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 34: Pressing Forward for a Purpose

As the team made its way through the small hallways of the Testudo towards the main control room there was immediate resistance once they arrived. The firefight began while the battle continued outside with Leo IIIs confused as to who they were supposed to be fighting.

There was very little confusion as the two forces engaged in battle with one another. Bertram sat and watched the battlefield outside when he heard the gunfire growing and coming closer to his area. His fate was sealed more than ever.

One of the operators reported, "Strategist! The enemy is making its way in!"

"Our worst fears are being realized. Don't let our forces be -" It was too late when one of the operators drew his pistol and shot Bertram in his forehead. The defying operator rushed to the main entrance door with his hands raised and prepared for surrender.

It wasn't long before the infiltrating team had entered and he hurriedly spoke, "Mr. Stephens is dead! He will not be an issue any longer!"

The leader of the team quickly reported to his leading officer, "General Vasquez this is the infiltration team reporting. The Strategist has been killed. He is no longer leading the enemy forces."

Rayen was rather disappointed seeing that Bertram was dead but it was clear that now he was no longer going to be an obstacle to utilizing the Testudo. "Find General Blare and hand control over to him."

"All forces, Strategist Bertram Stephens is dead! Those of you who pledge your loyalty to the true General stand down!"

Oleg heard this happen but contacted Vasquez, "How can you?! Who is supposed to be leading our forces?!"

"I recognize that you may be confused private. Will you destroy the Testudo however to avenge the true traitor of the Coalition?"

"... I suppose not."

"Good to know soldier."

Rayen and Edward found their way through the Testudo's halls towards the main control room with the captive General in a fair amount of anger and anticipation from the situation. "About time. I have been waiting too long for this moment." He passed the corpse of Strategist Stephens in his stride towards the control panel.

Rayen tried to begin a conversation by sympathizing, "I'm sure you have Edward." It was too late however when he found Edward beginning to enter the commands on the control panel. "What are you doing?"

Edward was in rage from his imprisonment when he spoke, "I don't care anymore about what forces we have stationed, that city is to be decimated!" His hopes of destroying the city as planned however were not to be realized. "...What?" He noticed the Testudo cannon was not functioning seeing the signal that indicated there was no ammunition.

Suddenly hit by what they were seeing Rayen found the situation that happened. "The ammunition has been removed..."

Edward was in further anger when he shouted and drew out a pistol. He fired every bullet into Betram's face until it was a bloody pulp of what it once was. After every shot was fired he threw it to the ground in realization of how he had been cheated once again.

Out of hopes to change the scene one of the soldiers entered reporting, "General Blare. We believe that the Strategist has moved a key component of the Testudo cannon."

Edward thrust the soldier to the nearest wall warning, "You have five seconds to prove your information is worthwhile soldier..." He held up five fingers while slowly counting down to indicate his warning.

The soldier spoke with a rapid speed for every hope of his life. "There was a convoy sent into the city of Brussels with the ammunition block of the Testudo! It's possible the Strategist wanted to move it in with the hopes of obtaining the President's good faith sir!"

The General thrust the soldier to the ground somewhat relieved from the news. "Perhaps this day wasn't a complete loss then." He turned to General Vasquez and gave him an order as though he were a lower officer. "Rally the men. We must move out to Brussels... We'll have to regain the trust of President Falson it seems."

In the city of Halle, the brigade of General Alphonse de Lombard's forces had found the city of Brussels near within their walking distance.

Alphonse entered the briefing room of an occupied house with the others and asked his Colonel about the state of the invasion. He looked over a map of the nearby area when he asked, "How long do we have before the next execution?"

One of his colonels answered, "We have about six hours before then sir. If we continue to move in, we'll be able to stop the next execution."

One of his assisting strategists pointed out, "What mobile forces can we even hope to utilize sir?"

Alphonse looked over his options and considered that there was one thing his forces could accomplish. "If we head to Zeebrugge we will be able to find the Spinosissimus mobile suits that are still operational."

"The aquatic defenses sir? We might be sitting ducks if we continue with such forces." The Spinosissimus mobile suit was not built to be a land mobile suit. If there was one thing that kept the Coalition from invading on the North Sea, it was both the quick development of the Griffon units and the Spinosissimus mobile suits. Their ability to fire torpedoes from below the depths allowed the destruction of battleships and airships that came within striking distance of the nearest city. Unfortunately, their limited terrain coverage kept them from having any use other than beneath the ocean. Even worse with the torpedoes firing so far into the air they could be shot down before landing with the right shot.

"It will be better than moving in with nothing." Alphonse could only offer this much when he weighed his options.

The Colonel looked over the priorities and could only agree, "At least we might be able to save the Parliament. That should be our priority at the moment."

"Understood sir. We'll retrieve them and hope we can offer a decent fight." It would be another two hours for the forces to mobilize but now the last minute mission to save the Parliament from execution would begin.

Celso gestured for the others to follow him out of the operating room when he told them, "Give the general a chance to cool off. He'll be himself again soon enough."

Julian agreed, "If the general can be offered another victory of some kind. Seriously we got this close only to be jacked off by the strategist."

The four left the room when Susanne commented, "The least we can do for him right now is find out if anyone here is really dedicated the general if they're just trying to find a safe way to live."

Jens added, "most of them have already died in the crossfire. I don't think we're going to find too many who want to confess to still being loyal to the president."

Celso countered, "There is one man who we have to get answers from. We all saw how the Aquarius didn't even give much of an appearance out there."

Jens asked, "How is that the case? Did we kill the pilot?"

Celso answered, "No. We didn't find Oleg's body among the dead. We did our job in the hangar bay alright, but he was nowhere to be seen."

Julian remembered, "He wasn't. What did he do? Desert us?"

Susanne told them, "What we have to do is find out where he is and see if he plans on doing anything funny while we get back to charge."

