Artemis dash its way towards the nearest Sol Thero target. The gunfire continued to roar as he continued his advance towards the others and heard one of the pilots contact him, "You guys out here to extract us from this area?"

Zachariah confirmed, "We would like to see more survivors. Have you guys been able to hold on without us?"

Daisuke answered, "I didn't know who got one of them, but I wish he was with us right now."

Nasir added, "We've had to endure a lot just to get a scratch on these things."

Fredric told them, "Let's just get to cover. We have to let the Gundams finish this work."

The Ursas backed away from the straying shots as they continued to damage potions of the city. When the Ursas continued their escape, one of the Sol Theros observed the movement from a distance as its programing determined, 'Current threat manageable. No survivors are permitted. Beginning pursuit of secondary targets.' The Sol Thero broke away from the attack pattern advancing towards the new targets.

Mercurio slashed and wove around the multiple attacks the Sol Theros had when he contacted Dana, "The others are in trouble! I've got a problem reaching them!"

Dana blasted the shielded Sol Theros in her efforts to leave the hold when she told him, "I don't think any of us are doing better to reach them! Just focus on our current targets!"

Ermes brought the twin rods of his Aquarius upon the nearest Sol Thero when he told them, "We'll have to make sure they stand on their own!"


One of the Sol Thero units turned its head noticing the Artemis prepared to engage from behind. It evaluated the threat of the third Gundam, 'Enemy unit approaching. Beta units moving in.' The two Sol Thero units parted way from the other units while deploying their planet defensors. The Artemis flew back while aiming its buster rifle and fired several times. Dana saw the shots absorbed by the fields when she cursed, "Come on these stupid things can't have that much power left in them!" She fired every shot she had while the other two Sol Thero units made their way towards the Aquarius and Uriel.
It took only a few more shots before the Zero system determined the buster rifle shots destroyed the defensor fields. Dana knew another series of shots was out of the question as soon as she saw the system determine the Sol Theros moving in. She prepared her beam saber as they moved in with their gun fire. The Zero System looked into the weaves the two units would make while Dana processed the movements through her mind. In the next moments she made dodged through the gunfire and missiles while preparing the beam saber at every area. The movement was swift when Dana sliced and managed to find the weak point for one unit and saw it fall to the ground sliced in half. The Artemis turned around when it made the final stab to take out the other unit.

One of the Sol Thero units saw the Uriel and Aquarius and determined, 'Detriment to objective. Threat above average.' The four units moved together in unison with one another in a diamond pattern preparing their gatling guns. The fire combined pushed the two Gundams back in an attempt to find proper defenses.

"They're too close together. We can't move in." Mercurio across the debris and found an energy pack among the remains. He was hopeful the pack was what he needed for his only chance at attacking the Sol Theros. "Ermes. That pack over there. Can you load it in my back slot?"

When Mercurio requested the power pack he got right to it. "Got it cuz!" Ermes replied to Mercurio's request. He grabbed the pack and loaded it into the back slot.

Mercurio heard the latches secure within the Uriel's slot when he the motion was taken. It was only a second before he saw the energy bar load to indicate the power to his new gunblade had been charged. "Hah. Thanks for the perfect work Ermes." He took aim at the nearest Sol Thero unit when he prepared for his first shot, "Now we've got the full capabilities ready." The shot of energy made its way forward and pierced through the Sol Thero's defensors. Due to the precision of the shot it didn't hit the main reactor unit at the left side of its chest but did bring it to full alert.

The unit scanned the two Gundams before it evaluating, 'Enemy fire above anticipated levels. Possibility of assured destruction 54%. Engaging next available battle plan.' The unit moved back while facing the two Gundams before it fired the available missile sections from its openings along with a volley of gatling gun fire.

The Zero system evaluated the next motions for Mercurio when he saw a possible defense but left Dana caught from behind. He flew back when he prepared his gunblade again and warned, "Captain watch out!" The missiles were destroyed when he fired at the projected points. When the gatling fire came, he wove from left to right to avoid the hit before he took aim again and fired three times. The first shot took off its head while the other two managed to hit the main reactor causing the Sol Thero to explode.

Dana turned her mobile suit when she heard the explosion. "How the? That come from you Yuy?"

Mercurio confirmed the action, "It looks like we found the Testudo ammunition sir. These things should be a little easier now."

"How much luckier can we get?" Dana sighed at the discovery. Her relief didn't last long when she saw the Zero System warn about the nearest Sol Thero prepared to strike at her. The Artemis took its beam saber again and blocked the attack while the Aquarius moved in to assist. "About halfway done already." Dana observed.

Things did not get any lighter for her group when she noticed the Earth Sphere signals were being cut off by a corner of buildings. "Nasir needs our assistance. We should move out." She commanded. Her buster rifle was ready when the three mobile suits made their way further into the city.

