Author Note One

Usual reminder about canon scenes

"Regular speech"

'Thought'

"Soma/Hallelujah speech"

Airspace near the Battlefield

Tieria, hearing that Allelujah had been found, was on his way back to the Ptolemy. He was happy that Allelujah had been found, but that was not important to him at this very moment. The revelation that he learned trumped that. Not only had he learned that there were a group of artificial immortal beings called innovators pushing forward the plan, but for the first time, he had learned the true extent of Aeolia's plan.

"Step one was to have Celestial Being to trigger a unification of the world. Step two was to have the A-Laws unite the will of humanity. And step three is to push humanity into space and prepare them for the dialogues that are to come. That is Aeolia's plan in full. We who are suited to space will guide humanity."

And all of this came courtesy of his genetic clone, who introduced themselves as Regene Regetta. 'The fact that he could speak into my mind disturbs me.' The fact someone could intrude into his mind, even if they couldn't read his mind, made them seem alien. 'Is it possible they could control me?' The thought of that sent chills down his spine.

Tieria was also disturbed by the implication that their group were in the wrong and getting in the way of the plan. That all Celestial Being was doing was delaying the plan.

Tieria angrily turned and face Regene, "So you are saying we should just let the A-Laws continue their detestable conduct?!"

Regene responded calmly, "Reform is never painless. Do you think what you people are doing is painless? You people have become an obstacle to the plan. We were created to fulfill the plan. It is our purpose to see it through to the end. You are contradicting you purpose by opposing us."

Even now he felt conflicted. Was he wrong? Should he be opposing the A-Laws? They were supposedly bringing peace, but thousands of people, innocent and guilty alike were getting killed. Was that true peace? His gut told him no. And besides him, the gundams were given to people. To humans. If Aeolia did intend this to be the plan, wouldn't he have given them to people like the Innovators from the start? And then Neil's words also came to his mind.

"Don't squeeze yourself into a different mold like that. Just go out there and do what you think is right and be as gung ho about it as you want. Old man Aeolia trusted us with the gundams after all."

He needed to confirm it. He needed to meet these innovators and make a judgement call. Then he could make a decision about what he would do. 'The other's don't need to know yet. I'll tell them when I gather more info about the innovators.' Now all he had to do was find an opportunity to meet one.

New Katharon Base in the Middle East

Marina sat in a lounge in the base, contemplating the recent news. They had only arrived a day or two ago, but when they had arrived, she learned some devastating news. The Federation had formally annexed Azadistan, effectively removing the country from existence. Apparently, it was to help with stability and peace, but even she realized that this was just a way to get a foothold in the middle east. What surprised Marina was the fact that she didn't feel as devastated as she thought she would. 'It was probably Setsuna and Shirin's talks with me. Based on what Setsuna said, they are just acting like what any strong power would do. What we did to Krugis.'

She was broken out of her thoughts when she saw Shirin walk into the room. Shirin felt hurt by the loss of her country, but she knew Marina would be worse than her. But the look she saw on Marina's face was not of devastation, but contemplation. She gave Marina a confused look, "You look better than I expected after hearing that news. How are you feeling?"

Marina looked up at her, some sorrow in her voice, "I admit I am a hurt by what they are doing to our country, but with some thought it seemed inevitable. The instability of our country and the destruction of the capital made it easy for them to target."

Shirin moved to sit down next to her, putting her hand on Marina's lap, "Unfortunately there is nothing much we can do for now. We can only continue to fight and hope Celestial Being will help in that endeavor. Also Marina, I think I came off as a bit harsh a few days ago."

Marina looked at her in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Shirin sighed heavily, "When you asked me for advice, a lot of the things that frustrated me about you came flooding back. I never wanted to imply you were all bad as a ruler. I respected you were idealistic, and just wished you tried to balance practicality and idealism. And if a group like the Federation were opposing you, even with a more unified country, it wouldn't have helped much."

Marina looked her friend in the eyes, a tired smile on her face, "Thank you Shirin. And for my part, I'm sorry for ignoring your advice about my over-idealism. I should have trusted you more. If after all this, I get Azadistan back, will you join me as my advisor again? I will need someone at my side to help me."

Shirin shook her head, "I can't say for certain. We don't know what the world will be like, assuming we win. What I can say for certain is I will be there for you as a friend."

Marina just nodded at that. She felt a fire burning in her heart. She had learned her lesson, painfully, about her past idealism and pacifism. This was her chance to learn and reflect, to make a better Azadistan. And make a better ruler. And in the back of her mind, she thought, 'I understand why you fight now Setsuna.'

