Few comprehend the scale of the devastation brought by the Falson Coalition's desire for the retribution of Ewan Falson. Born from a desire to see a fair economy be achieved was this one man moved to speak his voice for the many who were oppressed. By the hand of one however was this man's mighty protest silenced. The years that came to follow created an animosity from the colonies before it came to form the broken promise the Earth had feared. Eleven years have passed since the formation of this Coalition and its desire for vengeance. Even today it has not been sated.

Episode 29: The Moon is a Harsh Welcoming

From the previous encounter with the Solaris, Admiral Demetrios Kontoyannis had taken the time to discover what needed to surpass the power of the Gundams. At the colony of L2-28999 the fleet that infiltrated the L4 colony had been replenished in forces as well as battleships and now had another fleet to assist int their advance towards taking Luna.

As he met with a fellow admiral aboard the Executor Rising, Admiral Norma Miles read the report on the advance made in Demetrios' attack on L4-18777 finding the casualties to be both significant and alarming. "I see now why you require my forces to be added to yours as well Admiral. We might be able to handle the forces on Luna however the question of the Gundams may be something to consider."

Demetrios agreed with the concern but reminded her of the greater picture. "I have seen the destruction firsthand Ms. Miles. However the Gundams are every bit as damageable as any other mobile suit. Even if we must pay our victory with the greatest price that can be paid, then we can at least do so knowing that the Earth Sphere will not have a final hope to take back everything we have accomplished."

Norma brought her view up to Demetrios's eyes when she looked up from the reports to assure, "I share your sentiment Admiral. My forces shall fight alongside you for the cause. On your next order we shall begin. It will be optimal if your forces are as capable pilots as these Gundam pilots are supposed to be."

Demetrios smiled at the new "Of course Admiral Miles. I promise you that we have at least a handful of pilots who have shown potential for these criteria. They might even be our best chance at seeing these Gundams being defeated."

Norma agreed to the promise when she told him, "That is what I hope you have come to evaluate from all of your soldiers. Then the longer they live through this mission the less of a price we will have to pay. I shall meet with you when the time has come for the attack on Luna."

Once Tano and Devon heard the end of the conversation between the two admirals, they offered a salute before marching behind Demetrios to make their way off the Executor Rising. As they entered the hall that had a connection prepared with the Foundation of Fortitude, Demetrios announced to his pilots, "Now men. I know that I should not be required to remind you of your day when we have prepared ourselves to cooperate with another of our fleet. There are those of you who have demonstrated a greater ability at attempting to destroy the Gundams than others. I do not ask for absolute sacrifice in any situation, but the grounds we are about to enter is far more urgent and demanding than it has ever been. Our forces on Earth have essentially sieged the victory necessary to end this war, but the arrival of the Gundams could very just as well undo everything we have aimed to achieve. Few are every bit as instrumental to the conclusion of this slaughter as those in the Testudo have recently achieved. I had no desire to encourage this sacrifice. But if we must all give our lives to see to the destruction of the Earth Sphere's ray of hope, it must be done without a second's hesitation. We are all here today because we do not intend to see the errors of a united Earth be repeated. All of us have someone or something they believe in that has brought them to this point. If our lives are to now amount to anything, then let it be for this day that we allow for a united front of the human race stand against the grip of one man's antiquated ambition! Prepare to offer everything and take from the planet itself the last opportunity it has to take us all by force! Do I make my orders clear?"

The pilots lined in front of Demetrios answered, "Sir yes sir!"

Demetrios turned from them and ordered, "Situation yourselves for your battle stations! We will begin in our assault upon arrival!"

The doors to the connecting battleships opened as Demetrios lead the men back to their transport. The Foundation of Fortitude in a scramble to prepare for its pursuit of the Solaris while Devon and his pilots made their way to the hangar bay. He checked the area before asking, "So did the admiral's hype rally have you feel ready to crush some Gundam asses guys?"

One of them answered, "I just need some kind of assurance that this will be enough is all. If we go in with these kinds of numbers is really going to be enough?"

Another agreed, "We got twice the men to throw on them, but we need that to be more than just double the casualties."

Devon agreed, "The Admiral can get a bit on the longwinded side can't he? We don't have any reports of an enemy army to deal with and we don't have firepower that's too below their level. If we screw this up, we'll have no one to blame but ourselves."

"With all due respect sir, the Admiral wants to see victory more than most of us." The attention of the pilots turned to Tano at that statement with many of them having an irritated stare.

Devon was the first to speak, "He's not wrong guys. The admiral has a responsibility to see that we come out on top of the enemy. That's something you were always able to respect about him wasn't it?'

One of the pilots pointed out, "Just being able to prove you can suck up to your superiors doesn't mean you're going to be guaranteed a safe spot on the bleachers kid."

Another one agreed, "Sorry we don't live up to your stander, but until you're a real leading officer you don't have shit to expect from everyone."

Devon came to Tano's defense when he told them, "Listen, listen, you've always seen what the kid has been through right? He's been one of the best pilots we had in the recent mission history of our fleet. I'm sure you've seen what it's been like on Mars right? If it weren't for him we'd all be polishing Federov's boots right now. The admiral knows that we can't have our best guys safe and secure from harm when we have a mission like this to look forward to."

Another one of the pilots pointed out, "It was because you had the forward-thinking sir. All the Lieutenant is good at is charging forward into a situation because he has no sense of self preservation."

Tano slammed his fist on a nearby wall when he responded, "And that is exactly what the admiral wants us to do right now! We have to see the Gundams destroyed or everything we did is for nothing!"

The pilot Tano explained to responded, "Good mouth of yours asshole, you can't tell me acting like this just because the admiral is expecting you to."

Tano stood up when he answered, "I'm dedicated because the Coalition hopes to expect us to!"