"It is pleasant to see such initiative." The voice of Rayen said as he entered the hallway. The four guards stood to salute his arrival when he continued, "Tsubarov is someone we dealt with to make taking the Testudo this much easier. He is not quite a man who values any cause that is not his own. With this sort of information we were able to exploit his desires to our advantage. Where we stand now however, we will require him as an ally."

Celso agreed, "Yeah. I didn't think he would have to prepare himself for anything other than preparing for retirement. Seems that we have more than just one genius it seems."

Rayen added, "We now have one less and fewer still once we are done. Most regrettable is that our men will have to continue this fight for even longer than we had hoped. Discouraging words that no one would hope to hear."

Jens offered, "You won't have to see any of the men disappointed sir. We all signed into this thing for the long haul and we were ready to go down fighting any fight down to our last breath."

Rayen nodded, "It is fortunate that you have such dedication. Most importantly however I believe you should follow on your offer to interrogate Tsubarov. I expect to see him in good hands if he agrees to remain loyal. Dismissed."

Rayen offered another salute to the guards as they parted from one another down separate halls. With the four now assigned, Julian spoke his mind, "Sure is a relief to see that the general is cool with our enthusiasm to continue fighting."

Jens asked, "Why would he have a problem? Were all in this to see Falson taken down even if we lose our limbs in the process."

Celso told him, "That's what us grunts are expected to say. Unfortunately, the general has a lot more to worry about than if he has an army of suicidal soldiers ready to die for a cause. Everything he gets all of us is a result of support from the people. After some devastating battle we just endured, the people on the colonies already have an issue seeing this war be pushed on for even an extra few days."

Susanne agreed, "We're still a fringe element compared to the rest of the Coalition's formation. The remainder of General Blare and Vasquez's reserves is going to be our only chance of seeing this planet under one union. For that reason, we cannot allow the sacrifices everyone has made be for nothing. We do not let the Earth Sphere's weak leadership be rewarded for its ineptitude."

Jens conceded, "So we don't have a parade welcoming us to our recent victory. Sucks that it has to be this way, but the general just wants to keep toughing it out."

Julian agreed, "We all have a different reason for wanting the Earth to be united and a different amount of resolve for how long this thing is supposed to go on. Trying to convince everyone to get behind Blare and Vazquez is going to be the real concern. This was supposed to be the moment that would end the Earth Sphere and the Falsons ambition."

Susanne commented, "It will separate those who are too weak to stand beside us and those who actually want an end where the Earth is still a united planet."

Celso observed, "With that kind of dedication it would sound as though you cared a little much about this gig of ours."

Susanne turned to face her fellow guards when she paused before answering, "You already know about how I was recruited. Just consider this a standard for what any soldier should prepare for."

Jens agreed, "This a little bit of a close call to home. Rumors like those shouldn't be started."

Celso shrugged, "Man and I thought implying something would just be something that flew over your guys' heads. I guess we might be a little too close to victory for us to take anything as a simple comment."

Julian agreed, "If you were getting close to finished with being jacked off only before you got to the end you wouldn't be very happy or in the mood for a joke either... Hell, if this Tsubarov kid was really in on this deal like General Vasquez said, he's probably he's probably the most screwed over out of everyone on this hunk of junk."

Celso agreed, "I guess if we don't have any life stories, we don't already know about from each other we might as well make our way up to his quarters and find out how pissed he is."

Jens called for the elevator when he agreed, "And I was thinking that he might have been the easy part of our day. I feel like we're almost ready to strangle each other's necks right now."

Julian warned, "It might come down to that at some point. The strategist wouldn't have allowed himself to have these sorts of openings just to let everyone have a shot at trying to topple his plea of righting all the wrongs he saw. He might already have the president full of notions about how much General Blare really wants him out of the picture. Nothing short of absolutely kissing up to him and laying his life on the line is going to make him think that the general has any good intentions of being loyal to him."

Celso agreed, "We would need some serious miracle to see ourselves welcomed even just a little warmly. What's worse is that if we don't have his support, we can't even stage a search for the ammunition. The strategist couldn't even offer us the inconvenience of unplugging the ammunition but had to offer his dedication to the president by giving away the only leverage he had against him."

Susanne reminded them, "That's some more big scale work that concerns our leaders. Our job is to do whatever order comes to their mind and follow. Right now, we should be more concerned with meeting this Tsubarov kid without any reservations."

The elevator opened as the four of tm made their way to the upper level of the Testudo. There was one room labeled with the number they were searching for as Celso stood in front to knock. He then introduced, "Hey Tsubarov. You been waiting for us? Well I guess I have a few friends to introduce."

When Celso introduced himself, the door opened to reveal Oleg answering the call. He indifferently observed his four guests when he commented, "Not the congratulations I was hoping for. What's the holdup with this thing?"

Celso entered Oleg's quarters when he observed, "Seems like you were trusted under the strategist's plans. Fortunately, he's now dead but he took the location of the ammunition to the Testudo with him."

Oleg sat down as he sighed in disappointment from the news. "And Vasquez had me sold at the idea that this would all end after he leveled Brussels. This puts me in an awkward place to say the least."

Susanne knelt in front of him when she told him, "Maybe if you were in this just for the promise of security. Good for you on picking the winning side. Unfortunately, it looks like you're stuck with us for a while longer."

Jens leaned on a wall next to Celso when he agreed, "You already resigned yourself to the idea of Falson being executed when you agreed to General Vasquez's offer. You're tuck with us now unless you have some serious whiplash."

Oleg was indifferent when he told them, "I honestly don't give a shit at this point. For all I care the big guy over there could be the new leader of this renegade band act. I'd still care more about the colonies getting their reparations and that I'm part of the crowd whose been fitting the most."

Jens was about to approach Oleg before seeing Susanne stand up to ask, "You do know what you're speaking for your potential suspicion of unwillingness to fulfill your obliged duty right kid?"

Oleg noticed the agitation in Susanne's voice when he asked, "What? Because I don't want to jump for joy about Vasquez trying to put Blare's back to the forefront of this whole army? Most people here probably just want a leadership that's slightly less secretive about its intentions. If there's anything I can give Blare, it's that it at least seems like he knows what he wants but that's it."