The Ptolemaios

Allelujah guided Marie through the ship, introducing her to the members of the crew. Ian had been his usual gruff self. Mileina had been excited, asking if the two were a couple. They reacted by blushing, causing Mileina to leave saying something about her feminine instincts. Setsuna, Saji and Tieria gave her friendly nods, but otherwise didn't make much of a deal about it. Sumeragi had briefly met the two and did a security check on her, clearing her after a few minutes along with assurance from Marie that she has the Soma situation under control. Marie herself was amazed by the tech of the ship, taking in all the sights as Allelujah showed her around. As the two opened a door that led to a T-Junction, they saw Feldt standing in the middle of the T, looking down at the ground. The two began to approach her and Allelujah called out, "Feldt! I haven't introduced you two, have I? This is-"

Feldt interrupted him, her voice harsh and full of emotion, "Soma Peries." The two soldiers looked at her, shocked at her tone. "Five years she fought against us with the UN forces."

Allelujah spoke up, "Feldt…"

Feldt continued, turning her head to face the pair, eyes full of pain, "In that last battle we lost a lot of good people. Christina, Lichty, Dr. Moreno and we even lost Lockon." Marie reacted with shock, feeling the intense emotions coming off the girl.

Allelujah responded aggressively, "Hold on Feldt! Marie wasn't-"

Feldt interrupted him again, sadness starting to replace the harshness of her voice, "I know that! I know it wasn't her fault! But I needed to say something!" She took off down a hallway, headed towards the elevator. She could feel tears starting to build up. She heard Allelujah call out her, but she ignored it, reaching the elevator and pressing a random button, just needing to get out of there.

Allelujah watched her run away, realizing trying to talk with her wouldn't help. He looked at Marie and spoke softly, "I'm sorry about that. To Feldt, every member of the crew is family. This ship is everything to her."

Marie gave him a smile, "I can understand why she would be mad at me, or at least Soma. I or at least the Soma part of me, would have felt the same if someone killed the Colonel. When she ran, I felt feelings of grief radiating from her."

Allelujah gave her an appreciative kiss, "Thank you for understanding. I'm certain she will apologize later." The two continued the tour, going the opposite direction that Feldt had headed.

Elevator of the Ptolemy

The elevator door opened in front of Setsuna as heading to the cafeteria to get a snack. As the door opened, he saw Feldt leaning her back against one of the walls, her eyes facing down and puffy from crying. It seemed to him she was trying to hold back tears. He approached her and asked softly, "Feldt?" 'Why was she in here and crying?'

He never got a chance to ask the second question as she turned her head to face him, her tears evident on her face, and without any warning, she grabbed onto him and embraced him tightly, her arms wrapped around his torso as both of them stood in the elevator. He was caught by surprise but didn't reject the contact. She felt warm and comforting, even if she was the one in distress at the moment. Feldt put her face between his neck and shoulder, and her tears started to flow even more than they were before. After a few seconds of this, Setsuna wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her in closer. As he pulled her in closer, Feldt's emotional dam burst. All of her grief and reliving the death of Christina, Lichty and Neil came flooding out of her, her sobs coming hard and intense. She felt weak and like she was taking advantage of Setsuna, but she couldn't help it. He was there for her four years ago and he was here for her now, even if he hadn't planned it. Setsuna's heart clenched in sympathy for the young woman. Something or someone must have really gotten to her. If she wanted him to hold her, then he would do it. She had helped him find Marina and calmed him down after Allelujah was missing, so he owed her for that. Strangely, he felt his heart rate increase as he held her.

Setsuna let her release all her pent-up emotions onto his neck for the next several minutes, knowing that he couldn't say any words that would help. I can ask her what happened when she calms down. He gently rubbed her back up and down, hoping it would be any comfort for her. He could hear her breathing become steadier and the tears staining his jacket slowed down. Feldt pulled back slightly from the embrace and looked up at Setsuna, their arms still wrapped around the others body. His eyes met hers, her voice hitching a bit as she looked choked up, her eyes red, "Sorry about doing that without asking."

Setsuna, keeping a soft voice, replied, "No problem. Are you feeling better?" He thought to himself, 'Were her eyes always that pretty?'

Feldt hiccuped, then responded, "Yes. Thank you for that. That's the second time you've helped me."

"Second time?"

"After Neil died, and I put the letter in his gundam. You were there to comfort me as well."

Setsuna nodded his head at that and though he was curious about what he did before that helped so much, but that wasn't important right now. "Right. Why were you crying now?"