Devon stood up when he announced, "Alright that's a good amount of bitching to get out of our systems ladies. Now you have real orders to follow. Head to your pilot seats and remain on standby. I'll try to top the admiral once we've gotten in range of the enemy. See you all on the field. Dismissed."

Most of the pilots walked away from the gathering spot of the hangar bay while only a few offered a proper salute. Tano looked over his Sagittarius model when he told Devon, "Nice of you to at least recognize the importance of what we're up against sir."

Devon stood next to Tano when he told him, "Yeah, it just doesn't seem like you're leadership material in the end kid. We all need grunts but we also need better lives than kissing up to others. That's why these guys don't doubt you as a pilot. They just question if you're even human enough to recognize how dangerous this whole thing is. With everything that we're facing, it almost feels like we're being asked to attempt suicide. We might even be taking on the biggest number of casualties we've ever endured. Enough to amount to the number Admiral Miles has been throughout her service."

Tano was relieved when he heard the words of his superior offer some sort of wisdom that he had come to expect. He continued to view his mobile suit though when he told Devon, "There are at least a few times when you are able to offer some kind of wisdom sir. I only wish you did so with a sense of true determination. I thought every soldier was enlisted with the mentality that they would see a slaughter of such magnitude."

Devon reminded him, "Being able to endure it and anticipating it are two different things. I might not have gone through the same things you did kid, but there's a reason we enlisted to contribute to the fighting."

Tano sighed before agreeing, "I just don't want to see anyone go through the same thing I went through. I don't want to endure the sort of destruction that will turn life into a never-ending hell."

Devon solemnly nodded when he remembered the very thing that motivated him to join the Coalition in the first place. "That's right kid. You have to admit there is a thin line that the Falsons have been walking ever since they declared war on the Earth."

Tano brought his gaze down when he had to remind his superior of his overall mission, "They don't want Earth or the human race to be bound to the will of one leader. Even in that scenario there are still those who think they can do everything they can to become the only leader we need." He turned to meet with his superior's gaze when he asked, "If we aren't supposed to be favoring the idea of leaders though, how do we even come to the decision of who to follow? What makes you decide that Hermine Falson was the leader we needed?"

Devon smiled when he answered, "I'm sure you've heard this kind of story before kid. The Earth Alliance at the time did not want a human race out in space preparing to live on their own skirmishes and disputes so they gave this whole guise of being necessary tyrants to try and keep the colonies in check. We earn our freedom fair and square and we just leave the Earth off the hook for all it did to hold us back? Something was going wrong with that picture."

Tano returned his gaze back to the sight of his mobile suit when he lamented, "I wish I was old enough to see what those sorts of reasonings were like back in the day."

"Yeah. Me to. Hell, the cracks were showing just a year after the end of it all. When me and my folks first heard about the Falsons making a break for 3 Juno, we were the first to head up there. I tell you what, it's a sight to see people like Norma as an admiral."

"And all it seems you're willing to say is that people like you are not as concerned about winning as anyone should be."

Devon patted Tano on the back when he told him, "The problem kid is that you are way too young to be in this war. Not that we were able to discriminate at the time. We only have such few in number to chose from. Once this is over you might end up asking yourself how much of a life you'll have left."

Tano's face became more tense when he told his superior, "Your problem sir is that you're too optimistic. I don't even have anything to return to and I don't have that many skills in anything much else. I have to see these things destroyed or I'll never be able to see the end of this. I'll feel the brunt of that day for the rest of my life."

Devon became curious when he asked, "What day? Was there a day in particular you haven't told anyone about that's been motivating you this far?"

Tano paused before griping the rails in an effort to relieve his tension. "The day you found me. That's the time I'm talking about."

Devon was confused by the answer but told Tano, "You've got your quirks kid. But I guess we've all been messed with in some way haven't we?"

Tano agreed, "That's how I would prefer to look at it. The rest of the men should be ready in the same way, but they seem to be approaching it like they already know a failure is coming."

"Well kid if that's something you want to change, there is something you have to learn how to do. Lead. Most people don't think marching off to die is an honorable privilege. They want someone out there so we can say we won."

Tano reflected on Devon's words before responding, "Your standards are respectable. Do you think the admiral feels the same way?'

"You bet he does kid. He has the privilege of telling people to throw themselves into a fire because he knows what it takes to lead and achieve victories. Wars aren't even won by carelessly dumping people into a grinder."

Tano lifted himself from the rail when he told Devon, "It's been great shedding some light on how I can improve sir. But I think I should worry more about what's coming up. I'm sorry if I end up defying any of your orders, but I plan on being the one to destroy those impersonating Gundams."

Devon watched Tano walk away to the other side of the hangar bay when he sighed and told himself, "I am one shitty example of a father figure aren't I?'

Donna looked at the Sandesgeist in the hangar with the other Gundams. She felt that the Sandesgeist was able to make a difference this time, though still having the lowest kill count of all the Gundams. The rotation of the ship was accomplished faster thanks to the Sandesgeist being the strongest Mobile Suit in terms of strength. The majority of the Maganacs also gave their lives so they can escape. The vernier pack was damaged during the battle and it will have to be fixed when arrive at Luna Base. She walked from the hangar to go to her quarters to get some rest.

The pilots in the Solaris gathered in the mess hall as they prepared their rehydrated rations for their meal period. Zachariah took a look on his plate when he commented, "Just lovely to be eating the feast of true warriors again isn't it?"

Ludwika added, "It's a step down from where we were, but I'd rather not be deprived of any sustenance."

The two made their way over to the stable where Nasir and Trenton were in waiting alongside their Earth Sphere pilots. The next menial chatter that was heard was present when Agent Arch made his way next to Zachariah and asked, "How's it going? I take it we at least have our strategy for hitting Earth pretty soon?"