Susanne countered, "And just how long have you been serving under the general? That sort of talk is exactly what the enemy would like to let all of its supporters think. Just to remind you, we're all the personal guard for the general but we also have a duty to make sure anyone who stands against him isn't an obstacle."

Oleg looked up to Susanne when he told her, "You make it sound like I'm an insider for the Earth Sphere just because I don't kiss the ground your general walks under. I had no idea that this was a requirement for signing up but how many people in this army actually have this much dedication?"

Julian answered, "Not to the same extent as the young miss here, but enough to make them chose him over the president. You? An indifferent guy like you could make a major tilt in this war either way if the right person came along and I had the right persuasion skills. Just try and consider this from our perspective won't you?"

Oleg commented, "For a bunch of schemers you guys sure are paranoid. If it's loyalty to the general you're asking for, I have it in full squares. Everyone who comes close to hurting him will go through me before they have to go through you guys."

Jens asked, "So we don't have any problems to be concerned over? The general becomes president of Earth tomorrow, you will stand loyal to him at the first obstacle of his leadership?"

Oleg told him, "The day he rises to power, I won't have to concern myself with the military anymore. Just to make that real simple for you, I don't even want to align myself with anyone after I'm done. How do I feel about him? I think he's exactly the sort of leader we need. I think he's the sort of man who is going to be looming over us all just because he tells himself that he wants to at night."

Susanne continued to gaze at Oleg when she asked, "Is tat the sort of category you would base the general on? A man who wants to have Earth so he can say he achieved it?"

Oleg brought his hands up when he told her, "Those are your words. I could say them myself, but I don't want to be given a trial in the same vein as those representatives are going through right now."

Susanne walked away from Oleg's bunk while the others continued to watch him. Celso was the first to comment, "You know before I was just doing you a favor offering kindly advice. Now it seems like you're going to follow my words by heart. If you want to live long enough to even hear about an honorable discharge."

Jens followed after Susanne when he added, "Maybe it doesn't matter to you how many people die out there but you better be ready to at least act like a soldier out there. Believe it or not we're all disappointed to see that we have more work ahead of us. Just remind yourself every night that you're going to have us to worry about."

Oleg only had Celso and Julian in front of him when he commented, "Nice to see this was all I had to worry about. Maybe this is just a big process that I have to be subject to like every other guy on this fortress."

Julian told him, "You just happen to be one of the key pieces in all this big guy. Don't forget, no one else has piloted the Aquarius."

Celso added, "There's at least a few of us who would love the opportunity. But you were the one who signed over to our side so loyalty is a must. You know that old adage of "everything you say can and will be used against you" sort of deal."

Oleg accepted his situation when he told Celso, "I'm looking forward to it. Some of the others might have plots against the general but I can't say that I plan on doing that myself."

Celso nodded when he offered, "Looking forward to your service. You just stay here in your cage for right now mighty hero."

Oleg was allowed to himself when Edward's guards were finished their questioning. Jens pointed out, "The kid sure is a tough one. At least he doesn't sound like he's anything the general has to deal with down the line."

Susanne reminded, "That's what we have to prepare for. I have to admit though, the general will be interested to hear what sort of words he has when he hears our evaluation."

Julian chuckled when he commented, "Girl, you have a sincere desire to put others under blast."

As the two hours passed the spherical Spinosissimus mobile suits made their way towards the city of Brussels. As Alphonse watched the mobile suits begin their walk, he heard one of his colonels report, "We have a plan ready sir. Ready to brief."

The General made his way over to the map of the area near Brussels and began to explain the situation. "Once the Spinosissimus division makes its way towards the outer edge of the city we will begin a strategic bombardment of the military installations. If we are fortunate, we will be able to clear a path towards the Parliamentary Building. Our goal is currently not to take back the city but to save the Parliament that is still alive. Our priority should lie in securing the President and taking him to safety."

He knew that what hopes of the men having mobile suits to take into battle would be dashed with his next statement, but it had to be said now. "I regret that the Spinosissimus invasion may be a suicide run. Once they have advanced towards the city and depleted their ammunition, all pilots are required to abandon them not a moment later." He concluded the meeting by reminding, "When we take the Parliament away from the city, we shall begin a retreat towards Paris. Once we have arrived, we can begin another strategy to strike back against the Coalition. Is the mission clear men?"

The men around the table agreed, "Yes sir."

"Let's move out. We have four hours before we're too late." With that order, Alphonse's forces were making their way towards the city and ready to attack. The ground forces advanced with as much stealth as possible but prepared to wait for the torpedoes to launch into the air.

Feldberg had been untouched throughout the duration of the eleven years of prior war that was left on the Earth. The edges of the Black Forest touched the snow-covered mountains as a demonstration of nature left to run its course without the intervention of man. The natural scenery however was far from ideal for the few who made their entrance into this wilderness.

"Is this really the best way for us to keep going? Is anyone even supposed to find anything out here?" Richard Lindemann asked as he stood against the raging winds of snow. The Lindemann brothers had fully covered themselves in heavy winter coats as they continued their search at the edge of the mountains.

Christoph answered, "Trying to drive through this place was completely out of the question. We don't even have a mobile suit to clear a path for us."

Christian told them, "We should be more worried about finding our way to the warehouse dad told us about. Whining about not finding it is not going to get us there any faster."

Richard responded, "I was hoping you might have some actual insight about where it is. How are we even supposed to know this place is even still standing?"

Christian answered, "Because a place all the way out here wouldn't be too difficult to find. We wouldn't have a chance of surviving long if we settle down out here."

Richard accepted, "I guess he should prefer us dying in the field instead of freezing to death."

Christoph told them, "We won't get anywhere just bitching about not seeing something. Have either of you even checked on your comms to see if the others found anything?"