Feldt looked down for a second, then right back at Setsuna, "I ran into Marie and Allelujah, and I couldn't help, but yell at her. Marie brought back memories of five years ago. Christina, Dr. Moreno, Lichty and Neil all died when her and the UN forces attacked us."

Setsuna spoke up in a sympathetic voice, though it caught for a second before he corrected himself, "But Marie didn't kill them, only fought Allelujah. If Allelujah trusts her, then so should we."

Feldt could feel some tears starting to come back, but she resisted, "I know that she didn't, but she brought up memories I guess I never fully got over." She rested her forehead on Setsuna's chest and said, "You must think I'm weak."

Setsuna shook his head and Feldt could feel the vibrations in his chest as he spoke, causing her to blush slightly. "Grief is not a sign of weakness. It means that you care and put value in your relationships. And a weak person wouldn't keep fighting against the odds we currently face or be willing to show their emotions to other people. You are a strong woman, Feldt." Setsuna felt his cheeks flush slightly as he finished that statement, once again curious as to what is going on with him.

Feldt's blush increased, leaving her cheeks a darker pink. She looked back up at Setsuna, her eyes shining with affection, "I should apologize to Marie, shouldn't I?" She also noticed Setsuna was blushing, which caused her to smile. 'Why am I smiling at that?'

The raven-haired pilot nodded at her without judgement, "When you feel ready to." Right before he felt the pink-haired girl pull away from their embrace, he felt a pair of lips on his cheek and then Feldt whispered in his ear, "That was for being there for me five years ago." Setsuna felt butterflies in his stomach, baffled by this entire event and what Feldt was doing to him. He gave her a small smile. She pulled out of the embrace entirely, and said, "I'm going to head back to the bridge. Are you headed there?"

Setsuna replied, "I was headed to get some food." She nodded at that at and said, "If that's the case, then you should continue. See you later?"

Setsuna nodded, saying evenly, "Most likely." As the door opened to the bridge level and Setsuna saw Feldt begin to walk out of the elevator, he saw Feldt turn around to look at him and say, "Setsuna, when you said you had no one five years ago to write a letter to, that might have been true then. But that's not true now. You can trust and rely on me if you need help." Setsuna replied with another smile on his face, "Thank you. I'll be there for you when you need it as well." Without another word, she left the elevator, headed for the bridge. A rogue thought went through her head. 'Setsuna certainly got more handsome…'

As Setsuna headed down to the hanger, he thought about how he reacted during that entire event as well as other times he interacted with her. He was blushing, felt nervous, the smiles, and the fact that she gave him strange feelings. An image of her looking up at him with flushed cheeks and eyes full of happiness popped into his head. It only took him a few seconds to realize why he reacted that way. 'When had Feldt become so beautiful?

A-Laws Carrier

Kati stood in front of Soma's Ahead, watching as mechanics were fixing it up. 'Of all the people to lose to the gundams, it had to be her. Sergei must be heartbroken right now.' She had seen that he had reported that she died in combat with the gundam and the gundam pilot had probably survived, seeing as the Celestial Being mobile suit was gone by the time they had found the Ahead. She then heard footsteps approaching her. She turned to face whoever was approaching and saw it was Andrei. He stopped right in front of her, a serious look on his face. He saluted her and then asked, "Colonel Mannequinn, with your permission, I wish to take over Lieutenant Peries's machine."

Kati gave him a studied look, "Well you have survived operations against the gundams and led an attack on their mothership. Do you think you can handle this machine?"

Andrei spoke with enthusiasm, "Yes Ma'am! With this machine I could be more effective against our enemies."

"Very well. I will discuss this with Captain Zanin and get his opinion before making a decision." She stopped for a second, pulling something out of her pocket and handing it to Andrei. He looked at it confused.

"What is that Colonel?"

"It's an invitation to an A-Laws fundraiser. Apparently one of our benefactors is interested in meeting you. Something about meeting one of the first people who fought the gundams after five years. It is technically optional, but they stressed they were very interested in meeting you. I was actually about to look for you once I was finished here."

Andrei thought it over for a second and then responded, "I'm confused as to why they are interested in meeting me and not the captain, but I am certainly willing to go. And thank you for considering my request."

Kati gave him a nod, "The party is tomorrow at 1800 hours, so be ready to leave by 1500. And you're welcome. I wonder what your father would think about you getting a new model, especially the Lieutenant's." Andrei felt anger flow through him at the mention of his father, visibly frowning, but pushed the feeling back. Colonel Mannequinn was willing to consider his request and it was not worth alienating her. He saluted her, saying, "I have to get back to my duties."