Ludwika confirmed, "You heard right kid. We get to Luna and we'll have the apparent strength we need in order to take down the Coalition. After that we have a big escort mission to retake Brussels. We do that and we should be able to get our trenched up guys to take down their captors."

Trenton added to the conversation, "It's simple enough. I guess when we have the powerhouse units to plow through with we can afford that kind of plan. Anything less and we would be seriously screwing ourselvfes over down there."

Nasir entered the conversation when he added, "At least since we're going off what the Earth Sphere leadership want from us. From the looks of it, the captain and her kids have been well behaved. Is Gilliam just full of hot air or something?"

Roy heard the question and answered, "Hey you know I'm not wrong. Give the three the window and I know they'd go crazy with their big toys."

Ludwika turned her attention to Roy when she told him, "You've been making that point since we started this mission and the closest example we got actually saved our asses."

"Yeah the medic here just has the job of fixing up people on our side regardless of what they can decide."

Ludwika laughed when she told Arch, "Please don't pay attention to him. He thinks we're using the same training regiments to get our Gundam pilots like this is the Eve Wars."

Arch nodded when he observed, "The situation has certainly changed hasn't it? Everything that ignited this war is similar to the past and it seems that we might have even learned a little from it. Is it because you believe the Earth Sphere government as it is now is worth maintaining."

Zachairiah added, "No system is perfect, but the idea the Falsons have in dealing justice to our highest officials not giving power to the colonies though? How are we supposed to accept that kind of system? Everything our folks from years ago fought for will be turned into an old idea. All of us going to pave a way for further wars is to pop up and the skirmishes we've been seeing around Earth's atmosphere will become a fact of life and the slaughter will never end."

Arch gave a solemn nod when he commented, "A rather pessimistic assumption but it does pave the way for that possibility doesn't it?"

Nasir agreed, "That's a big part of what this whole war is all about. Who's going to govern and how."

Arch added to his observation, "Even if you're worried about the flaws in the establish system your guys have all be in the long haul for the Earth Sphere for a reason it seems."

Ludwika confirmed the statement when she told him, "That's why soldiers join any cause. Hell, I'm sure even the annoying cynic here has some faith that all of this we fought for is worth the struggle."

Roy took a sip out of his drink tube when he answered, "I believe in the pay grade the military offers. Hell, it's the most I've ever even qualified to do with my life."

Zachariah asked, "I guess we could at least say that most of us do."

Arch took a bite out of his ration meal when he observed, "Nice to see that everyone is at least fairly eccentric. Even after all that pressure it seems like they'll at least try to handle the hardships."

Suchart came from behind when he confirmed, "And this probably wasn't even their first exchange of fire. I just want this travel to be done with already, the sooner we're back on Earth the better."

Nasir commented, "Yeah the sooner you'll be able to pick up your old habits again huh?"

Suchart scoffed at the question when he answered, "I been putting my ass on the line in the best way too many years. You think you can give me a break on all the criticism?"

Suchart walked away when Arch asked, "That guy hasn't been the biggest talker. Does his "big habit" change him somehow?"

Nasir answered, "That guy goes by the name Suchart Natakarn. He's been cursed with being the least convenient of our circumstances. From what I heard that's why his folks accepted this assignment for him."

Zachariah gave a light chuckle when he told Roy, "Hey 006. It sounds like someone has you beat as the pessimist."

Roy didn't allow himself to be impressed when he answered, "If anything it just seems like someone is afraid to face the realities of life. Hell, he might not even be that good of a shot for all we know."

Suchart turned to face Roy when he corrected, "We've both been to the simulations, you've seen one being able to hold my own better than our worst guys."

Ludwika picked up the empty tray Suchart threw when she asked, "Nice work on setting up a show Zach. You gave me a chance to flex my needed skills and might give you a good night."

Arch took the tray to place into his when he thanked, "Great deal of entertainment going on here. But I think it shouldn't have it staged in front of everyone."

Suchart walked away when he left with, "Like I should even care about his jerk ass trying to budge anyway. Let's see how much longer either of us lasts out there, then we might find out how much better either of us really is."

Roy sat down when he agreed, "Bet you wish you had some of my skin to bite off. Trust me I'll put you in your place harder than the captain ever could when she's around."

Trenton spoke after a few seconds, "I'm, uh, pretty sure that's not a demonstration of what everyone is like around here."

Arch brushed off the worry when he told him, "The amount of energy you guys have is not only refreshing, but also a relief since it had me worried if you were ready for this sort of mission."

Ludwika agreed, "It's better than having everybody being 006, though I think the people of the Earth Sphere would prefer we were all like our prized Gundam pilots. We were just sent only to make sure that they don't think about going on a rampage."

Arch looked down the other end of the table where he saw more of the mobile suit pilots and the three Gundam pilots whose names still alluded him. "It's nice of you guys to not be strangers to me. Got to say though I have to see if I can get some info out of our best guys."

As Arch walked off, Zachariah asked, "We been with him this long and he's been more of a help than a nuisance. Got to admit he's presenting himself well."

Roy gave his input when he told them, "The Moon is a different place than Mars and a cultured colonial front. We might be seeing more of his friends soon enough."

Within a matter of another hour the two fleets had left side by side to prepare for the advance on Luna. The Solaris would have much more to stand against if they could hope to survive another battle with their combined forces. They would still have a timeframe to fill considering the time it took to reach the colony and prepare for the advance to Luna. It would however only be a period to give the Solaris crew an opportunity to make their final arrangements before the fleet caught up with its target.

Tano has been on edge with the defeat on L4, pacing around the flagship while repairs on the Sagittarius were underway. He believed he was close to cornering the Gundams but his efforts were undermined by the Maganacs and the second Gundam. He also lost most of his men to them and his loyalty was being questioned. He vowed to defeat one of the Gundams the next time he fights them again.