Richard asked, "Is there even appoint? They'll be flipping their lid if they find some giant structure waiting for us in the middle of this little patch of nowhere."

Christoph countered, "And how do we even confirm that they're doing their job if we don't?"

Richard accepted, "Alright already. I'm starting now." He took hold of his walkie talkie when he asked, "Pavlon, how are you holding?"

A voice on the other side answered, "Nothing much. Just some bleak winter."

Richard switched the signal on his walkie talkie when he asked, "Status Markandya?"

"Nothing but trees, trees, and more trees."

"Got anything Xia?"

"Nothing to note. Just more nature shit we couldn't care about."

"How about you Kurosaka?"

"I can barely see anything in front of me. Who the hell had the foresight to set themselves up here?"

Richard was confused when he asked, "Where are you even camping Kurosaka? This place is cold as hell but it's not the top of the mountains."

"I might as well be there. I feel like I've been climbing for hours."

Richard gripped his walkie talkie hard when he asked, "The hell are you even doing up there? We're supposed to be checking the perimeter for something to report."

"That's the deal. I saw a blinking light up here and I think we might actually have something."

"Stay there God damn it. This had better not be jerking us around. Now tell us your location."

"A mile east of Xia's location as planned. Just up the mountain and I don't know how far up."

"Stay there and pray a bear finds you before I do." He shut off the walkie talkie when he told his brothers, "Sorry guys, but I think one of ours might be trying to commit some kind of suicide."

Christoph accepted, "This better be real." He grabbed his walkie talkie when he contacted one man after another to warn them about the situation they were facing. Richard lead his brothers through the forest past one tree after another as he checked every direction to find a sign of the men who followed him from Lyon. After a period of running, the brothers were exhausted but saw several Earth Sphere soldiers gathered to the area where Daisuke Kurosaka began his climb.

Christoph stood in front of his brothers when he asked, "Did anyone get a sight of Kurosaka making his way up?"

The soldier who went up by the name of Pan Xia answered, "I saw him at the base of the mountain but didn't see him actually begin the climb. Is he really getting up there?"

Christian answered, "As far as we know it seems to be the case. We'll have to see how much he froze his ass off before we decide to kick some sense into him. Let's move."

The brothers and Pan made a dash up the mountain when Christoph pointed out, "Someone's been up here. Looks like Kurosaka was alone at least."

The four looked to an ascending series of steps in the snow as they searched for the anomaly that Daisuke Kurosaka pointed to earlier. They made a sprint before the slope of the mountain began to serve as a firm reminder of their limitations. They all slowed down in their ascent as they made an effort to look for their wayward companion before Christian pointed, "Is that him up there?"

Christoph looked before seeing a figure in heavy winter clothing on the ground sweeping snow off the ground. With a renowned sense of determination, Richard rushed to the man's location before falling face first into the snow. Pan made his way up to him when he asked, "Are you seriously that exhausted already? We didn't even go up that far."

Richard lifted himself up as he brushed off the snow and answered, "Stupid rock here… Wait is it?"

Richard bent down to see the object he had tripped over before seeing not a rock, but a handle. One that was attached to a metallic surface that didn't match with the mountain scape. Richard continued to brush away snow as he traced along the rims of the door the handle was attached to. The others looked on while Christoph shouted, "Hey! Kurosaka! Is this what you were looking for?"

Daisuke lifted himself from the ground when he heard Christoph ask the question. He saw everyone gathered at Christoph's location when he observed, "I managed to miss this thing somehow. I was too focused on the tower."

Richard saw the remainder of the door be revealed when he told him, "I might owe you an apology. It looks like there was something here."

Christian took hold of the handle when he told him, "Hopefully this isn't some glorified bunker." He lifted the handle to discover it was actually a hatch that lead downwards. He couldn't see anything but darkness but leapt down to the bottom. He told everyone above, "It's not too far down. It's even kind of stable down here."

Daisuke accepted, "Anything is better than staying out here. He might need assistance guys."

Daisuke leapt down before checking the area around him to see Christian out of visibility. He asked, "So is anything else down here?"

Christian answered, "Just a door that we are not getting past. No hinges, no vent, no telling how thick this thing is."

Richard leapt down when he asked, "Is there at least a card slot in here?"

Christian checked the door again as he felt around the edges. After a few seconds he answered, "Yeah. Yeah there is one down here."

Richard called up to Christoph, "I think we just found the spot. Let's see if we're allowed in."

Christoph leapt down with the key card his father had given him when he agreed, "Don't lose it. Right now a wrong turn is the most bad news we can afford."

Richard took the card as he inserted it into the slot before the door in front of them slid down into the ground and offered a lit hall leading further into the mountain. Richard stepped inside as he observed where the hall was leading before telling his fellow men, "Dad wasn't sending us on a goose chase after all. All we need now are some weapons and we might actually have a right to call this detour worthwhile."

Christoph stood next to him when he ordered, "We'll find out in a few. Right now, contact everyone else that we've found our goalpost."

Richard lingered behind while several more of the men who followed Christoph lead the entry into the hidden hallway. After making his way through the halls he came to a destination that he had been hopeful to see. An operating room was in front of him completely untouched and unpowered while a long distant cavern stood in front of him. "Will you look at this." Christoph said as the others walked up to him.

Christian had a similar reaction when he commented, "This place hasn't been touched. Even better this place looks like it hasn't seen the last few years of tech updates."

Daisuke looked around before finding a power switch and checked one of the labels. "I can confirm that. This place hasn't been touched since OZ went under. Your dad better have done something to let the power still run here or we aren't operating shit."

Christian grabbed one of the nearby power switches when he commanded, "Let's see how its been held." Both men lifted the switches in unison before the dim lights flickered on and the cavern in front of the operating room was illuminated. Richard made his way to the operating panel while Christoph watched him proceed to work.

"You have an idea of what to do with these things?" Christoph asked as he looked over the panel he had available.

Richard nodded, "I watched Flake fiddle around with these things, it shouldn't be too hard."

