Chapter 16
"Hello, my name is Kai Shiden." Said Kai as he looked into the camera while his crew filmed. "Right now, I'm on site of a party within the capital building for the Republic of Zeon. This party is dedicated to the celebration of the end of the One Year War as well as the dissolution of the old Principality of Zeon. Now, while the War officially ended in January, the dissolution of the Principality and the official formation of the Republic of Zeon didn't start until February on account of all the paperwork that occurred between the Earth Federation and what's left of the Principalities politicians. Along with that was the amount of legislative and reformations that the Republic had to do that the Federation had them do in order to fall in line with their regulations. So, combining those things, this party is in the middle of February and not in January. But, moving on, let's get to the main point of this entire thing." Kai took a short breath before continuing.
"Now, it would come to the surprise of no one that Side 3 is a nation that many people have a very negative opinion on. And that isn't surprising, after all, most of us lost something or someone from the war that they started when they were the old Principality of Zeon." Said Kai as he went on. "And I would be hypocritical in saying that I didn't lose someone dear to me as well." Kai let out a sigh as he remembered his parents and Miharu before continuing. "And I would even be even more hypocritical if I didn't say that I also dislike Side 3 for the atrocities they've committed in the One Year War." He then looked at Erika and Hepner, the latter of whom looked away guilty while the former was watching him talk with a neutral expression on her face. Acknowledging them, Kai then continued on his tirade.
"However, as some of you may know given my most recent article, I believe that it's time for us to let go of our hatred with them or, at the very least, lessen it because it's doing more harm than good now." Said Kai before pointing towards the food being served at the party. "That food may seem appetizing, but any professional chef will tell you that the food here is nothing more than the cheap canned stuff you can find in a dollar store. That's right folks, the rich and powerful of Side 3 have to buy stuff from a local dollar store for a celebration that we all should be celebrating. The end of the old Principality of Zeon and the end of the most devastating war for Humanity to date." Kai soon spotted Prime Minster Bakharov looking at him by the corner of his left eye. Acknowledging this, Kai continued on.
"Now, I'm not advocating us to just clear off Side 3's debts from the war or let them go scoot free for it all. After all, they all supported a war that caused widespread devastation in the first month of the war and caused massive environmental damage to Earth that'll take years for it to recover from." Said Kai as he continued. "But what I am advocating is for us to lessen the debt they have for the One Year War and rescinding the bill the Earth Federation council made for Operation Stardust. The one conducted by idiotic hardliners of the old Principality of Zeon that the Republic is in no ways affiliated with, much less knew what the Delaz Fleet was doing to conduct that operation. Is it really fair for us to punish Side 3 for what the hardliners of their old government did when they had no knowledge about their status or plans? That's akin to punishing a teenager for what an old class bully did to their family despite not seeing each other for years. How can we all claim to be better than them if we place these unreasonable punishments and restrictions on Side 3 for something renegades to their state did?"
Meanwhile
"You're doing great Kai. You're doing great." Thought Amuro with a smile as he saw what was happening in his apartment's T.V. He had been thinking up some new simulations for the academy to implement for the trainees when Chan Agi, his girlfriend, came and told him that Kai was airing right now on T.V. on one of the many military channels the Earth Federation armed forces had for the various Sides and countries under their jurisdiction, who all often have different time zones, necessitating numerous channels for each of them. Right now, the both of them were watching Kai give out his live broadcast.
Both Amuro and Chan knew what Kai was talking about and neither of them was very approving about the bill that the Earth Federation council released some time ago. Neither of them liked Side 3, yes, but that bill was just insulting. The Delaz fleet was in no way affiliated with the Republic of Zeon and was, for all intents and purposes, a rogue element of a defunct government. So, it pleased them that Kai was trying to fight the bill and try to have it rescinded as well as trying to make people see that Side 3 isn't what it used to be anymore. Either of them would do the same, but they couldn't. They were just too busy with their work to do something like Kai was doing right now. Plus, they didn't exactly trust any news stations on Earth. Or any reporter right now. If only Kai was on Earth right now.
"Keep up the fight, Kai." Thought Amuro as he looked at his friend finishing his speech. "Keep up the fight."