The trip for the Solaris to Luna had been just as long with the journey from Mars to the previous colony. The crew had continued to build on its anticipation wondering how the occupying forces on Earth would respond to their arrival. Unfortunately it was clear that the Gundams would no longer be welcomed as the heroes the Earth Sphere needed.

Once the Solaris had come in range of the Earth moon, Alberto was able to report their safe arrival. "We are within range Colonel."

Elias ordered, "Patch us through to Luna. We shall require their clearance to enter."

Once the communications had been set up with Luna they were greeted. "This is Secondary Representative Maja Wright. It is good to see you finally arrive Solaris. We shall have shuttles arriving to transport you to Luna's surface." The transmission was quick before Secondary Representative ended her transmission.

Alberto wondered about the Solaris when he asked the Colonel, "What should we do about the Solaris Colonel?"

"The Solaris has its own destination. We have done our part to see it find its way here."

"As you say Colonel." Alberto announced into the ships communication system, "All hands be ready to descend to Luna. The Earth Sphere forces will be ready to guide us down to Earth once preparations are complete."

As soon as the preparations for the landing had begun, the pilots and crew were sent to the shuttle briefing room. From observation the flight path was determined from the stop on Luna and then the final six-hour trip to Earth. One of the Ursa pilots looked at the pattern understanding, "Alright so it looks like now we're a hop skip and jump away from returning to Earth."

Keijo was less enthusiastic when he pointed out, "You sound like that's something to look forward to."

"It's worth something to be finished with these zero g routines Captain Houston has been so rigorous with."

Zachariah was less excited with the idea, "So you're excited to get back into the real thing? I guess it's better than expecting to see our demise once we descend."

Mercurio gave his evaluation of the situation on earth when he pointed out, "It's not as though we can anticipate President Kecker will join with the Coalition to destroy us. I am certain he will be ready to speak with us once we have arrived."

Roy was confused of the idea asking him, "I take it you know he won't surrender power under the hardest conditions?"

Mercurio shook his head when he answered, "I think it if were the case he would have denied his power years ago."

Roy shrugged his shoulders at the idea when he agreed, "That's one way of looking at it."

Alberto turned to the Colonel for an update on their landing when he asked, "So are we meeting with anyone in particular?"

Elias pointed out the meeting area, "The Chairman of Lunar Development Sciences will be meeting with us on Luna. We shall be given repairs for our mobile suits and the required shuttles to make a final descent to Earth."

Alberto concluded the meeting when he dismissed, "The plan has been decided. All pilots report to your mobile suits to escort the descent." It was now a brief period before the mobile suits would make their way down to Luna. Perhaps by now the final hope for the Earth Sphere would be realized.

Once the briefing was over, Dana and some of the pilots were preparing for their descent to Luna with the crew having to wait on the shuttles to transport them down. Gawel was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief when the Solaris had begun to make its way down to Luna. "Urgh… Finally we're in the final stage of reaching Earth. I don't know if I'm able to handle another gravity field by now."

Nasir had to remind what they had just heard from the briefing a while ago, "Are we supposed to look forward to the situation on Earth though? I don't think the Earth Sphere is exactly looking forward to our return."

One of the Ursa pilots pointed out the obvious problem, "And with the Parliament under siege the Coalition will probably be excited to point any damage we do on our return. Worse it might even result in a hostage situation for us."

"That's a problem we'll have to answer once we've made our descent. At least Luna seems to be willing to help out."

Nasir found it to be a greater problem when he asked, "Maybe on a military standpoint. How are we supposed to have a chance to talk with the government bodies if we are only equipped to prepare for another attack?"

Dana could only offer some assurance for a better outcome when she gave the Lunar corporation credit, "The people at LDS probably have something else planned. Maybe the fight for Earth isn't as lost as we thought."

Trenton hung his head down in despair wondering, "Kind of a scary idea. The Parliament may end up being victims of the situation."

Dana found himself unable to answer again when she pointed out, "They probably might if we don't act either way." Regardless of how things were about to turn out Dana and the others were gathered to the hangar bay to begin the descent. The mobile suits would be ready to land on Luna with at least some renewed hope of taking back Earth.

Once the mobile suits had been prepared for the descent to Luna, Mercurio and the other mobile suits had prepared themselves in the hangar bay for the landing. The shuttles were arriving one by one to pick up the personnel who couldn't arrive through the drop seeing that they only had six Ursa units left to go with the Gundams.

Mercurio announced before the drop, "Uriel beginning the descent."

"Unit 001 following descent."

"Unit 002 prepared."

"Unit 003 ready."

"Unit 004 all systems green." The units descended to the Lunar landing pad where it waited to receive their allies.

The sight was something great to see while Alberto said farewell to the crew aboard the Solaris for the journey, "It has been a pleasure to know all of you."

Elias returned the thanks, "We should thank you most of all Major. Your dedication to save us from the Coalition is what was able to bring us here."

"The Solaris will see that Rising Himalayas will be a success." With a final salute Elias, Alberto and the others entered the shuttle prepared to descend to the LDS facility.

When they were both leaving the Solaris Elias reminded Alberto, "We are soon to arrive Major. That's probably the last look at the Solaris we'll have for some time."

Alberto remained seated when he agreed, "It may be. If it was worth making our way here for this shuttle then I know I have fulfilled my duty regardless of the price."

"Sandesgeist descending." Donna saw the final glimpse of the Solaris from her Gundam. There wasn't much memory on the ship apart from the name game she started but hoped to fight alongside the ship again. She made sure her Mobile Suit dropped to the moon's surface at the same speed as the others.