Christoph checked one of the nearby monitors when he saw some results that left his face disappointed by the reveal. Pan asked, "What happened? Did we get anything?"

Christoph answered, "We did. A grand total of three mobile suits currently occupying the hangar."

Richard agreed, "We can't do much with them if that's all we got but it has to be a start right?"

Christian interjected, "He wouldn't just leave us regular mobile suits. There has to be something in here that he wouldn't let be made public."

Christoph took another look at the screen as he searched for results that would promise something. On closer inspection he found some identification numbers that were different from standard identification codes of Earth Sphere mobile suits. He checked on them in a sequence before holding several names that stood out from his recognition. Lachesis, Clotho, and Urth. "Well this is a pretty interesting deviation." Christoph observed. He made his way to the nearest door leading to the cavern when he told everyone, "For all we know it seems like dad might have left us something big."

Christian and Richard followed to the nearest hangar and the left side before they stood in front of an unusual bipedal mobile suit with a massively built chest area. It stood only two meters short of a Leo III or an Ursa unit with portions of its body not in the same ratio of its chest. It was red in color with a single eye camera head. Christian had in the meantime pointed in the opposite direction when he told everyone, "I think dad might have had an interesting approach to preparing us for this situation."

Everyone looked at the direction Christian pointed when they saw another mobile suit of the same build but with legs larger than the rest of its build. Richard looked for the one next to it when he saw a mobile suit with abnormally larger arms.

Daisuke assumed, "Are these things even complete? Suits with proportions this off can't be built with the intention of being ready for battle."

Christoph answered, "It might not be the case. Buy you know what this might actually be his whole plan was."

Richard asked, "You're saying that he might have been planning to build another Gundam before meeting with Instructor W?"

Christian pointed, "That might be it. But what's important is that we have something that we can fight back with right?"

Christoph agreed, "Once we figure out how these things work, we should have a fighting chance. I have a feeling these will be a little more complex than Maganac IIs."

Christian ran to the mobile suit with large arms when he asked, "Well what are we supposed to wait for? Dads permission? He gave it to us when he gave us that key. We should take these out for a flight or something to see if they need to be adjusted or not."

Christoph accepted, "We'll do that when we have a plan and an idea of how to operate these things."

Pan asked, "Does that at least give us some supporting role? I don't think the rest of us can do much with just these three."

Richard answered, "Once you help us, we'll have a chance to pull off a raid or two. Before long we'll have a united resistance ready for action."

Christoph agreed, "Father probably didn't believe anyone could make a huge difference even with these mobile suits. I guess its our job to prove him wrong. We'll give him something to be proud of."

Daisuke nodded, "It's great to have a cause to fight for along with a driving force to keep someone going. We're going to expect some big results from you guys."

Christoph agreed, "I'm speaking for the guys when I tell you that we are going to make do on that promise. Once everybody gets here we'll be getting started better than ever."

As Nathaniel tried to find out what was happening from the sudden stop of the battlefield he observed the radar screens while asking, "Can we confirm the status of the Testudo?"

"It is still standing sir. We're receiving a message from the front lines."

Edward on the other line announced, "Attention Coalition headquarters. This is General Edward Blare. Strategist Stephens has been killed for his attempts to overthrow my position."

Somewhat displeased to see that the traitor was still alive and prepared to defend himself, the President only moaned. "General Blare." He asked him, "I would not have expected to see you reveal yourself so soon general. If you are capable of defending yourself against the charges that Bertram Stephens placed against you then I suggest you do so."

Edward answered, "I'm afraid that I do not have anything to defend myself Mr. President. If you were willing to hear out Mr. Stephens on his charges then I hope you are willing to see that my case is the correct one."

In the following days, Donna reluctantly participated in the training with the Sol Thero. She continued with the training and she hated every minute of it. Looking over her results however, she found that she was able to master the Zero System the closest out of the three pilots. In addition, of the three pilots it was her willpower that could be considered the strongest.

She brought her thoughts back to how she was going to be able to handle continuing with the very thing that went against her family values. She was able to receive Dana's opinion on the exercise but was now curious about how Mercurio. She remembered hearing about the Ambiguous Architect I being a mentor to him. "Perhaps he might have some sort of insight that I need to hear from him." She thought to herself while placing her results on her table.

Donna tried to collect herself when she considered the advice that Dana had given her. Ever since she followed Mercurio from one planet to another she did offer conversation and found him to be polite and sincere if a bit too much of a dedicated soldier for her liking. "Just what scenario can I go in not feeling awkward around him?" Donna asked herself. She saw Mercurio step out of the airlock as the Uriel was the last Gundam to situate itself in the hangar bay. She recomposed herself when she reminded herself, "He's a fellow pilot. He wouldn't do anything to belittle me."

She watched him enter the halls as he dutifully removed his helmet and made his way to his quarters. "Hey, Mercurio." She said.

When the training had ended for the period Mercurio heard Donna greet him. "Hey Donna."

"What do you think of the Architect? You were a student of his if I remember?"

"He'd need you in your field of work? He actually promised that at one point?"

"Mercurio nodded, "Yeah. I didn't think it would be in the military services. His main subject didn't exactly keep him from being completely separate from where is now."

Donna recognized the position the architect had when she pointed, "So he wasn't a personal instructor like mine was. He taught you and an entire classes."

"Back in high school, just about five years ago. He was a bit of an odd one out of the rest of the instructors, but he was always dedicated to his subject. It really wasn't the most important subject or one that had weight on my grade performances. Can't say it wasn't worthless though since he did offer me a recommendation after graduation day."

Donna was curious when she inquired, "What subject did he teach and how did he have influence giving you a recommendation?"

Mercurio was made curious in turn when he answered, "History and Moral Philosophy. Didn't you go through the same thing?"

Donna shook her head when she explained, "I was homeschooled with my brothers. He wanted us to excel in economics and business so we could take over the family business. He didn't even want us making any friends outside he was so dedicated to the idea. I never got to take too many other subjects because of that."