Nasir saw his fellow remaining Ursa units trying to withstand the attacks from the Sol Theros surrounding them. He looked around while trying to find a way out. Nasir found himself becoming more desperate when he saw no possible escape. "Damn it! How much longer?!" He turned around to see the other Ursa units attempting to hold their ground but heard a particular scream from one of the nearby Ursa units. "Ludwika!" He turned to his left almost ready to see another casualty. "Cinzia! Hold on!" When things appeared most helpless several shots landed on the three approaching Sol Thero units. Nasir was shaken but still managed to ask, "Captain?"

Zachariah felt as though the world stopped to a halt when he saw Ludwika's mobile suit destroyed. "Ludwika. You… You have to be kidding me…" Before he had a chance to mourn her destruction, he heard one of his fellow pilots shout about the continuing attack. With the recent loss of someone he had known for so long, he felt himself filled with only the desire to see more of the mobile dolls fall but remained at the side of the few who stood by him.

Dana confirmed her presence when the intercom sounded, "Sorry for the wait. You're still alive right?"

Nasir confirmed, "Yeah. Most of us anyway. We were forced on the defensive once they got here." He noticed the Sol Thero units preparing a three-sided formation before they began to fire their gatling guns. He warned, "Captain! Evasive action!"

Dana ordered the other two Gundam pilots, "Get the lead out! Don't let them down!" While the Artemis continued to fire its buster rifle.


A sudden shot at the Sol Thero's ground got the unit lose balance. Donna took the chance to finish it off, cleanly slicing it in half. She turned to see who fired the shot from behind. "Nice work Suchart." She commended.

Suchart's Ursa discarded the used sniper cartridge. "At your service." He replied.

The Sol Thero units approaching Brussels saw two of their units already destroyed while having already determined the Zero System wasn't available to them. Their programming determined the next option, 'Hazardous enemy detected. Threat to objective 60%. Enact primary actions.' With this judgment passed the Sol Theros still standing moved away while opening the missile hatches. A volley went forth over the advancing teams while headed for the city the Earth Sphere attempted to defend.

The volley of missiles made their way towards the front lines of defense when one of the pilots warned, "We've got enemy fire incoming!"

Hyrum ordered, "Engage defensive positions! Don't let them through!" The Sol Thero units weren't able to use precision with the Zero System offline, but they were still able to overwhelm the Earth Sphere units with sheer force. The missiles flew forth and made contact while the line of mobile suits fired every shot to evade them.

Pascal fired at several missiles before he saw four headed his way from above while another three right in front. "Damnit! No! Not now!" He cursed before his mobile suit was annihilated.

Roy saw the destruction of Pascal's unit when he tried to curse, "This ain't - Ahhh!" Were his last words before his unit met the same fate.

Heero didn't need to hear a report when he saw the missiles make their way to the frontlines but still heard from Hyrum the damage, "Major! I don't think we're going to hold this place together much longer!"

As if he believed his force could be applied to the defense Heero ordered, "Don't break the lines! The battle is still progressing!"

"Sir we've lost twenty mobile suits already! I don't think our defense will handle another one!"

"Hold the line and don't let the enemy break through!"

Hyrum seemed to regain his composure when he agreed, "We'll keep them back sir. We're going to need some firing support though."

Heero changed his frequency to the leading mobile suits when he ordered, "Attention advance teams! Enemy engagement is the first priority! Do not permit another volley!"

Dafina heard the order and prepared her heat rods for the next attack. "Report received." She answered her uncle. The Tallgeese flew forward when she added, "There will not be a second one." She collided with the planet defensor fields but put in every effort to destroy the black mobile doll. More of the Sol Thero units moved away attempting to find another area to attack their target.

Hyrum saw one of the nearest Sol Thero units approaching the Tallgeese Throne and knew it was time to make up for their loses. He focused his beam rifle when he ordered, "Concentrate fire on that target! Break through those defenses!"

The Ursa units still standing managed to continue firing while one of the pilots asked, "Is it doing anything sir?"

Hyrum remained diligent with the push when he answered, "It's giving our guys out there something. We'll wear away those shields if we keep this up."

The Sol Thero units attempting to find their way back from the enemy fire saw the far back units attempting to undo their shields. 'Enemy fire intensifying. Continue primary objective.' The programming in the Sol Thero units determined this and continued to avoid the two Gundams while firing their missile volley towards the primary line of Ursa units.

"Sir! We've got more missiles incoming!"

Hyrum had to consider the next order when he tried to build up the defense. "Shoot them down!"

A few of the missiles were destroyed in midair but the volley was still making its way towards them. "The volley is coming in too fast!" Hyrum grew more desperate when he fired on the missiles hoping to find a quick way out. Fortunately for him there was a blast that made its way towards him. He saw the Tallgeese Throne fly towards the front lines firing its buster rifle at every missile aimed at the Ursa units.

Despite his safety he tried to remind Dafina, "Tallgeese! Save the ammo for those shields! We'll never push them back at this rate!"

The Tallgeese turned to return to the battlefield when its pilot assured, "We will. The advance team is moving back for firing support."

Donna activated Sandesgeist's new flight mode. The large fins began unfolding to turn into the flight boosters. Once the transformation was done she followed Dafina's lead while keeping a close eye on attacks from behind. The ZERO system alerted her of the missiles, allowing her to shoot some of them down.