Arch was inside one of the shuttle with the other crew. He saw the shuttle descend to Luna, where he wasn't sure what would happen next. The moon was also exotic to the Martian-born, with most not being able to go on any moon. "It sure is a shame Phobos and Deimos are hardly colonized thanks to the war. Although I wonder if it could have changed anything?"

Dana's Gundam was the last mobile suit to begin the descent, "This is the Artemis following suit."

When the three Gundams and the Ursa mobile suits began to make contact with the Lunar surface Gawel looked on with keen interest in the gathering wondering aloud, "It's something else to see a drop this concentrated isn't it? You'd almost think we still in a major conflict."

Nasir interrupted his thoughts, "Or had a real shot at taking down the Coalition. I hope Colonel Rumfoords plan to make contact is to hand over our mobile suits."

Gawel turned to him asking, "Will you quit it with that attitude already?"

Mercurio watched the view of Luna continue to expand slowly while the Uriel made its descent. Right in between him were the Artemis and the Sandesgeist while the Ursa units watched them from a distance. Arch was able to contact the three Gundam pilots when he pointed out, "It's sure something to see. This moon wasn't even deemed possible for terraformation and there seems to be a lot more people down on there than I could have imagined."

Mercurio agreed when he added, "At best a portion of them is willing to help us. Keep an eye open for anything that wants to collide with us."

On the ground of Luna, the area nearest to the headquarters of the Earth Sphere supporters, the defense turrets were pointed at what would have classified for a sky on the moon. Several smaller shuttles had departed from a much larger one. The sign of the targets being friendly flashed in green as the operators watched their descent. One of the operators announced, "We've got them in our sights. They look like the guys scheduled to make their arrival alright."

The leading operator observed, "Just what we've been waiting for. Everything goes as planned, we'll have their parts raining down on us before the big officials have anything to say about it."

"Assuming his plan works." Another one of the operators warned.

The leading operator responded, "It will. They're too soft to expect anything threatening their lives by now. Especially in friendly territory."

The operator who saw the shuttles and Gundams appearing reported, "Just a few more meters until they are in range sir."

The leader nodded, "That's it boys. Let's get to demolishing these things."

"Affirmative captain. Preparing all primary missiles for firing."

"Alright, wait for them to get in range… Now!"

At the order, dozens of missiles shot out from the surface of Luna and towards the descending shuttles. Mercurio was the first to see the missiles approaching when he asked, "What are those things? What are they headed this way for?"

Dana prepared the buster rifle of her Artemis when she answered, "They're not a welcoming volley. This is what we had to keep guard for." The Artemis beneath the two other Gundam as it came to an angle with the missiles in its target sights. As soon as the missiles were behind the background of space, she fired to allow for several small explosions to light up the dark void of space. Mercurio prepared his sword into shield mode when he told Donna, "Keep the others safe. Our goal is to make sure those things don't come within distance."

Donna recognized how limited she would be in trying to take out the missiles when she prepared her gun and answered, "I got it. Try not to destroy any of the Luna surface."

Chatter began to sound its way through the channel when Roy asked, "I thought these guys were supposed to be welcoming us as comrades! The hell is this idea of theirs?"

Donna fired towards one of the incoming missiles when she answered, "Someone who must have wanted to catch us off guard. Hopefully we'll be allowed to get within range."

Alberto and Elias saw the eruptions from the view to the outside of their shuttle when Elias pointed out, "This isn't quite what we had in mind for getting out of here Major."

Alberto confirmed the concern, "It isn't. We'll have to see what's going on down there."

After a few hails on his panel he received a signal from DS down below. He received a signal of the chairman who started, "I recognize the situation you are facing major. This situation is not a case of betraying our trust, I promise you."

Alberto braced himself from the explosions that reached the shuttle when he responded, "I'm sure this must be so chairman. However, we won't be able to make a landing if this continues."

The chairman agreed, "We will have to request that you do everything to avoid causing damage to our grounds and unfortunately our turrets as well. We unfortunately do not have the expenditure to replace them."

Alberto groaned at the request when he accepted, "We will commit to our best possible outcome chairman."

Alberto changed the frequency on his computer panel when he told the descending mobile suits, "Attention all descending forces. Do not attempt to destroy the turrets. I repeat do not advance on the turrets."

Elias watched the assault continue as he commented, "Our forces ad best be able to handle this onslaught, or we won't have anything to land."

Alberto agreed, "Our only saving grace will be that the chairman has his own plan."

Within an airlock facility of a lunar base of LDS territory, William Ramos prepared his spacesuit to turn and see his squads prepare for the mission they had just been issued. He began, "Alright we have a serious one here. These defenses have been breached and someone had some serious resources to pull this off on this level. Every is to keep an eye on each other's actions. I find out any of you caused this, you'll wish you had the opportunity for a court martial. Otherwise shoot everything that lifts a gun on you. Do you get that?"

The soldiers confirmed, "Sir! Yes sir!'

William put on his helmet when he told them, "Let's see some results then. Haul and kick ass!" The soldiers took hold of their assault rifles as they prepared their helmets as well. William ran forward to the nearest exit where the airlock was waiting for him where his way out would be opened. He pressed a fist on his left hand when he spoke, "This is suppressing company. We're ready to move out. Sending clearance code."

After a brief few seconds a voice on the other line confirmed, "We read you suppressing team. Go out there and remind them who's boss."

William nodded, "More than happy to." The airlock door opened and William made another dash before making a leap into the vacuum of Luna's atmosphere. Up above, William saw multiple explosions light up the space above him but only gave the sound of soft puffs from where he observed. Returning his attention to the turrets he saw several missiles preparing for launch as they prepared for another volley. Changing to his comms channel he asked, "What's it look like? Are there any intruders on the grounds down there?"

He heard one of this captains report, "Sir, we don't have any sign of enemy forces on the ground. They should all be underground right now."

He waited before hearing another report, "It's all clear sir. We shouldn't have anything to worry about."