Mercurio recognized he had an explanation to offer when he told her, "History and Moral Philosophy was introduced six years ago into the school curriculum. It's essentially a discussion course where everyone has to look over the history of the last three decades and essentially debate with the instructor on whether or not something is morally correct or not. It's a course that doesn't have any grade system other than participation and base understanding of various moments in human history. Because of that, the class doesn't add anything and the worst you can get off with is depending on how much someone violates school rules. There was one thing that the instructor gave to students who were adherently attentive however, a recommendation of military entry for everyone who graduated high school and was a particularly well thought of student."

Donna was confused when she pointed out, "But all Earth Sphere citizens are required by law to serve a minimum of three years in military service after the age of 18. What good would a recommendation form an instructor do?"

Mercurio looked to the window where the Gundams were visible when he answered, "I would say it got me to where I am now but not everyone gets a chance do they? The most a recommendation has ever been recorded to do is a chance to be first in line when the recruiters decide who goes to the frontlines and who stays in bootcamp."

Donna understood the incentive when she observed, "I can see the draw it might have formed for men like you. You must have studied hard and did much to earn his approval."

Mercurio shook his head when he told her, "Nobody tries to make that kind of effort. I mostly had the chance to ask him a few questions after class but that was it. He was virtually a ghost outside the classroom and didn't even let anyone contact him. He probably doesn't even have much of a family or anyone else to talk to who isn't on Luna. Judging from everything he did I can kind of see why now."

Donna agreed, "He was indeed key in forming the best chance the Earth Sphere would have in preparing itself. Much of what he seems to have pursued however is something that the Earth Sphere would not have stood for in the beginning. I honestly feel rather ashamed that these changes are something we actually have to continue standing for."

Mercurio remembered, "Yeah, the Coalition started out with mobile dolls since they needed some kind of force to support them. I'm kind of starting to think that the Earth Sphere seems to be losing support now that we've gotten to this point. This whole scenario feels like something the architect prepared for either me or Keijo to wrestle with and struggle to answer."

Donna remembered, "You said that the class was called History and Moral Philosophy. I suppose that does mean you were required to come to your own opinion at least in regards to historic events. Does that mean he specifically asked you about this sort of scenario before?"

Mercurio confirmed, "We had a whole class dedicated to that question. I actually learned a lot about how I actually felt and how I would approach everything after that. Unfortunately with this being a philosophy class we weren't offered a lot of concrete answers about how to feel."

Donna decided there was one way she would get a true feeling of the architect and how he would influence Mercurio. She asked, "Do you have a distinct recollection of what one of his lectures was like?"

Mercurio nodded when he told her, "A bit at least. A lot of what he did was pretty significant."

"If it's not too much trouble could you tell me a bit about what it's like?"

Mercurio accepted, "I do have a bit of a recollection. Probably the moment when he might have decided that I was at least worth considering."

"As we are familiar, the mobile doll technology was something that brought inflated numbers to the Romefeller Foundation. Something that permitted them to be significant participants without having to recruit large numbers or undermine the potential of their technology. Perhaps there was something wrong with this scenario?" He turned to one of his students requesting, "Your insight please."

"I think it's wrong Professor. If we utilize artificial intelligence for the purpose of war then we lose sight of why we're trying to prevent war in the first place."

"Valid argument." Valko accepted. "However there is also a problem in which we must fight to a last resort correct? The Romefeller numbers were never quite so large. Is their evil in their cause or is the technology itself evil?"

Keijo was the one to raise his hand stating, "I believe the evil that we try to discover is only in the hands of those who use it. It basically brings us back to the whole question of why war should be held in the first place."

The Professor didn't seem swayed by the idea when he accepted the answer. "If you say so Mr. Jutila." He continued, "However can we begin to grasp the idea of the subject at hand? Would the colonies have been at fault for utilizing the mobile doll technology as well?" He turned to one of the other students when he directed this question.

"I... maybe not?"

"And why is that?"

"The colonies were fighting to see their independence be secured. It would have probably saved lives if anything."

The Professor raised an eyebrow at the statement like he always did when an argument was about to begin. "Even if both sides were to use mobile dolls to follow this logic? Would it result in any progress?"

"After that it would be a matter of who runs out of resources to build more."

"So you disagree with the idea that humans will not fight tooth and nail for their cause if they are forced to?"

The student found himself in a stumble when he answered, "I... I'd hope people are more sensible than that."

"If there is any doubt in your argument you have already opened the first hole in your stance." He turned back to the class asking, "Perhaps a reiteration. Is the use of mobile dolls in such a way for all intents and purposes the incorrect way to wage a war?" He shifted his gaze to Mercurio after asking.

Mercurio recognized his time when he answered, "I believe it negates the purpose of a war. If there is anything it contributes it only drags out a conflict and has its participants believe that it can go on for as long as possible."

"We are in the middle of a seven-year war however." Volka simply stated.

Mercurio realized the open area he had been dragged into. Despite war being a deterrent from conflict he was possibly in the middle of the most devastating war in human history. "...It seems to show how dedicated our current leaders are. Whether or not that is a good thing is something that can only be given to the winner."

"And what would you have to say to those who contribute to the war effort regardless of which side?"

Mercurio became more driven in his decision when he explained his answer. "It is their choice. If I was capable of helping all of humanity reach a common understanding I would work towards that."

"It shall be noted. The choices one makes are the great importance. Even if it results in extended conflict. Thus by your logic the question of whether or not there is a morality behind mobile doll technology is essentially irrelevant because it is a choice that almost anyone can come toe."

Mercurio felt a bit of regret when he was forced to agree. "Yes... It's regrettable though..."

"I would hope so." The Professor concluded his dialogue when he moved on to question the rest of the class. Now it would be another length of time when they began to discuss if there was anything moral on the decision of digging ones way out of such a dark hour.