Meanwhile
Kai
"That'll be all for now." Said Kai as he finished his speech. "We'll be airing once again after a break." With that, Crick cut the camera, allowing Kai to sigh out in relief. Finally. Now he can relax without making himself look like a fool. As his crew was in the process of disassembling their equipment and saving what footage they have just in case. As they were doing this, Kai was walking over to Erika and Hepner.
"So, how did I do?" Asked Kai with a smile, causing Hepner to smile as well. Erika did as well, though it was smaller than the other two.
"You did great." Said Hepner. "You really know how to speak up to a crowd, huh? It's a big improvement to the guy I meet back in the war." Kai laughed a bit at that.
"Really? You got the impression that I don't know how to speak to a crowd of people? Just from a few visits with each other?" Asked Kai, causing Hepner to nod. "Well, I guess I really did improve, huh?" He then looked at Erika. "What about you? Did I do well?"
"You did better than Gihren Zabi." Said Erika. "You could give him a run for his money?" Kai laughed a bit loud at that, drawing attention to them.
"Yeah, I could see me doing that with that crazy bastard." Said Kai, shaking a bit at the thought. "Well, we got about a few hours before I need to do that again, so let's just kick back and relax. I'm kind of itching to eat dollar store food." Hepner giggled at that while Erika shook her head at that. Soon, the three were leaving to get some food.
Meanwhile
Aina Sahalin couldn't help but sigh as she looked at Kai enjoying the party, despite his job and what he has to do while here. It pleased her that one of the ace pilots of the infamous White Base crew was doing well for himself, knowing when to enjoy life and when to get serious. She also was pleased to see that Hepner and that other girl were enjoying themselves as well, despite the economic hardships they all were facing right now. She prayed, as much as she knew that Side 3 deserved most of what befalls on them, that Kai was successful in turning public opinion towards alleviating some of the hate directed towards them. She knew how much hate can lead to disastrous consequences. Case in point, her brother, who was currently in a mental facility right now to treat his medical condition.
Thinking back on her husband Shiro, Aina would love nothing more than to have him here right now, both as a dance partner and someone she can have around when she needed it. But alas, he wasn't here. Last she heard, he was investigating rumors of Zeon remnant forces on Earth, particularly in the northern pole. Far away from her to the point that Aina missed him terribly.
Sighing, Aina saw Kai eat some food before going away with his bodyguards. As they left, Aina saw Kai having a conversation with the other girl with him. An Erika Yugo, if she wasn't mistaken. Poor girl. Lost most of her family to the war and has to take care of a young girl while she herself was only in her early teens. It must be hard for her.
But as she looked further, she saw that there was a small smile on Erika's face as Kai talked to her. It was small and barely noticeable, but Aina saw it and it made her happy that Erika was having a good time, despite the circumstances regarding her situation.
Moving away from them, Aina went to speak with Prime Minster Bakharov regarding state affairs, having a good feeling that this will be a good party.
Later
Kai
"For a bunch of food you get from a dollar store, this is actually pretty decent." Said Kai as he ate his food. Erika nodded as she finished eating her food as well.
"It's so much better than the food we got during the One Year War, that's for sure." Said Hepner as she looked at them eating, having already eaten her portion of food already. "Seriously, we were lucky to get something even remotely tasty that wasn't from local populaces during the…um…occupation of Earth." Kai just nodded at that while eating his food.
"Same boat." Said Kai. "We were lucky we had an actual kitchen on the White Base with actual ingredients. The times that I had to eat military rations made me wonder if the guys responsible for making those things knew that we humans have tastebuds. Tastebuds that prevent us from eating stuff that is so disgustedly bad, even if it's nutritious for us." Hepner giggled a bit at that, agreeing with Kai.
"I guess no matter the military, we all get awful military food, huh?" Said Hepner, causing Kai to nod in agreement along with Erika. "So, when's the next time that you have to go live again?"
"When the Prime Minister goes and makes a speech regarding the party and what its purpose." Explained Kai. "Should be commencing soon. Once that's done, we got time to start dancing or whatever you two want to do in this part before I got to do my last live recording for the day." Upon hearing the dancing part, Hepner giggled and spoke up.