William accepted the report as he turned to his team to order, "We've got our first priority figured out. We are headed to the emergency power generator and we take it out of commission if necessary."

One of the soldiers asked, "What are we even walking into sir? Shouldn't the generator be one of the best defended areas these guys took?"

William answered, "We have to take advantage of what they thought would be a good idea. None of them are out here, we should hit them where it hurts."

Another soldier accepted, "As long as nothing else goes weird."

William gestured to the structure a short distance away from the turrets when he ordered, "Down that way. Double time." The squad made a collective leap towards the generator structure while William took point. The generator was unoccupied as reported while William ordered, "Alright, let's shut this thing down as we planned." William took out an EMP bomb from his belt as he stuck it to the side of the generator and warned, "Let's move out of radius, this is about to hit everything."

The soldiers leapt away from the generator before William saw another volley of missiles preparing to launch. Against his judgment of distance, he activated the EMP and allowed the disruption of power flow to occur. William fell to the ground as he saw his helmet interface blank out and leave him without any means of communication. He looked up to see explosions of missiles continue to erupt in the air before he saw the turrets remain in their current position and unable to launch another attack.

"We managed to get this much right. Come on you guys, you're competent enough even without me right?"

The infiltrated turret room was switched to its backup power as soon as the main generator was deactivated. The operators who made the infiltration were caught by surprise as the plan was disrupted. One of them confirmed, "Our power is knocked out sir, we can't do anything!"

The leading operator was brought to a panic when he answered, "We have to use our secondary plan, inform the secondary team that we have to use our newly acquired guns." He turned to the first of the operators when he told him, "We only need them to buy us enough time to get the generator back up. Stay where you are, and we'll have those primary targets taken out before we know it."

A calm had been achieved on the ground of Luna as William saw the turrets brought to a standstill. Even as he expected the worst to be over, he was still tense from the recent shock of the EMP he couldn't bring his mind at ease as he tried to look over the status of his men. One rushed up to him and snapped a small cable into his helmet before he heard a voice ask, "Sir, can you read me?"

William let out a sigh of relief when he answered, "I read you Columbo. The initiative is appreciated. Are all defense systems out of commission?"

"For right now sir. We haven't seen anyone try to reach our location yet."

"That blast will only keep this thing down for a short while at the longest. Let's head into the lower levels and flush out those sellouts."

"Easy does it sir. Oh… Oh shit!" Before the conversation could continue, both he and the soldiers watched the underground hangars pop up from Luna's surface as they allowed for a squadron of heavily built mobile suits walk towards their location. William recognized the danger when he saw them walking towards his location. He took hold of his fellow soldier's arm as he forced her to lift up to her legs and gestured for her to follow him in an escape.

He hurried to order, "Tell everyone to get their field of vision out of the generator! Now!"

The soldier identified as Cinzia Columbo accepted, "I've got it sir. Just stay close to me." William couldn't hear the soldier given but he did respond to the tug towards safety that Cinzia made for him. She took a dive for cover as a beam shot hit the ground and gave an explosion that sent rocks flying in every direction. William managed to remain unharmed but felt Cinzia take a blow of a smaller rock breeze past her.

William put his strength into throwing her behind the generator. She rolled onto the ground as she reached for her tape and made a quick application on the left side of her body. William asked, "How are you handling Columbo?"

Cinzia answered, "I'm alright sir. Thanks for getting me out of that mess. We're safe out here right?"

William saw the remainder of his men take cover next to him when he answered, "It might not be that easy. We got cover but these guys have time on their side. We're going to need to work on our strategy now."

Cinzia saw the fire turn to withstand turret fire when he agreed, "Even if we wait them out, we just agave them the room to recharge the system."

Mercurio slashed at one of the final missiles that was headed his way before flying away from another explosion. He checked the ground of Luna below when he reported, "That's all of them. Did the base defenses get the turrets under control?"

Dana answered, Looks like it. Wait for anything that wants to throw us off."

Alberto entered the conversation when he announced, "All Gundam pilots, you are now ordered to make contact on the surface below. The chairman has warned us that several prototypes may cause damage to the structures and breach their security. Follow this as a standard attack but do it as efficiently and quickly as possible. Preventing all damage is an order."

Dana prepared her rifle for the descent when she ordered, "You heard the man. We have uninvited guests to take care of." She set the Artemis down to the moon surface as she ordered, "All units continue your descent as planned. Things will be clear once we take care of them."

Donna followed the order when she accepted, "We'll provide support captain."

Mercurio added, "This will be quick."

The three Gundams followed each other in a descent. Arch watched the three of them make the advance down when he asked the squadron, "Are they usually first?"

Gawel answered, "They're only taking on grunts. We'll have a clear landing before we make the first phases of landing."

Mercurio checked his rear monitors to find the Ursa unit squadron wasn't in any immediate danger while he prepared his sword in a shield when the burst beam shot came from below. The Artemis continued its charge ahead of him when Dana ordered, "We've only got a few but mind the damage. Close quarters will be the best option right now."

Donna accepted, "This should work out for me captain." The Sandesgeist drew both of its shotels as it came even closer to the ground beneath it. It made contact feet first and ran up to the nearest mobile suit.

The mobile suit Donna took as her target was all gray and had the look of an Ursa unit but was built too heavily in armor to have an immediate resemblance. More apparent however was the full-length Gatling gun from its arm as it took aim at the Sandesgeist. Donna raised the shield of the Sandesgeist to block every shot that came towards her while making an advance forward. With her shotel arm free she prepared to make a sweep at the mobile suit hoping to hit something and was pleased to hear the sound of something cut down by her sensors.