She saluted back, "Understood." Andrei watched as she moved away from the suit, then looked up at the suit. 'This will be the machine I will use to defeat the gundams and avenge the Lieutenant.'

Briefing Room of the Ptolemaios

Sumeragi and Mileina stood near the terminal unit in the room, with the four pilots and Lasse standing near the railings in the room. Currently on the main screen was a picture of Ian. He spoke to the group in a happy tone, "Temporary repairs to the 00 and Arios are done. Also I got news that two of our support machines are done. We will need to head to space to pick them up, especially to get the twin drives fully operational. I'll need to head up there before hand for final checks and fine tuning of the machines."

Sumeragi nodded at that, "Understood." She looked at Mileina and asked, "Do you think you could take over your father's maintenance duties while he heads up to space?"

Mileina peppily replied, "Yes ma'am!" Then without warning they heard the beeping sound of a message coming in. Lasse responded to that first, "Looks like it's a message from Wang Liu Mei." Mileina opened the message.

"I have just found out information about an exclusive party being hosted by the A-Laws. Previously unknown members of their leadership will be appearing there. I will report my findings to you."

Tieria desperately spoke up, "I want to go on the mission!" He knew that this was his best chance to try to find out about the innovators. 'If anyone would be out of the public eye, it would be the artificial humans.' The group looked at him surprised. They knew he had occasional emotional outbursts, but the fact he reacted so strongly to wanting to go to this party was strange. Lyle responded to that teasingly, "So you want to go to a party Tieria? Never thought I would see that."

Tieria spoke in a resolute voice, "I want to see our real enemy with my own eyes."

Lasse spoke cautiously, "Ok, but there is a good chance the enemy knows who we are."

Setsuna jumped in, "I'll go with him, just in case he gets in trouble." Tieria nodded at him appreciatively and Setsuna looked over at Sumeragi. Sumeragi sighed exaggeratedly.

"Well I guess there is no choice. But if you two are going, you have to follow my exact plan." As she said that, a mischievous smirk made its way to her face. Setsuna and Tieria felt a chill go down their spine. That look said she had an interesting idea for a plan.

Allelujah's Room

Feldt stood outside Allelujah's room, feeling a bit nervous. After her shift ended, she had immediately headed to super soldier's room, hoping Marie was there. She went to knock on the door, but as she did, the door slid open, revealing the white-haired super soldier standing there, surprise on her face at seeing Feldt standing there. As Marie was about to say something, Feldt interrupted her.

"I'm sorry about what I said before. I talked with Setsuna after I ran, and he made me realize my emotions got the best of me."

Marie gave her an awkward smile, "It's alright. It's fine." Both of the stood awkwardly for a few seconds and as Feldt began to walk way, Marie spoke up again, "You really do think of the crew as a family, don't you?"

Feldt turned around and gave her a friendly smile, "Yes. The ship and its crew are everything to me."

Marie gave her a questioning look, "What about Setsuna?" Feldt immediately had her face go from smile to embarrassed blushing.

Feldt stuttered slightly, "W-What about Setsuna?"

"It's just that when you mentioned his name, I felt you radiate affection that was not like family affection. It felt more like romantic affection."

Feldt's blush intensified, "How did you feel that?"

Marie blushed in embarrassment, realizing she might have intruded on something she didn't want mentioned, "I can feel it with my brainwaves. I'm sorry if I intruded on your feelings. I shouldn't have asked."

Feldt shoulder's sagged in defeat, "It's alright. Ever since he talked to me earlier, he's been on mind. I might like him but I'm not sure and I don't know what I should do."

Marie gave her a comforting look, "He seems like a nice guy. Quiet, and serious, but nice. I would maybe think about it and how he made you feel before that event. I'm sorry I can't say much more. Allelujah and I are a unique case."

Feldt could feel the embarrassment leave her, "Thank you. I think I just need time. Please don't talk about it. I'll talk to you another time?"

Marie nodded at her, "I'll see you around." The pink-haired woman began to walk back to her room, her mind focused on what Marie talked about. Setsuna had been there for her when she needed him, it had felt nice when he held her and he always seemed to smile at her, which in turn caused her to blush and smile herself. 'And if I do like him, what do I do about it?' She wasn't completely sure she was right but thinking about Setsuna made her feel like she had butterflies in her stomach. 'I'll have to do another test, just in case.'

As Feldt began to walk away, Allelujah was headed to the room from the other part of the hallway opposite where Feldt was walking. He spotted Feldt walking away and Marie standing at the door of his room. Curious, he approached Marie.

"Did Feldt come to apologize?"

Marie nodded and said with mirth, "Yes."