Till received the battle reports being brought to him constantly with no visible end. He had Blare brought with him to monitor his movements and perhaps receive some Coalition wisdom. "So General, how do you think the Coalition would deal with a powerful foe that's not human?" He asked.

Edward looked over the holographic map as the battle progressed. The units were making actions that were supposed to be impossible under any practical situation. He decided to discard any further attempts at strategy when he agreed to answer Till's question. "As you may have seen, even we were incapable of handling it. Mobile dolls certainly once served a purpose, but I'm certain no one expected them to have a purpose after the later stages of this war." He inserted a thumb drive when he explained the red areas displayed in Europe on a world map. "I was able to look up the recent Coalition activity only to find that there is not even any to report on. All of the signals have been lost." He attempted to control his growing panic when he saw the situation build but managed to be frank about the situation, "As of right now it would seem any potential allies we could have mustered on the eastern portion of Europe are nonexistent while the North American forces are too far away to do anything."

Marcel didn't show as much concern when he commented, "If the worst should come to it we may have no other choice then to rendezvous with them."

Edward did his best to contain his interest when he asked under his concern, "And how might that be? Do we have a backup plan?"

Marcel didn't explain the plan when he answered, "We shall permit the defense to pass for now. Our next step forward will depend on the status of Amsterdam."

Till listened to Marcel. "I have high hopes for Brussels' defense." He assured. "We have a Gundam on our side along with OZ forces."

The minor damage shook the command center with several personnel shaken. The Lord stood as he was used to it. "The Parliament did prepare for massive blasts it seems." He commented. "I think I will view the battle from the rooftop. General Blare, accompany me." He left the room to climb the stairs to the roof. He found observing the battle from there better and he still had his headpiece to receive reports from.

Edward heard Till's request and had an initial feeling of accusation he had to suppress. He still managed to control himself when he agreed, "Yes of course." He followed his new superior up to the rooftop while following close behind.


"Sinclair team, initiate strafing run!" Stuart ordered from a Commander's Griffon. "We can only provide distractions for the Gundam and the Tallgeese!"

The massive bomb drops were dropped by Griffons above the skies but the Sol Theros defended themselves with the planet defensers. Once the bombs stopped one countered the bombers with the gatlings, shooting a few down with a few shots hitting the Parliament building with minor damage. Donna was able to use the distraction to bisect the Mobile Doll to prevent further damage. "

Upon the rooftop Edward and Till had a decent view of the battle while seeing what missiles continued to make their way into the city. One hit particularly close to the Parliamentary Building and it caused Edward to flinch from the sudden explosion. "Hn... Damn. I certainly hope this is part of a greater strategy. Pretty soon there may be nothing left of this city." He said commenting on the destruction around them.

Till was not shaken by the explosion nearby. "Were you a soldier before?" He asked Edward. "If you were one then you should be used to this." He observed how the missiles were intercepted. "We can't afford to lose this war anymore. Kecker's Mobile Dolls must be stopped." He looked at the general. "Should I trust that you have the same feeling as well?"

Edward turned to answer Till's questions, "Of course. I do try to be realistic for the most part however. Just considering all of these factors is rather tricky at times. Even if we did have a strategy against mobile dolls I don't believe we had one against these sort of otherwise impossible tactics." He was more prepared for the second question when he brushed off the suggestion, "In order to even consider sympathizing with Kecker's plans I'd have to have an inkling of an idea of what he's doing."


The number of Sol Thero units continued to dwindle when Hyrum and the others continued to fire on the planet defensors. "We've got them on the run! Deplete everything!"

One of the pilots continued to fire while reporting on the problem of the defensors, "I can't even tell if our shots are doing anything sir! It looks like those shields will take more than anything we have!"

"Better than lining up to die! Their shields won't last so long against the Gundams though so keep firing!" Hyrum ordered as he continued every shot made.

Two of the Sol Thero units saw the thinning line of Ursa units and evaluated their next move once they fired their last missiles. 'Bombardment ammunition depleted. Initiate final run.' They lifted their gatling guns and fired in both directions while building energy into their core system.

One of the pilots recognized the issue when he moved his unit back from the incoming storm. "The hell? Sir two of those things are headed right for us."

Hyrum stepped back and saw the immediate threat to their unit. "They're self-destructing! All units fall back!" He ordered. The volley of gatling fire continued to hit the escaping Ursa units while they took the last available cover behind the buildings.

"Stop this!" Dafina commanded when she swooped in with the Tallgeese Throne. She fired twice with her buster rifle on a Sol Thero unit, the first shot breaking the planet defensors with the second one leaving a hole and an obliterated reactor. Before firing again she found her buster rifle had run out of ammo when the signal illuminated on her panel.

The Tallgeese dropped its buster rifle while preparing its heat rods in a cross-swipe towards the remaining Sol Thero unit. Before it could get close enough to the Ursa line the Tallgeese sliced and saw the Sol Thero fall into pieces with its reactor destroyed. Dafina saw the remains below and in that moment saw how final the mission was. These units were made to carry out their mission, this one being the destruction of Brussels, and with nothing to follow after. "This is what separates us. Anyone piloting these would consider the consequences of such an act."