The most it turned out to be however was the upper quarter portion of the gun arm. While she left the mobile suit without a primary weapon, Donna's enemy didn't back down from the challenge of facing her. When it appeared to pull back for a punch, the mobile suit fired a volley of missiles from its clenched fingers to Donna's surprise. "Oh no."

Donna rose her shield to take more of the damage but was concerned when she saw one of the missiles parting its way from her position. She broke her defense before preparing her shield arm to make a swipe towards the distant missile. To her relief Donna saw the missile didn't destroy the generator but she realized too late how open her defense was. The gray mobile suit dashed forward with its shoulder first to send the Sandesgeist to the ground of Luna with a smash.

Donna kept herself calm after a breath when she saw the Sandesgeist wasn't damaged, but she was able to realize how dangerous her current position was. The mobile suit made its way up to her as it prepared to deal a finishing blow, but Donna collected her wits to raise her right shotel arm and made a sweep to the mobile suit's legs. She found herself victorious as she lifted the legs of the Sandesgeist back up and made a strike at the cockpit area of the gray mobile suit. The strike gave a light explosion but did not reach anywhere near the generator.

Donna checked her radar for any activity as she moved away from the defeated enemy. After a brief look over the area, she found the Artemis hard at work with a beam saber handling two of the gray mobile suits she encountered earlier. Donna knew she couldn't let her superior fall victim to the attack and made a dash with the Sandesgeist towards the battle zone. Before she came within striking distance, the gray mobile suits fired their missiles on the Artemis without any concern for the condition of the turrets near them.

Donna saw an opening when she took hold of her shotel and charged with a sweep towards the explosion of moon dust that rose from the ground. She was encouraged when she saw the Artemis leap from the dust and make a slice at the nearest gray mobile suit to an effective triumph over one enemy. Not to be distracted, Donna focused her sweep on the remaining mobile suit to cut it in half across the body.

Another two eruptions of destroyed mobile suits resonated through what the vacuum of Luna would allow while Donna checked the area around her for the damage that was done. She heard Dana thank, "Good job. Let's see how many of them are left."

Donna checked her radar when she reported, "The Uriel went too far away. It looks like he's at the front of their force."

Dana checked her radar as well to find their third Gundam signal being surrounded by foreign signatures. She made a move towards the signal in the Artemis when she ordered, "Let's get ready to take them by surprise." The two Gundams found the Uriel with its buster sword having already taken down two of the gray mobile suits. He made an upwards slice with his sword to make contact with the Gatling arm of another one before retracing it into a shield to block a volley of incoming missiles. Dana's Artemis struck down a mobile suit from behind when she warned, "Watch out! They're getting desperate!"

Mercurio made a dash towards a lone mobile suit at the highest speed the Uriel could muster. With a swift flash, the Uriel sliced upwards to remove the arm with the grenade only a few seconds before it exploded and forced both mobile suits flying backwards to the ground. Mercurio felt his head forced back and shook his focus. He looked up at his main monitor behind the mobile suit preparing for a finishing blow but was saved when he saw Vulcan cannon fire make contact and throw it off balance. Mercurio took the opportunity to raise his cannon arm and fired at the cockpit area.

The contact of fire resulted in another explosion that rocked Mercurio's cockpit. After the shock passed, Mercurio shifted his view to the radar when he asked, "How is it out there Captain?"

Dana answered, "We did our job. Miss Sandesgeist just got the last one and the worst we seem to have handled is losing one turret."

Donna confirmed the success when she added, "At least we managed to break any potential monotony. Hopefully this won't be a regular thing."

Mercurio asked, "How about the guys near the generator? Are they alright?"

Dana answered, "They went to handle the problem on the inside. They sounded pretty excited to get back to work."

The main room of turret operations was in an uproar when the Gundams destroyed the last of their defending squadron. One of the operators stated, "I thought these missiles were supposed to take care of those things easily!"

Another one asked, "They're right on top of us! Can we use the turrets now that the power is back?"

The leading operator struck down the suggestion, "That's why we can't use the turrets! We have no choice now but to get out of here!"

Before they could begin to lay out another plan, the door to the control room burst open from an explosion before soldiers began to pour through the opened way. Cinzia ran alongside William as he held his assault rifle to announce, "Alright, into place everyone. Now whether come quietly or we'll have to do this the hard way."

Many of the operators in the room dropped their weapons to the ground but the leading operator stood opposed to the offer, "I'm not facing a firing squad!" He fired his assault rifle into the gathering of soldiers, but William ran shoulder first into the leading operator to tackle him to the ground. He was surrounded by the view of traitorous operators, but the sound of his lifted assault rifle brought the room to a standstill with only William struggling to keep his prisoner on the ground. He turned to his fellow soldiers when he ordered, "Report to the chairman. We have one prisoner of interest."

Cinzia accepted the order, "Right away sir." She turned away from the gathering as she made her way into the halls and asked one of the nearby soldiers, "You still have your comms lit Pascal?"

The soldier known as Pascal removed one of the boxes from his belt when he confirmed, "I got it. Fortunately, it wasn't damaged in our escape outside. I thought that crossfire would destroy more property and numbers than we saw just now."

Cinzia began to work on the signal when she promised, "Don't worry about any further damage. Just worry about looking good for our great saviors. Hell, by all accounts they shouldn't even be here, but we sure have been blessed this time."

Pascal accepted the suggestion when he agreed, "We have our work cut out for us if we plan on measuring up to any of them."

In the control tower several high officials were overlooking the descent with all of the mobile suits making their way to the nearest hangar bay. One of the tower operators pointed out, "Major Ramos. The mobile suits are making their descent. We should be ready to escort them to the airlock."

"Good to hear. We'll have to get a warm welcome ready for them. At least one of them might be someone the Architect would like to meet."

Another operator was clearly more suspicious of the idea asking, "You serious?"

William shrugged, "The Gundams funded by the Earth Sphere are his design. He can't be that uninterested can he?"