"But the simple fact is that soldiers on both sides have resigned themselves to the notion that conflict is the last available action because there simply may not be a common understanding to approach."

Volka continued his walk around the classroom when he offered, "We have established that there may not be any for of morality to conclude upon simply because the use of the mobile dolls is not a question that is relevant to the overall greater picture. Unless there is an object."

One of the students raised her hand when she objected, "With all due respect professor, we are brushing over a very unsettling attitude that you are proposing we follow."

Volka turned to her to ask, "You say there is something unsettling about accepting the acknowledgement of morality being irrelevant."

The student confirmed, "Yes sir. Those who subject themselves to accepting the worst aspects of humans are those who do no allow for the human race to progress beyond its current obstacles. That is not limited only to introduction of mobile dolls, this is a basic question that lies with the implementation of any technology."

Volka walked up to her when he asked, "And what was your intention for your future I might ask?"

The girl answered, "I intend to enter the parliament someday professor."

"From the sound of it, it would seem you hope to apply a mentality of the Pacifist Party behind your candidacy. If that is the case, would you be willing to accept facing a man or woman who fought for your position and tell them that they must accept the decisions that you have come to regardless of what realities you may have to face once it directly stares in front of you?"

The girl clenched her fists before finding her resolve to answer, "There must be someone who has the leadership to say so sir. There are very few who have the capacity to do so already. If it must be me then I will stand for my conviction as much as I can."

Volka turned his attention away from the girl as he called to Keijo, "And you. What do you say to this?"

Keijo swallowed when he answered, "It would seem that she has an intention to manage the more political part of this war opposed to actually fighting sir."

Volka paused as he gave Keijo a chance to breath and told him, "Put yourself in the position of a soldier boy. You are on the frontlines and the Coalition could very well face a crushing defeat if you made the right charge and attacked. But then you hear a command that you cannot make the attack because your superior, no matter which one, says that you must comply with the order to stand down. Do you?"

Keijo had a better grasp of the question when he answered, "I would probably have to. If I were told to stand down, then our situation is probably too shitty to turn the wars tide in any significant way."

"The Earth Sphere is in no danger of falling and your superior tells you that you cannot advance because it would not be in any way to him or her as the morally correct choice to make. Does the situation change then?"

Keijo paused before shakily answering, "Well… In that case sir… I would make the charge regardless of whoever told me not to. Quite frankly if I had the opportunity and I saw it, I'd take it. I just want to win for the Earth Sphere more than anything in that scenario."

Volka passed upwards when he placed both students at the center of attention and commanded, "I want both of you to come in tomorrow and prepare yourselves for a half hour debate. I can see that we will have a good deal to learn from both perspectives." He returned his focus to the rest of the class when he told them, "This sort of conversation is exactly what you all must have with yourselves. It is this sort of inquiry that brings out the best in humanity. Even if you risk losing everything that you might call yours, this is worth challenging yourself in order to allow yourself to be the greatest. Of course, not all men and women are born to lead, but the greatest who see that opportunity in front of them are the ones who reach out to grasp it and achieve their place in human history."

Edward and Rayen went to the Parliamentary building to find the President and his men waiting for them. He couldn't allow his concerns to get the best of him. He needed to convince Nathaniel he was still a trustworthy member of his military. "Greetings Mr. President. I hope you were not concerned about Bertram's insubordination."

Nathaniel wasn't as welcoming to the man who first arrived on Earth when he gestured for two nearby soldiers to line up next to the General. "The execution is to begin within a few hours General. I can promise that this upcoming week you will be among those tried for criminal activity in this war."

Edward had found himself taken aback by the idea. He couldn't be brought into custody this easily. "But Mr. President, I have always been loyal to your cause! You couldn't simply assume that a dead man is able to bear more weight against my word than my own!"

The President obviously didn't show "I will review the case when you have been taken in and the trials begin again."

"It was Bertram you should have been warned about! The man had his own ambitions ahead of him!" Edward gave this out of a desperate hope for asylum.

"What man sends over the key to the Testudo with little or no influence in the city itself?" The hopes were dashed when he was noted this. For some reason Stephens was allowed to surrender the ammunition for the Testudo as a way of showing his loyalty. He was in a desperate situation now. This could possibly be the end of him. He was taken away to the Parliamentary building while General Vasquez and the other soldiers awaited orders.

Nathaniel didn't allow for Edward to have a chance at recovering himself however when he told his men, "Escort him out of here and have him under watch. Once we have gathered enough evidence against you Edward, we will discover if you are indeed the man of your word that you claim to be or if you are the next to be executed. Get him out of my sight, now!"

Edward and his men followed Rayen as they made their way down a series of halls to the room where he would be held. The Coalition would have additional forces again, but the question of Oleg's loyalty and Edward's innocence would probably be the first thing on everyone's mind. He chose to remain optimistic when he looked over what the lost ammunition had brought for his forces. "If all goes as planned, we may not have to destroy this fine city before us after all."

Rayen saw the logic but reminded him of the most obvious problem. "Assuming that you will ever be come into contact with the President again after this."

Edward kept an air of hope about his ambition when he told Rayen, "President Falson is not merciless. We shall meet with him and hope that we can frame the late strategist in the correct light."

"An action is far more effective. We may have to demonstrate our loyalty in such a matter."

The idea was the most likely path to the President but knew it was an issue with the current occupation. Edward showed signs of agitation by how limited he was by his choices when he lamented, "You might be right. Only if such a moment is to be presented before us however."

As soon as Edward came to his room, Rayen led him inside and shut the door to begin offering him the opportunity he needed. "Oh it is very much a possibility Edward. One that we will be able to use to gain Nathaniel's trust in one action."

Edward turned to Rayen when he asked, "What action do you refer to? What pray tell, are we to utilize?"