She broke her contemplation when Hyrum ordered the Ursa defenses, "Keep focus on the city! We've got missiles incoming!" The missiles flew over her head when he gave the warning.

Dafina leaped up into the air with heat rods at the ready while warning, "Donna. Please watch my six. I have to take these ones out at close range."

Upon the flight of the Tallgeese a column of missiles were destroyed with its ascension as its heat rods swiped across the sky and made contact. The missiles continued to fly but were either shot down by the line of Ursas or completely missed their target. Dafina searched through every pattern the Tallgeese could find and saw the few moving past their lines would only manage to hit the unpopulated areas.

Dafina turned to the left when she saw the missiles were no longer firing and began to make her way down to the ground. She saw the final two Sol Thero units were now only reduced to offering gatling fire to the frontlines in an attempt to break through. Dafina knew what would happen next if they were left standing and prepared the Tallgeese for a final dash to the ground. She contacted Donna, "Take the one on the left. Just try to avoid their blades." The two mobile suits dashed forward with their respective close range weapons and in two final swipes saw the end of their enemies.


With the new order the Aquarius began charging at a Sol Thero with the heat rod activated. The mobile doll's arm was bound by the weapon and was tore off with strength. The fighting style of the Aquarius was different to how he fought with the Ursa previously. "I'm fighting as someone else?" He thought. The Sol Thero he was fighting was finished off with a point-blanc Dober-gun. "This Gundam doesn't have the Zero-system but something different."

Nasir saw the destruction of the three Sol Thero units before him and sighed with visible relief when he contacted Dana, "Thanks Captain. Never thought we'd get out of this one alive."

Dana shook off the offer when she answered, "It was a failure for us to not get here soon enough. Something of this city is still standing right?"

Nasir checked the ruins of the city through his camera when he agreed, "Yeah. It's something. We probably managed to stop these things from reaching our forces in Brussels though and that's probably the key strategic advantage we have now."

Cinzia was the first to point out the issue with this tactic when she entered, "If that was their plan did they just land in an inconvenient place?"

Nasir groaned before he answered, "If they did I don't think they would have tried decimating the city as well. It's not like we'd be able to interrogate them anyway."

Dana requested a report against the speculation when she asked, "How many capital forces are still alive?"

Nasir looked over the forces when he answered, "Probably next to none. They were all over the space port like it was nothing and reduced it to nothing." He sighed before continuing to chastise his own failure adding, "We weren't able to do anything Captain. They sent their missiles right over our heads."

Dana took things easy on Nasir when she told him, "I don't blame you. These things are able to take down more than we think. The leaders back home are not going to be happy with this though."

Mercurio checked the Sol Thero units were finally taken down and saw nothing but the continued burning of the wreckage around him. Even with the small success he knew the next challenge was going to be much more difficult unless the leaders had a plan. "We should make our way back Captain. We'll have to send them the bad news firsthand."

Dana showed no signs of protest when she agreed, "Time to get it over with then." She switched the Artemis' signal to the carrier when she ordered, "Get us out of here Majewski. Ground forces are completely cleared out. Unfortunately we don't have much to carry home."

Gawel heard the command before he responded to his superior, "Roger that Captain. We're moving in."
Zachariah looked over the ruins on his side of the carrier when he asked, "So how many of them are still standing? You got a view over there?"

Gawel looked down when he answered, "Four. Got to admit that's more than I thought they could handle."

Zachariah rubbed his sweaty temples when he commented, "Just when we needed a turn for the Coalition to take a beating we end up being punished by something we built."

"Doesn't matter who did what, as soon as I find out who's behind their altered programming, I'm going to send somebody to meet their maker earlier than scheduled."

"You think these things weren't programmed by Architect I to do this?"

"The guy's about shady enough to be a suspect but I'm not going to rest my entire case on him." The conversation ended when Gawel found himself right above a clearing for the remaining units when he reported, "We're landed Captain. Bring all survivors on board and we'll take you on home."

He heard the Captain's confirmation when she answered, "Good work Majewski. We're headed there now."

Ermes received the news of the spaceport's destruction as he listened to the communications through his channel. "Damn it." He thought. "The planning across the years are dangerously well thought out..." He asked a question to the Captain that may not help. "Captain, isn't there another spaceport we have access to?" He questioned her. "We must have elsewhere to go for launches."

Dana knew Ermes's question was the first thing she had to contemplate when her men got back. She answered with as much realism as possible, "We better have one. If we don't we've just about lost every cause we had." She considered her options when the other pilots made their way to the carrying areas.

Gawel added another question to the scenario, "If we do have another one then what's keeping the mobile dolls from trying to take out those ones?"

Dana stopped at the entrance of the cockpit area when she answered, "Might not have reached the area yet or they have to put up with more forces than anticipated. Let's hope it's enough to go out there again."

Zachariah was the next to wonder, "Would you say we're headed for another trip to Rome Captain?"

"I'll have to ask the General about it. Just get us back home for now."

