Author's Note: This story is a side story to the newly released Gundam manga called Ecole Du Ciel. Have fun reading it! please R & R (read and review)!

21 Dec. UC 0085; 0400 hrs

Orbiting around Earth, aboard:

PZS Musai-Class Garma's Fist

Major Hach Dogens glared at the full-sized hologram of Admiral Tomo that stood not far in front of him. His right hand lay on the handle of his holstered 45mm pistol, as if ready to shoot the computer visualized version of the leader of fleet Ashron at any moment.

"Damn it Tomo! Do you not understand that we must launch now?"

The human-sized visual's nostrils flared, but the face remained the same; bloodshot eyes, along with the same cold grim smile that the Tomo Ieyasu always wore.

"Well from what I understand from the reports of our analysts, Hachy,' the fleet head used the major's hated nickname, 'is that if we delay the movements of our fleet substantially for the remainder of the next 3 hrs we'll be able to sneak up on the Feds much easier. So it's to our advantage if we do so, Major."

The major smashed his fist down onto the control panel in front of him, to emphasize his next point.

"I don't care, what those damned pencil-pushers say, admiral! For all we know they could be plotting our initiation for damnation, so I'm still pushing with launching now."

The admiral's wrinkled face turned sour, his flat nose wrinkled up, "well since we can not agree, I'm leaving the operations to you Hachy, feel free to do what you want then. Let's just hope though that this doesn't turn into another Jaburo screw-up, like the beginning of the last war. Tomo out!"

As the visual faded, Hach shifted his Zeonic white helmet in place, more over the crown of his head, then he pulled his gloves on tighter, making sure there was no air between his fingers. Then slowly the major sighed, and shook his head.

"Ahhh...victory at long last, that old braggart just doesn't understand this mission, and the rewards that the principality will gain with it's success."

21 Dec. UC 0085; 0430 hrs

In the Atmosphere of Earth's eastern hemisphere

Eto Shinwa, gazed out the plasti-glass window to his side. He lay enthralled in the beauty of the Earth from space. The great spherical shape, reminded him of a circular piece of canvas, covered in numerous colors, all different, but similar in their own way. He smiled, remembering his first colony shuttle flight to Earth as a child from Side 3. Riding through the myriad of stars around him, toward mankind's home. Steadily he closed his eyes relaxing into the moment.

Home...

"BUEEEEEPPPPPPPPP!"

An enormous alert sound erupted from his side sensor speakers. Hurriedly, he opened his eyes and turned his head toward his frontal control board interface. Numerous explosions roared outside his mobile suit. Speedily he gazed at the side and frontal visual interfaces, of his cockpit.

A brief static sound emitted from his frontal interface, before the face of a clean-shaven young man appeared on it.

"Ensign Eto, ETA of squad A-51 hitting planet side will be in 10.45 minutes. Prepare to engage your vernier thrusters, and disengage all, I repeat disengage all atmospheric thrusters soon."

With those last words, the computer image faded back into the static, leaving Shinwa to wonder how his fellow squad mates were doing with their own preparations for Operation AB-LE.

Huh..It should be starting soon...

Abruptly the Zaku's cockpit shook slightly, Eto just ignored the motions, thinking it was part of atmospheric entrance. But the rocking continued and eventually became so great, that Shinwa was thrown forward into his frontal vid display.

"Whoa! What the hell,' quickly Shinwa's left hand tapped the vid screen for the information on his outward sensors, while his other hand tried to keep him upright, 'What! No, this isn't possible, it can't of started this soon."

Suddenly Shinwa's Zaku shook, and trembled as hundreds upon hundreds of Federation E-S Beam cannons erupted and decimated large numbers of Zeon fleet Ashron from the black void of space. His own Zaku was lucky enough to be out of the range of most of the particle explosions, and instead was busy breaking through the Earth's atmosphere, as it's vernier thrusters turned off.

Eventually the Zeonic mobile suit broke through the stratosphere along with it's fellow squadron mates. And then it continued through the troposphere in sight of the rocky and barren snow-covered Earth below it.

At the same time Eto used one finger to flick the switch on his side panel for full squadron com-channel usage.

"Commander Lucrezia we'll be hitting the surface in 12.89 minutes. What would you have us do for this mission sir?"

Shinwa smirked in pure delight imagining the red, and pouting face of Bates Lucrezia his flight commander, as the man heard his purely rhetorical question. For a few short seconds it seemed as if Lucrezia had just gotten to pissed to answer his subordinate, but within another few seconds, the squadron com-channel erupted into pure hell.

"YOU FOOL! Ensign Eto is that you? Do as we were told in the mission briefing unless you're even more stupid then I thought you were and either didn't bother to LISTEN,' the commander put much enthusiasm in that specific word, 'OR already FORGOT every single thing Admiral Tomo assigned us! Damn it, Shinwa don't joke with me."

Instead of yelling back, or getting angry, the ensign just smirked, and let out a little chuckle before switching the com-channel off.

A low echo of, "I heard that!" filled the com-channel speakers once more interrupting the brief silence. Shinwa chuckled slightly, in response, than smiled and turned his vernier thrusters back on as his Zaku neared the operation landing site.

Below him, the huge menacing mountain peaks of Siberia's outskirts grew bigger, as the A-4 Recon Squadron dropped closer to the ground. All around huge fir branch pines, towered over the ground, dripping with icy dew, and snow. As the squad slowly stopped to a speed close to flotation, and then stopped on the ground, a small tremor from the weight of the mobile suits caused the trees to shake lightly, dropping snow on several of the automatons.

"This is Commander Lucrezia, you grunts. We are to spread out, explore, and prepare for the full operation landing. Sub-squad Alpha, take the side near that lake over there,' Lucrezia's Dom pointed with one of it's gigantic metal fingers to a distant lake, just over the nearby hills, 'and Sub-squad Beta, saddle up and follow me, we're going Fed hunting." The commander snarled, and his Dom began it's movement in the direction opposite of the lake.

Hastily the squad members withdrew their weapons from their mobile suit packs, behind them. Zaku's pulled out 120mm machine guns with their flat disc-type cartridges, and Doms' withdrew their 280mm bazookas for cover fire, and long range shooting.

Shinwa's eyes stared out of his combat helmet, trained on his frontal view screen, while his hands and feet moved the controls with ease, as if he was in a simulation program back at the academy.

For well over an hour the scarce forest life, scattered at the mere sound of the Zeon recon squad, until suddenly a huge burst of fire opened up somewhere far in the distance, in the direction of the lake.

The squad com-channel suddenly opened with a loud static-filled click.

"AHHHHHH! SHIT! BACK UP NEEDED NOW! SUB-SQUAD ALPHA UNDER FIRE! WE'RE BEING MASSACRED!"

The transmission just stopped, straight after the last word, the com-channel itself just turned off with a small click.