Granada, UC 0079, January 4th

2nd Lt. Ryan Sahalin was not looking forward to the next phase of his life. The past day had been non-stop chatter between the men, and rumors were flying around everywhere. It annoyed him to be honest. It was like swimming, water was everywhere around you, and yet it was nowhere at the sametime, the same with the rumors.

"I heard they're already dropping HLVs on Earth."

"I heard a fleet led by General Revil is on it's way to Von Braun to stop Dozle's fleet."

"I heard Dakar has already been bombed."

It made it all the harder to figure out what was real and what wasn't.

"Alright men!" Commander Astell Yuriene walked up and down the assembled line of MS. Their flagship, the Helmwige was a Chivvay II Class Cruiser, an upgraded variant of the original Chivvay Class. Along with space for an additional 4 mobile suits. It was faster, better equipped, and all-around more survivable than the original Chivvay.

"Our mission is to capture the Lunar City of Granada. The Feddies have a small presence there, about 12 Magellan Class and 24 Salamis Class and an armored battalion within the city. Your goal is to capture the space port that way our ground troops can land. Our fleet will deal with the Feds. Dismissed! Sieg Zeon!"

"Sieg Zeon!" They all saluted,

"First taste of real action, eh Ryan?" 2nd Lieutenant Hannes Mash threw his arm around his shoulder, "Not like those Guncannons."

"If the Guncannon couldn't beat us, I doubt anything else will." fellow 2nd Lt. Torres Ortega pitched in,

Occasionally, Ryan would wonder how he got here. When they started out as a test team in UC 0077, the other three of them hated Ryan, and Ryan despised them as well. But during a clash on the moon in the Mare Smythii region he saved Gaia's life by destroying a Federation Guncannon, he found himself increasingly accepted by them. They eventually allowed him to join their Black Tri-Stars, and renamed it the Quad-Stars.

"Less chatter people." Lt. Miguel Gaia, their team leader, chided them. "We're going to battle, and anything can happen."

"Yes sir!" Mash and Ortega said optimistically, Ryan said nothing.

Ryan slid into the seat of his MS-06A Zaku II. He and the other Quad-Stars all had black Zaku IIs, although while theirs had purple on the chest and parts of the limbs, Ryan's was a solid black.

"Ortega! Zaku II, here we go!"

"Mash! Zaku II, let's do this!"

"Gaia! Zaku II, let's go!"

"Ryan! Zaku II, launching!"

The Quad-Stars launched consecutively and in perfect sync to the casual observer. The foursome dropped to the Lunar surface, where Zaku Is and IIs had already engaged with Federation Space Marines.

Ryan raised his shield to block an RPG shell from impacting his sensor. He dropped it, and sprayed the area with 120mm rounds before throwing a cracker grenade, in response, the Marines fired various small arms and the occasional rocket at the Quad-Stars, but they were quickly dealt with.

"Space dock, clear!" The Quad-Stars moved forward, turning a knob for Mobile Workers to open a large set of heavy metal gates they cranked open, leading to the colony interior.

Suddenly, electricity shot through Ryan, as before he stepped through he yelled over the comms, "Shields up!"

The Quad-Stars barely had time to raise their shields before a ring of Type 61 and Type 43 tanks dug into various tank ditches opened fire on them. Tens of dozens of shells were unleashed upon the advancing Mobile Suits in rapid succession. An unlucky Zaku I was hit with about eight before exploding. Another Zaku II was hit directly in the mono-eye and retreated.

Zeon returned fire. From behind their shields, the Quad-Stars fired Bazooka rounds and 120mm bullets at them. Adrian hit a Type 61 with a bazooka, evaporating it. Mash pumped a Type 43 MBT with 120mm rounds, leaving no survivors within it.

"Grenade out!" Gaia threw a cracker grenade into a cluster of tanks, sending flaming debris everywhere.

"Advance!" Someone screamed over comms, Ryan wasn't sure who, but the mobile suit force surged forward into the formation of tanks. He drew his heat hawk, and smashed it into a Type 61.

"Fifth kill. 3 Guncannons, a Type 43, and a Type 61."

"No one likes a show-off lieutenant." Mash stomped a Type 61 flat,

"We got to catch up!" Ortega moved forward with new eagerness, "I can't be left behind after all!" He ran forward, firing at a line of tanks, destroying two of them before the others scattered.