Gawel strapped himself into the pilot seat when he agreed, "Easy enough." With the order given the carrier made its way out of the ruins and back to Brussels.

Nasir, Cinzia and the others made their way to the crew holding area of the carrier when their Ursas had deployed in the hangar bay. Mercurio met with them when he introduced, "It's good to see some of you have made it this far. We believed the Sol Theros would have completely destroyed the city area."

Nasir disagreed with the sentiment when he pointed to the ruins outside the plane window, "They basically did. Not to mention took out our chances of getting to Kecker's location."

Cinzia stepped forward to remind him, "They could have either helped us and gave the forces in the capital an advantage or let us end up like Ludwika and the others while getting flanked again. This is why we spread our forces when necessary."

Mercurio looked out the window regretfully hearing Ludwika's demise. "I see... If I had the chance to, I would have made sure everyone came back safe. Now I'm not sure how many of us will still be here when this has ended."

Nasir sat down when he contemplated his regret, "Go figure. Sorry to be the one to break this to you but this war has not been letting up on us. It doesn't even look like Kecker wants to consider letting it down either. And that's considering we're going to make it past the end of this." Mercurio saw the man's face and knew there was nothing he could do to convince him out of his disappointment.

Mercurio turned to the new soldiers who had just seen the carnage below when he told them, "Try not to let this day get you down. I'm sorry to say that we'll be facing more like this."


Heero endured the shockwave when he kept his balance pressing the bicep of his injured arm against the wall of his hangar. He looked around to see the ground soldiers still scrambling to make the way clear for the Wing 1 carrier when he requested, "How many of our forces are still out there?"

One of the men saluted, "Not many sir. We might have to enact the evacuation soon. Second Carthage should be easy to pull off if we're ready."

Heero forced himself to stand on his own while still holding his injured arm commenting, "I hoped we wouldn't have to endure this in the first place." He gathered his leadership when he ordered, "Get our other carriers ready to fly. We need to prepare for a two-day flight."

One of the soldiers questioned the order, "You think we'll be clear for this sir?"

Heero didn't bother with disciplinary action at this time when he answered, "Brussels has officially become too much of a hotbed for our forces. The Parliament is going to be ready for an evacuation anyway. Get the remainder of the supplies and equipment ready."

The remaining questions were answered for the men when they agreed, "Yes sir."

Heero saw the carriers loaded while observing what remained of the city. When he turned to the city again he saw the three things he had secretly attempted to keep safe this whole time. "Relena?" His duty was to the Earth Sphere, but the fight was still nothing without his wife or his daughters Helena and Selena.

Relena ran up to him when she asked, "Heero. Is it true the evacuation is about to take place?"

Heero confirmed her concern, "We don't have the numbers to maintain the city for much longer. Quebec City will be our only choice then. It should be safer there at least."

Helena broke into their conversation when she warned, "Dad you have to let mom on. You know she won't leave until you agree."

Heero turned to her when he answered, "I've known her long enough to confirm that sweetie. Just don't let any of the others bother you while you're up there."

Selena dashed away any concern when she added, "She's got nothing to worry about dad. We just want to make sure you don't end up being trapped again. Or at least you won't be without us."

"Things I do for my kids." Heero said shaking his head. "Wait for the official announcement from the General. We'll move out once we hear from him."


The long moments passed before Edward found there was no longer anything to worry about when the last Sol Thero fell at the hands of the Sandesgeist and Tallgeese. "Well the defense certainly wasn't bad. If our only choice is to simply remain here then we might have a chance." He commented on the final defense. He turned to Till asking, "I suppose if there is anything else to anticipate we should keep watch for our men?"

Till confirmed, "Most importantly to see that they are prepared for what is to come next. Is it true that you can look at what we have seen today and approve of seeing this struggle continue?"

"Seeing things from afar is certainly different from meeting face to face with the eruption of conflict. But I can indeed confirm that what we have seen today is nothing short of a demonstration of what our men are capable of."

"You see what they endure and to you it is simply a demonstration of what must happen. What I have seen is the accumulation of desperation to ensure that we continue to survive. There is no glory to be had in destroying a faceless enemy that does not perceive the notion of honor."

"The reality is that we are in fact facing the might of weak men who do not believe in our way of thinking. The only reason that we would offer them any sort of victory is because we chose to allow them to have it. I know little of what your intentions are, but I will never allow the honor of everything that we have been able to achieve in our lifetime be lost to those who cannot find the support of others that they require."

With a lingering pause, Till considered what Edward had answered and turned to the blazing field as he reflected on what his answers offered. Being able to point to everything that Edward held dear being reflective of his days in the Romefeller Foundation made it difficult for him to immediately hate who he was. Yet for everything that he would claim to hold dear, he still had difficulty wondering what the honor of such days truly meant to him.


Two hours passed before Wing 1 descended to the landing area it came from while the remaining pilots tried to come to terms with their recent losses. Mercurio saw Zachariah took the news on Roy's demise quite hard while only a few of the new recruits managed to gather with something less than total shellshock. Among the sights he began to notice just how little he wasn't moved by the situation. All of these sights had become something of an everyday occurrence by now along with several others.