"Can you even dance?" Asked Hepner, causing Kai to laugh a bit.
"Not really, but I doubt that either of you can dance either." Said Kai looking at the two Zeon women with a smirk. Erika just nodded in confirmation at that while Hepner stayed smiling.
"I actually know how to dance." Said Hepner. "It's a bit of a hoppy that I picked up awhile ago." She then grabbed Kai's hand and started to pull. "C'mon, it'll be fun." Kai looked like he wanted to agree when suddenly they heard Prime Minster Bakharov speak up. Looking towards the man, they spotted him on a stage podium overlooking everyone.
"Thank you everyone for attending this event." Said Bakharov as everyone looked towards him. As this was happening, Kai's news crew was filming the entire thing while Kai himself was making his way towards them. Once he was certain that he was being filmed, Bakharov continued. "As you all know, this event is to celebrate the official ending of the One Year War as well as to celebrate the loss of the tyranny and brainwashing that we suffered under the Zabi family. Unfortunately, by the time we realized all this, we suffered countless losses. Our sons and daughters. Our wives and husbands. Even grandchildren have died in the One Year War because we let ourselves be taken under the control of the Zabi family. We took their words as gospel and we let our people be slaughtered in the name of a dictatorship disguised as liberty." Bakharov took a deep breath and then a drink of water before continuing.
"To make matters worse, we took countless others, both Earthnoids and Spacenoids, to an early grave." Continued Bakharov. "We nearly wiped out Side 5's population to the point that the survivors hate us to the point of no forgiveness. We used a space colony, a home for thousands, as a weapon against our species homeworld after we killed that colony's population with G3 gas. And to make matters worse, we had an opportunity to end all the bloodshot early but choose not to out of a sense of, what I can only call pride or overconfidence. And we paid an even greater price because of it." He let all his words sick in for a few more moments before continuing again.
"Now, I think I speak for most, that we deserved the reparations that we were given by the Earth Federation council for our part in all the death and destruction in the One Year War." Said Bakharov. He saw that some people were shaking their heads in disagreement, but allowed him to continue. "However, I also speak for most of my people, that we do not deserve to be punished for whatever vile acts that any Principality of Zeon remnants do in order to bring about the return of a corrupt regime that has no right to exist anymore. The Zeon remnant is a sad and pitiful band of soldiers that have become little more than terrorists that wish to become relevant again in the grand scheme of things ever since the Principality fell. And though I may know some of them while they served in the Principality of Zeon military, they are only hurting their people now with their continued resistance of the Earth Federation. And the Delaz fleets' actions only confirm that."
Meanwhile
White Base
As Bakharov's speech was airing throughout the Earth Sphere, the White Base crew was watching it in one of Luna II's cafeterias as their ship was being refueled and resupplied after a long two-week long patrol throughout the Earth Sphere for Zeon remnant groups. Amongst them was Shiro Amada, the current ace pilot of the White Base and current pilot of RX-78-7 Gundam, the most advanced mobile suit available to the Federation to date, though rumors abound that soon it will be surpassed as new Gundam models were being produced along with a GM model that put the strengths of all current GM variants into one model. At least that was the hope.
"So I hereby say this to both the Zeon remnant and the people of the Earth Sphere as a whole." Said Bakharov. "The Zeon remnant are terrorists that must be arrested or taken down before they inflict more harm on anyone else. And if the Earth Federation will permit it, I will be more than happy to assist in taking down the Zeon remnant so that we all can live in harmony. Not as Spacenoids or Earthnoids. But as human beings. For to divide us as two people will only lead to social prejudice. Furthermore…"
"Man, he's really good at speeches." Said a Federation soldier as he ate his food along with a group of other soldiers. Amongst that group were Shiro and Terry, the latter who nodded in agreement. "I mean, not Gihren levels of good, but I'd take him over Gihren any day." As the other soldiers nodded in agreement, Terry spoke to Shiro.