Rayen pointed Edward to the nearest map that he brought up when he explained, "Right now we have a clear entry and encirclement of Brussels. My men however have confirmed reports of a force of Earth Sphere soldiers who intend to offer a final attempt at freeing the capital from our grasp. If we maneuver properly, we should have the right window for them to "accidentally" slip past our defenses. They will hope to take the capital back, but when all seems lost, we will encircle the city and either force a surrender or see all of them slaughtered by our hands. This is what I was hoping to provide Edward. The fortunate news is that we will be able to use this to lure Nathaniel back into a false sense of security once we have "reaffirmed" our loyalty to him. At this point we will only have to concern ourselves with our troop numbers to see that Nathaniel does indeed fall as you had planned."

Edward nodded when he commented, "This is an optimistic view of what the Earth Sphere forces hope to accomplish. There are very few scenarios where they would allow themselves to risk being encircled by us. Even if they trust our cooperation, this scenario only leaves us with the potential to throw out one leader in favor of the Earth Sphere president having a platform for a final stand. Can you even confirm that the leader of the French Brigade will only continue with the intention to see us as the last resort of allies?"

Rayen promised, "You must remember, I have spoken to the general himself. He is hopeful that we wish to maintain a united Earth alongside him. He will take this risk and he will move forward as planned. There is little now that can stand before us and the fall of Nathaniel's leadership."

Edward was given a new ray of hope when he looked out to the city of Brussels before commenting, "We have been blessed with an opportunity indeed. If I so decided it could be that we could permit the general to dispose of Nathaniel for us before we are ready to face them and make a final establishment of our hold."

Rayen agreed, "That would be an opportunity. There may be an issue with that I'm afraid. The brigade's numbers will probably only just match that the forces within the city right now. We take a great risk if we simply allow them to their defense. If they lose, we will never regain the trust of the president and we will have the remainder of the Coalition that is not loyal to us prepared to weed us out as a final fringe element to be removed. Worse yet there is a greater issue we must be ready for in the long term."

Edward realized the problem when he said, "The Gundams. They are likely to make their return. In fact, only a few days past estimation for their return. We are pushing our luck too far as it is."

Rayen confirmed, "That is so. But we do have a way to warn what remains of the Earth Sphere enemies into a sacrifice that will play to our advantage. Forcing them to turn their weapons without any context for the situation on a world scale will achieve a fortuitous outcome regardless of what would happen."

Edward agreed, "The Earth Sphere forces could be rallied to destroy the Gundams once they land outside the capital. A sight of the two forces facing one another would in itself be a devastating sight. If the Gundams are destroyed, we are able to focus on the situation at hand without another concern. More likely if the Gundams do destroy the Earth Sphere forces, the entire human race will rally itself together with the Gundams as a common enemy. Not even a mere three of them will be able to withstand the might of all the worlds power. If we truly utilize all of this in the optimal scenario, this defeat could merely be an elongated period before we are seen as the saviors that the human race will need."

Rayen agreed, "Scenarios such as these are ones that force us to prepare for an alternate path towards potentially similar outcomes."

Edward looked out the window when he commented, "I will attain this final outcome in due time. As of right now, the best decision we could make is to seem less suspicious by being right next to the president. There must not be any expectation that we were the ones to permit the brigade to enter."

Rayen agreed, "We shall at least have a façade of being innocent. We had best move out now."

Edward turned to make his way to the exit when he called on his tablet, "I must remain here in the Parliamentary Building for now. Right now, the president will require some form of explanation and I will have at least buy some time if I am able."

Jens asked, "Did you just want us to hold down this place sir? We've already interrogated the others and they're all anxious to see how this is going to play out now."

Edward answered, "It is my duty to meet with the president and make him believe that we are still loyal to him. Without his approval we shall remain as potential enemies that will be met with the disdain and fury of the remaining Coalition. I want the four of you to maintain a hold of the operating room and prepare for my signal. I will contact you and inform you when to give the order for the remaining forces to advance."

Celso was interested in the plan when he asked, "What do we need to prepare the order for sir? If anything at all happens, we should be ready to advance and destroy our enemies."

Edward explained, "We will soon have enemies advancing. We need to take them off guard when they already trust us."

Susanne spoke, "We won't keep you a keep you any longer sir. This plan sounds like something that you were anticipating to execute."

Edward sat in a nearby chair when he confirmed, "You have your orders. I Expect them to be followed as you have all not failed before."

Rayen added to Edward's plan when he agreed, "Your task should be simple enough. We can confirm that this will be the beginning of our finest hour."

The signal on the call was cut as Edward's four guards were left to their mission with keeping the Testudo under their control. Julian confirmed to his fellow guards, "We have a new mission. Makes me wonder what the outcome will be in this situation."

Susanne told him, "The general has gone through more demanding situations before. Is only challenge is going to be convincing the president to lower his guard and we will accomplish it once we surround the last remaining Earth Sphere forces."

The four made their way to the operations room when Celso reminded, "That's something you will have to take into context. If Nathaniel was smart, he'd be paranoid as hell about getting ready to welcome anyone who wasn't Strategist Stephens. He might even be asking for some of the Coalition forces to make an early descent down here hoping that he won't be betrayed again. He was hoping this whole disaster of a unification was dealt with as soon as Hermine fell from power. Things just aren't working out as he had hoped after all this time."

Jens asked, "Well what's the big difference then? How is the president going to look at he arrival of either of them as a sign that he'll be in better hands than before?"

Julian explained, "The strategist was appointed by the president himself after y6ears of knowing him. Not sure how many years earlier but secure as hell trust him more than military men who had to work themselves from the bottom."

Susanne finished the questioning when she told them, "This will all end with the general destroying the remaining heads of the Coalition. Even if the vice president does challenge his position, we will only press ourselves through a conflict that will further solidify forces in our favor since we will be the last remaining force that hopes to keep the Earth united."

Julian agreed, "We'll have our supporters alright. The people who want to split up the Earth has a sport of war though are going to be just as persistent."

Celso offered, "Maybe if we do stay optimistic, we'll have something to look forward to. After all, we can't have a good chance of victory if we don't at least believe our cause has a foundation we can firmly lean on."