Mercurio descended to the ground when he saw the Earth Sphere soldiers preparing the landing pad for escort and it seemed to be larger than any he saw before. The number of carriers suggested an exodus when he saw several politicians found their way onboard. His thoughts were interrupted when he saw Dafina meet with him. "Hey, from the looks of the city it looks like it at least managed to survive another invasion. I'm glad you were here for us Dafina."

Dafina nodded to the compliment when she asked for his experience, "Was Amsterdam saved at least?"

Mercurio leaned on one of the hangar walls when he crossed his arms and answered, "Probably enough to rebuild. I don't know if we're going to make it into space now."

Dafina lightly sighed when she considered, "It does explain how Kecker was planning to keep anyone from following him. Any but the most secure areas are probably our only chance for pursuit now."

"At least hoping we can make it. Did you at least manage to find out anything about his target?"

"I couldn't find anything. Whatever the Sol Invictus is supposed to destroy will be a sizable target however. No one builds something this massive with the intention of destroying one minor establishment."

"We'll probably only figure out about it once we find it. After that we can meet like regular cousins right?"

Dafina met his eyes when she agreed, "I would enjoy that. If I could have changed anything about our first meeting I probably should have revealed myself to begin with."

Mercurio waved a hand when he conceded, "I should have been the one to trust you. If I had then Kecker probably wouldn't be out there right now."

"Then Golsin would have slipped under our noses because of it."

Mercurio felt himself stumped at the idea when he had to consider such an inevitable fate. "Guess there is a consequence to every action after all. Probably just a question of why Neil didn't make the launch anyway."

Dafina corrected him further when she answered, "It's a question of meeting with the Solaris at the same time. The mirror it is meant to line up with is not exactly a choice for finding shelter in space regardless of the time it takes. Especially considering how old he was."

Dana saw one of the pilots rush up to report, "Captain. We've got a transmission from General Neustadt. Requesting your report."

"Well if there's going to be anyone to break the news…" Dana said before she made her way to the nearest projection device.

A hologram of General Marcel Neustadt appeared before Dana when he greeted, "Captain. It is fortunate to see that you have survived. Please tell me you have good news in regard to the recent mission."

"We managed to extract some of our forces from the city General. Unfortunately we weren't able to secure our main objective. The Sol Theros managed to destroy the spaceport before we could get there in time."

Marcel didn't give a verbal chastisement when he shook his head, "Most regrettable. It doesn't seem anything could have been done to realistically undo this destruction however." He returned his face to her when he explained, "We could have requested that all of your forces move in to secure the city and risked losing our lives here today or remained here and face a more desperate battle from another side. Perhaps we have only managed to avoid the worst this scenario could offer."

"We need to get to space sir. Are we at least able to make our way to Rome for launch?"

"Our forces are at too much risk in Europe now to remain here. The current mission as of now is to enact the Second Carthage Protocol."

The first mention of the protocol had Dana curious about the decision but remained at attention when she asked, "With foremost concern at hand sir what is this protocol for?"

"To move the Parliament and what remaining Earth Sphere officials remain to Quebec City in its second stronghold. If we had prior knowledge of the Testudo's position it would have been enacted beforehand. Hopefully the attacks from the Sol Theros will be lighter before the attack continues."

"Is a spaceport there sir?"

"St. Johns has the port that will provide transport to your team at Kecker's coordinates. Upon arrival their position will mark the ideal time to align with Kecker's destination."

Dana began to feel some more confidence brewing in her when she affirmed her dedication, "Just a slight delay then. Better than just waiting here I guess. I take it we have the transport prepared for a trip that far away?"

"Major Yuy and the remaining forces have prepared several carriers to be ready for the travel. I suggest you inform you men to be prepared for another journey."

"Understood General. We'll be ready when everyone else is."

Marcel gave a final nod before he concluded, "The order will be issued in the next half hour. Have everything loaded by then. We'll see to it that the mission goes back as scheduled. Dismissed." The hologram faded and it left Dana to explain the news.

Within the war room that Marcel had occupied, Malcolm considered the protocol on the faded war desk when he asked Marcel, "Our forces have no other option then?"

"Not without risking the Parliament to the possibility of further Sol Thero attacks."

"We still may have to endure attacks from the Coalition forces from New Brunswick and Pennsylvania."

"The odds of facing the Coalition and hopefully informing them of our plight is a safer option then attempting to protect a further ruined capital. I must press that you consider this option as our only chance to maintain the integrity of the Earth Sphere."

Malcolm looked down in deep thought on the desk before he came to another decision. The wear and strategizing had been demanding for the past few days alone but the decisions only continued to demand more of him. If I am carrying even a fraction of what Kecker once had… He looked up before he faced the General, "If it must be so then I will follow through. Gather the Parliament and inform them that Second Carthage is now in act. Ensure this message is met with every civilian so they may leave as soon as possible."

Marcel saluted, "Very good sir. Our forces are anxious to see the next chance to begin their pursuit."