Mash followed close behind, throwing his heat hawk into a Guntank before grabbing it as the RTX-65 exploded.

"Fall back! Fall back!" The tanks scattered as another tank was hit by a round from an A1 Bazooka.

"Spread out into the streets! Encircle them!" The commander of the battalion shouted over the radio. His specially painted Type 61 jerked and drifted through the streets of Granada.

Clutching the headset at his neck, he rapidly gave out orders as he received word that his force was falling one by one as they ran into mobile suits.

'Shit...I saw the report of Mare Smythii...and I was briefed… but this...is a whole other level!' Suddenly, his tank made a turn, and it's last.

Time slowed down for him as a black mobile suit glared down on it with it's mono-eye.

The last thing Captain Jason Yeldel saw was the glow of an axe as it crashed down on him.

Ortega smashed the Type 61 flat, "There goes their commander, I think."

"Ortega. Mash. Gaia. Ryan." One of their comrades called the names of the Tri-Stars. "Boraskyniv here. The feddies are surrendering."

"It's over?!" Ortega said in disappointment,

"Too easy. I didn't even become an ace, I have only 4 kills." Mash sighed,

The Siege of Von Braun and Granada was the first major conflict of the One Year War. Federation Marine forces defended the cities valiantly, but ultimately in vain.

Battle of Granada

E.F.S.F Marine Corps

2,000x Marines

60x Type 61 MBT

12x Type 43 MBT

18x RTX-65 Guntank

30x M-101A3 Regina

12x Magellan-Class Battleships

24x Salamis-Class Light Cruisers

Zeon Mobile Assault Force

1,500x Marines

10x G-87 Lunar Tank

5x Gwazine-Class Battleships

2x Chivvay II Class Heavy Cruisers

4x Chivvay Class Heavy Cruisers

14x Musai-Class Early Production Type Light Cruisers

10x Musai-Class Light Cruisers

40x MS-05B Zaku I

30x MS-06A Zaku II

Nijmegen Military Academy, January 5th

Cadet Rose Sahalin had just came off from her winter break. However, the mood was rather somber, for the past two years, everyone returning would've been talking and bragging about what they did over break, but not this year. They'd all been told, rather suddenly, that they needed to return, and fast.

The first thing the officers and teachers did was shepherd them into the mess hall/de facto assembly hall.

"Do you think they'll draft us?" She turned to her friend, Bright Noa.

"It's likely." He nodded,

Her friend, Arleen Nazon, had graduated last year as a technical officer, and - last she heard - was working on a special Anti-MS project. The details of which she never shared, and sometime after Mare Smythii, the once bi-weekly letters suddenly stopped entirely.

She was drawn out of her thoughts by the thud that signified a notebook falling out of her bag.

She looked down, and a black notebook was lying on the floor.

The same notebook 'her' first poem was found in. Ever since that day after Mare Smythii, the notebook had seemingly filled itself up on it's own, although everyone said she was the one writing in it, she could never remember doing anything with it.

It was open to a page that said:

A wronged maiden

Her heart with hatred laden

Heads to the Red Pearl

On a Black Sea

A steelen heart

A chance to restart

Sorrow masked by hate

A valkyrie challenges fate

Will love shine anew?

Or will hatred finally send her askew?

She gulped, lots of stuff about hatred and fate. And the mention of red…

She closed it, she wasn't going insane, right?

"Attention Cadets." A man stepped up to the stage, and the hall gasped simultaneously. It was none other than General Johann Abrahim Revil, commander-in-chief of the Federation forces.

"As you're aware, as of January 3rd, UC 0079. We are in a state of war with the Principality of Zeon."

Rose gulped, 'Adrian…' Her brother still lived in Side 3.

"As such, we're implementing special measures. Normally we'd have you graduate sometime in May or July. But both Von Braun and Granada both fell yesterday, meaning that the Moon, for all intents and purposes, is under Zeon control."

'In less than two days?' Rose gasped,

"So, we're going to enlist all of you early. Your postings will correspond with your specialties. Meaning if you're a technical student, you'll be assigned as a Junior Mechanic, piloting, you'll be a pilot. Etc"

'This was it...we're all...going to war.'