"Maybe not. Got anything to do with those codes he won't stop talking about?"

"Probably will for all we know. Let's just wait up on the Chairman and get ready for the greeting. Just let me give them clearance."

"Sir."

The Major began to give the welcoming to the incoming shuttles, "This is Major William Ramos. Welcome to Luna everybody. All mobile suits enter hangar bays one and two. The shuttles will enter through the landing runway and meet with you momentarily."

One the other line he heard a familiar voice asking, "Major? Is that you?"

William grinned at the question when he heard the question and responded, "You'll probably have to meet me on ground level. Control tower out." He ended the transmission turning to several operators asking, "Looks like I have a meeting today. Anybody else itching to meet the Gundam pilots?"

The mobile suits and the shuttles had all collectively made their way towards the hangar bays and allowed their crew to disembark. As the crew made their way to the airlock to match with the artificial atmosphere the LDS officials began to prepare their meeting. With the pressurization completed the crew all stood at attention with rank and squad in mind while Alberto and Elias prepared the formal introduction.

Chairman Steven Lutes was the first to greet the Colonel, "Colonel Rumfoord, we have received word from the Secondary Representative on your arrival. It is quite a relief to see that you have finally arrived. We have wondered if the Solaris would be able to make its way to the target destination."

Elias thanked, "Thank you Chairman. Obviously we made the stop so we could make repairs and rebuild our numbers. It is likely however that it may not be necessary depending on how things go on Earth."

"That is true Colonel. We know of the Earth Sphere's surrender but we hope that we might be able to make a significant change in that scenario. The creator of the XXXG-02SG and 03SG, Architect I, has made significant progress with our research. He has specifically built upgrades for both of them and for a change we shall be able to introduce a new weapon to the Coalition in our favor."

Alberto was hopeful when he heard the proposal but asked, "What should we do about the situation though Chairman? Now that the Earth Sphere has surrendered the Parliament may be stuck in a hostage scenario once they learn of our existence."

"My orders come from the President himself Captain." The Chairman explained. "Your only concern should be that we take these weapons to Earth."

Alberto didn't understand what happened with the activity in this corporation making him seek clarification. "Is President Kecker still approving military action from up here? How far has the defeat come to pass?"

"We were not tasked with the priority of following the President's orders however. Lunar Development Sciences was simply the first choice for the Earth Sphere in which we become an independent firm in the development of mobile suits. Ever since Lord Lindemann recreated the first Gundam it has been our first priority to match such results."

Elias moved the conversation to its conclusion, "We will have to evaluate the rest of the plan at another time then, it may take a while to clarify. Where shall the crew be allowed to wait for the next launch?"

Steven handed a data pad with the private quarters near the hangar bay explaining, "Private quarters have been prepared for their stay. They shall have the privilege to wonder the civilian city as well but must maintain their usual discipline and follow what training regiment they have determined by their superiors."

Alberto asked, "I see. The repairs and upgrades will take a while?"

Steven confirmed, "Architect I says that the process will require at least a few days worth of training from the pilots on the new functionalities of the Gundams. That is the primary concern your pilots will have."

Elias accepted these terms with a final statement, "Reasonable. Thank you for allowing us to remain here Mr. Lutes, we will follow out our duties."

Steven agreed, "Thank you Colonel. Please follow me to the conference room once you are prepared to discuss our next strategy."

Both men confirmed the plan, "Yes sir."

Once the conversation had been finished Alberto explained to the crew waiting at attention, "All crew listen up. The upgrades and repairs may take a few hours but we are being told right now that some minimal training will be required for the next few days before we are deemed ready to descend to Earth. You will follow the training schedule from Captain Houston and may visit the civilian city on available hours prior to curfew. We'll update you on the next assembly. Dismissed."

The crew was given another leave but unsure if it would be quite as welcoming as the colonies were. Zachariah looked out to the small city that had been established wondering, "Alright so what kind of place are we in here? Is Luna anything like the colonies?"

Keijo answered, "Probably to a decent degree. Probably more diverse though seeing the prices have been more reasonable than to travel to the colonies or any other planet."

Mercurio reminded them, "A lot less populated though. It's usually been a tourist attraction in previous years other than a Lunar base OZ constructed in the Eve Wars."

Keijo looked over the brief history and knew there was a reason the training would probably be significant. "So there's a reason we can only expect more training right?"

Mercurio confirmed, "Probably. The civilian population probably isn't that significant even by now."

Arch offered another observation when he looked up towards one of the glass ceilings. "And it doesn't look like we've had too much damage from the Coalition attacks. I would have thought places like this would be their first target."

Dana answered the observation, "It's because Luna is still standing that we even have an Earth to care for and fight for. For every battle that takes place on Earth, about five have happened out in space. Things keep going this way we might have an orbit of scrap around the Earth that will take a long time to clean up."

Roy offered, "Just think of it as future job security. Once the war is over, regardless of who wins, there'll be work for somebody."

Gawel countered, "And if you want to be the one offering free labor or you want the Coalition doing that?"

Roy simply answered, "If I'm alive under the right circumstances, then I think I'd take either option."

Dana gave a push from behind when she told him, "It's be a hell of a sweeter deal if you were a more trigger-happy guy. If the chairman is right then we only have a little more time at war before we're going to have a proper front to correct the Coalition."

Roy wasn't encouraged when he pointed out, "I'll believe it when it happens. 'Til then I think I need a bit of aggressive behavior to get really ready to cap more Coalition dumbasses."

As the group of soldiers parted way, the small city near LDS headquarters was still calm with even the small amount of noise the Earth Sphere pilots would offer. In a nearby alley where Roy gave his last word to the conversation, a man lay hidden as he watched them pass him by. He took out a phone as he spoke, "Confirmed. The targets have landed."