Malcolm gathered his materials before he walked along with the General agreeing, "As are we all. If Kecker can be stopped this evacuation will be our wisest option."


The defense of Burssels had come and gone as the city was still standing with only its recent scorches of the occupation to show for its harm. The three Nornir Gundams lead the way to the city as each one made their way into the primary hangar. Richard stepped out of his cockpit to look around the hangar bay area and at the foot of his Lachesis saw the first face he had been hoping to see. "Elna. Thank God you're alive."

As Richard slid his way down and embraced her, Elna added, "Nice to see you to Richard. Honestly I think I've built a lot more stress than I wanted out there. You got no idea how many of our guys bit it out there."

Richard placed his hand on her shoulder when he asked, "Tell you what, I don't think we got any briefing to give so why don't I take your mind off-"

"All men into formation!"

Richard snapped to attention when he heard Andrew Stuart give the order while Till walked next to him and Edward. Richard and Elna saw Christoph and Christian rush up to them while the men under Edwards command followed behind. Elna gave Richard a pat on the shoulder when she told him, "If your old man doesn't chew your bottom half off, I'll still have a use for you."

She walked off past Edward ranks while Richard made his way over to his brothers and stood firm with his back straightened. Standing in front of his father and Edwards men, Till was the first to speak, "You men managed to prevent one front from potentially taking the capital by storm. You have all performed the duty expected of you, but this situation has left us wanting as far as cooperation with one another."

He pointed to the three Nornir Gundams when he told them, "Mobile suits can be replaced as can the men who pilot them. But our best effort to defend ourselves still take more than numbers at this point. No Gundam can be replaced right now if we intend to fulfill our duty against the godless machines that we are now facing. That is why I can imagine that I expect to hear more from every man than a desperate act of self-preservation." He returned his focus back to his sons when he told them, "You will now offer me a personal report on what happened. What was it you saw happen out there and did your men perform as expected?"

Christoph answered, "We lead the charge as we were ordered sir. We took out three of the mobile dolls with the main cannon but the men with us were able to offer suppressing fire and keep them from fighting us at their optimum defense."

Till asked them, "And how was it that you found yourselves being the only ones who had to offer most of the offense?"

Richard answered, "We saw a squad of Blare's men rushing towards us and they were pretty spread out. If we didn't charge ahead we might have endured more casualties than we did. From what they told us they were the advance team sent to warn us about any mobile doll arrivals."

Till nodded when he told Edward, "I expect your squadron be offered the appropriate disciplinary action."

Edward told his men, "Sixth squadron front and center!" Seven pilots stepped in front of the Lindemann brothers before Edward told them, "I take pride in myself as being an effective military leader. A failure of my men is a failure that I must answer for regardless of my superior. With that I want to hear what excuse it was that would cause all of you to escape in such an unorderly fashion to where less than twice the boys had to rush forward to save your necks."

The captain answered, "We were all afraid for our lives sir. We heard the reports of what their purge through eastern Europe and all the way up to here and we know we didn't have a chance. At least until the Gundams appeared."

Edward told them, "Very fortunate you can recognize your superiors in terms of strength. But your fear for your lives almost cost us our best chances to stand against them. Until the average unit has a chance at even putting a scratch on those things, you are to recognize that your duty is to be a wall to defend these young menand their desire to see our united front remain in tact. As such you are all subject to remaining grounded until further notice and will contribute what you can to the restoration of the Nornirs."

A few of the pilots suppressed a groan when the captain remained at attention and agreed, "We'll offer what we can General."

Edward turned to Till when he told him, "I shall see that they are properly detained along with the proper customaries."

Till agreed, "I expect to hear they are all imprisoned properly and prepared to be escorted very quickly."

Edward told his squadron, "Sixth squadron form on me."

The squadron followed Edward while Till told the men, "The rest of you are to prepare for another procedure. The Second Carthage Protocol is now in effect and we are to prepare for a flight overseas alongside Baron Stuart's squadron. We will be leaving in the next two hours after preparations are complete. Dismissed."

Many of the men gave a sigh when they found the punishment was limited only to the seven who caused the Nornir Gundam pilots to defend themselves. When Edward and his men left the hangar bay, he checked to see that no one was overhearing him before telling his captain, "You've done well. Only one casualty and we were able to wear down on the Nornirs. Once you are within the confines of their imprisonment, you must await my signal when you are all needed."

The captain agreed, "We're always ready to execute your command general."

Edward saw Andrew follow behind him as Andrew asked, "Something you needed to learn from your men that wasn't in the report general?"

Edward answered, "I was hoping to learn if they discovered any news about the spaceport in Rome and if it could be used to at least send the Gundams to the Sol Invictus soon."

Andrew told him, "That is a worthwhile question. Your men never did reach that destination did they? Unfortunately that is where circumstances have played against us once again. It has been reported that the spaceport in Rome has met the same fate as the one in Amsterdam. Regrettably this may be the indication we need to confirm that we are soon to be all to ourselves. You can still call yourself capable under these circumstances?"