"You think that things will get better for Side 3?" Asked Terry. Like Shiro and a bunch of other pilots he knew, Terry felt that having Side 3 pay for what the Delaz fleet did a few weeks ago was completely unreasonable as the Delaz fleet had no affiliations with the Republic of Zeon.
"I don't know, Terry." Said Shiro as he looked at his fellow pilot/friend. "People tend to get emotional and unreasonable when their loved ones are threatened, especially when it's done multiple times by the same group of people. I'd like to imagine that people will be reasonable, but I wasn't initially after Zeon used G3 gas on my home colony." Terry gave a nod of understanding at that.
"Guess you're right at that." Said Terry as he watched the live speech. "Guess you're right."
Side 3
Bakharov
"In the end, Side 3 is now a part of the Earth Federation government again and we'll do whatever it takes for the other Sides to realize that without abandoning what makes us different from those that refuse to acknowledge the Principality of Zeon is no more. Our humanity." Said Bakharov. With that, his speech ended and he was soon taken off the air by Kai's crew. Once he was, a roar of applause was given to the minister as he left to speak with Aina Sahalin. While this was happening, Kai gave looking at the minister with respect in his eyes.
"Guess I'm quoting that guy in my next article." Said Kai as he made a mental note on what to do with his next article.
"You should." Said Hepner with a smile. "He's quite a good speech giver and his speech is good enough that people were stirred right?"
"But stirred enough to make them see the faults in blaming us for the Zeon remnant?" Asked Erika, putting a sour note on the celebrations in Hepner. Seeing Hepner frown a bit, Kai decided to raise her spirits up a bit. Seeing some people taking partners for dancing, Kai offered her his hand for a dance. That seemed to brighten her mood up and she eagerly took his hand. The two then left to head to the dance floor, leaving Erika alone. Frowning a bit at them leaving and also a bit sad at Kai taking Hepner instead of her, Erika got up to talk with Merc, who was standing guard along with other guards, both human and machines. Upon seeing Erika, Merc spoke out.
"What's up, Erika?" Asked Merc once Erika came close to him. "Got something on your mind?"
"Not really." Said Erika as she crossed her arms. "Kai took Hepner dancing, leaving me alone."
"Didn't offer you one?" Asked Merc, a bit surprised.
"No." Said Erika before clarifying. "Hepner took him before I could ask."
"Well, he'll probably give you one after Hepner." Said Merc upon hearing that. "He wouldn't leave you all alone while everyone else is dancing." Though she knew that Merc was right, she still felt a bit sad that Kai made Hepner his first dance partner instead of her. It left her a bit perplexed. It was like that she was developing a crush on Kai.
Sighing a bit in frustration, she wondered how she had developed a crush for him in the first place. Thinking it over, she realized why.
Yes, she initially found him to be irritating and a bit of a loudmouth when she first met him, but later on she saw him as the brave and selfless person he was. She saw how he still cared for her people, despite Side 3 being the reason he lost his parents as well as causing him further suffering during his time in the White Base, but didn't let that stop him from criticizing her people for their past mistakes. It reminded her so much of her father so much it hurt.
Grasping her elbows, she wondered if that was enough to justify a crush on Kai? As she was thinking about this, Merc noticed something from a window. Walking over to it, he noticed a flatbed truck parked near the estate along with several cars. The flatbed was carrying something that had a tarp over it. Something tall enough to look like a mobile suit.
Suspicious, Merc contacted a security team to investigate the flatbed truck at the same time he contacted the Federation garrison base to have a mobile suit team on standby. Soon a Zeon militia security team was making their way towards the flatbed truck. Observing, Merc saw the security team speaking with someone near the vehicles. After a few seconds, Merc was about to stop watching everything when he noticed the thing under the tarp began to move and from that tarp came forth an old Zaku II commander type, painted in the colors of the Red Comet. Momentarily stunned at this, Merc soon contacted the Federation garrison for assistance as the security team was gunned down by a few people along with the person they were speaking to. As this was happening, Erika was yelling at everyone to leave the room immediately as she spotted the Zaku as well.
Speaking of the Zaku, it was grabbing an old Zaku machinegun and aimed it directly at the capital building. Optical camera glowing bright, it soon fired it's gun directly where the party was being held.