Edward made his way to the vacant holding area where several Earth Sphere soldiers remained on guard and told Andrew, "I bring you my finest capabilities as a leader then I am forced to improvise with what I have. Even if you decide that I must one day face the same fate you assign to my men."

He watched the small gate open as he watched his men walk inside while Andrew observed, "So you believe that we hope to use you as a shield. Correct me if I'm wrong but the way your men spread out and caused us such a ruckus, I would be able to chalk it up to astonishing luck to achieve, but it was done in such a way I would assume that it might have been preplanned."

Edward turned away from the gates when he told Andrew, "That would be an easy way to thin out our numbers of potential backstabbers wouldn't it? The chance to one day see there is only one leader of OZ who can give orders. I'm sorry that I resort to accusing you of such threats but right now this is probably the only scenario where your statement could be raised. I intend to prove myself once I have gone through enough of the strife and I will do so without your support if I must."

Andrew followed him as he told Edward, "Playing the victim does offer a fair amount of room for you to leave yourself accommodated here General. Regardless of your true intentions, I hope you understand that our union is only as strong as the men who truly believe in what they stand for. The only measure we will ever have of you is the day where we learn what your true ideals are on the field."

Dana stood near one of the crates to substitute as a podium when she announced to the soldiers, "Listen up everyone. We're being asked to follow through the Second Carthage Protocol. Simply put this city of ours is too busted to be defended anymore. So you're about to travel to the other side of the world to get a chance to launch into space. Prepare for the flight, it's going to be another two days before we reach it. And everyone see me after we take off. I have to discuss a few things with all of you. This final mission of ours is that important to elaborate on. We leave in another half hour. Dismissed."


An hour had passed while Oleg saw the other pilots gathered and prepared for their launch into space. One of the pilots voiced the sentiment when she commented, "It's not like we're fighting for anything now at this point are we?"

Oleg walked up to her when he answered back, "If you need something to fight for then consider how anyone will want to live in space with a giant construction that's supposed to have a huge punch behind it."

Another one of the pilots confirmed the need, "Everybody has family in space at this point. We can't just assume this is another mission."

"Good to see some people know this."

"If anything we might get some kind of vindication from the Earth Sphere's perspective."

Oleg pointed to the mobile suits prepared to be loaded when he commented, "Just remember that we do not lay our arms down until it's over."

One of the pilots nodded in confirmation when he prayed, "Let's just hope there's enough of us to live long enough to that ending."

Oleg walked down to the hangar bay where he saw the a giant dark mobile suit standing in place of where his Leo originally ways. "Damn. Something going on with my mobile suit?"

He saw one of the engineers confirm, "Sure is Private. We had a pyrrhic victory here in Moscow but doesn't mean we can't throw flames back at the ones who made them."

Oleg felt a brief sense of security and pride knowing he was on the same level as Tano again. He thanked, "If we're going down then we might as well go down with another Gundam at our side. Kieran should know that this will be a big factor in what's coming."

The engineer prompted, "Then let's see if you can make it rain out there in space Private. Show them what the power of the Golem is capable of bringing."

Oleg was in equal impressment with McNeil's work when he considered the technical areas of the new Gundam he had to work with. "I'll certainly never call you a minor part of this war McNeil. I'll make sure this thing is able to deal enough damage to the enemy while we're up there."

As soon as he made this promise he heard Kazantsev announce to the base, "Attention all forces. The shuttle bound for rendezvous with Admiral Miles is prepared to launch in thirty minutes. Prepare all final preparations before launch."

Oleg prepared himself for the next launch commenting, "Destiny is calling us right now. Let's hope it manages to answer the Captain's prayer." He turned to see another six pilots waiting next to the hangar door entryway before asking, "So you guys are hoping to add something to the Coalition's final mission?"

One of the pilots stepped forward when she confirmed, "We're adding as many of our best pilots as we have sir. Some of us still want an Earth to return home to while some of us want the colonies to be an ideal living place again."

"Don't we all?" Oleg agreed. He corrected her when he pointed out, "By the way I'm a private like any of you guys."

The pilot took back her comment when she added, "Uh right. From everything we've been through though it just seemed kind of a reflex is all."

Oleg didn't show any signs of aggression when he just brushed it off, "We'll have a better idea of who to promote after all of this is done. Let's get our stuff loaded, it's going to be a long journey." Various comments of confirmation rang through the pilots when they moved to see the supply carts load to the shuttle outside.

Kieran was wiping his sweat from the work he did in the hour. "The Golem Gundam may be a last-minute creation but I guarantee it's the Coalition's Engineering Corps' Magnum Opus." He explained as he grabbed a glass of water. "The twin gatling gun was given the feature with barrels divided between solid projectiles and beam. The shield holds the planet defensors but to make sure its high energy doesn't deplete the Golem's power economy, they are powered by rechargeable E-Caps. We also took the liberty to add missile pods around the arm and legs for extra firepower without worrying on power. One of the engineers thought of the name and with the symbolism of how the Golem was created by a rebellion so I went along."

Tano caught the sight of the Golem. He also couldn't believe at how it was able to be created at the eleventh hour. "McNeil, I didn't know this was even possible."