"What's got you so happy?"

She replied teasingly, "Just a private conversation. Nothing you need to be worried about." Allelujah rolled his eyes. Marie then asked, "What happened in the meeting?"

Allelujah gave her a teasing smile that said something interesting had happened, "Sumeragi has an interesting idea for a plan…" Marie looked at him curiously, wondering what plan would cause Allelujah to have that smile.

Upper Floor of the Party Mansion

A day had passed and Andrei found himself in a large mansion, which sprawled over several acres. 'I've never been to a property so large.' It looked to be built like a Victorian style house, though if he had to guess it was built well after that era. The only reason he wasn't lost was due to a member of the staff guiding him to the owner of the house. 'If they can afford this, then they must be one of the A-Laws biggest financial supporters.' He was beginning to feel nervous about this. Why would someone so important be interested in meeting him? He adjusted his tie to try to hide it from his guide. He was just a soldier doing his duty. He also felt uncomfortable in his suit but knew he should make a good first impression. He was then stopped right before a room and the staff member said, "Please wait here. The master of the house is currently talking with another guest."

Andrei looked at the staff curiously, "Do you know who he's talking to?"

The staff member looked at him evenly, "I can't say for certain, but most likely a guest of interest." The conversation died as both of them waited for the door to open. A few minutes passed and the door opened to reveal a short blonde woman in a long pink dress, hair up in a bun and gloves that covered above her elbows. The woman looked up at Andrei and gave him a smile that didn't reach her eyes. The staff member looked at Andrei and said, "The Master is ready to see you. I will guide this guest back to the main hall."

Andrei nodded at him and said, "Thank you for guiding me." He went through the door and saw a very elaborately decorated room, with older style furniture and large bookshelves lining the all, a fireplace between two of the bookshelves. It definitely reminded him of the old images of houses from the Victorian era. Whoever owned this house really wanted to show off their wealth. 'It seems a bit too showy.' He then saw a man of average height with bright green hair in what looked like a 18th century european formal outfit made up of a blue coat, a white ruffly undershirt a pair of pantaloons and white tights on his legs. 'This man certainly fits the look of this mansion.' Andrei broke the silence, "Thank you for the invitation, Mr…"

The man turned around and the first thing that struck Andrei was the purple eyes. Beyond the unusual eye color, they showed friendliness and curiosity. The man gave a slight laugh then replied, "Ribbons Almark. But you can call me Ribbons. And no problem. I was interested to meet one of the first men who met the gundams in five years."

Andrei asked curiously, "Who was that woman who just spoke to you?"

Ribbons gave him a smile, "Ah, that was Louise Halevy. She is the current head of the Halvey family after they were killed by a gundam attack five years ago. We have been trying to…court her for her support, but previously had been not open to supporting us. However I have made some progress in getting her to support us. But we don't need to talk about her. I am interested in talking about your experiences."

Andrei clenched his fist at that. 'Another victim of the gundams.' Ribbons noticed that and internally smirked. He had made the right decision. Andrei unclenched his fists after a second then asked, "Why are you interested in talking with me? Surely Captain Zanin would have been a better choice."

Ribbons waved that off, "I plan to talk to him at a later point. He is needed on the frontlines at the moment, so I asked for you instead. I just have some questions I wanted to ask you is all. You won't need to be here long." Andrei let out an internal sigh. 'I can get back to duty faster now.'

Andrei nodded at that and questioned, "What do you want to know?"

Ribbons began to pace the room, "How does it feel to fight the gundams, especially the first time?"

Andrei thought for a second then responded, "While I never fought the gundams previously, it felt overwhelming at first. I did not have time to react when the gundam damaged my GN-X. I thought they would kill me, but the captain saved my life and actually defeated the gundam before the other one was driven off."

"So the power caught you by surprise then. Has that changed since?"

"Definitely. After fighting them in a few battles, I can see why they were feared before. But we have been able to hold them off with the Ahead models. The only one that seems more powerful is the one with two engines, but Mr. Bushido was able to defeat him." Ribbons frowned at the mention of the 00. Andrei noticed that and asked, "Is there something up with that suit?"

Ribbons sighed, "Nothing for you to be concerned about. We have had engineers curious as to how that system works but have gotten nowhere with that. For now we are content, with focusing on other developments. If the Ahead suffices for now, then we will make do." Ribbons looked at the clock, "Well it seems time has passed faster than I thought. I just have one more question for you. Why did you join the A-Laws? You could have joined the regular forces, like your father has."

Andrei scowled for a second at the mention of his father, but corrected himself, "I wished to join a force that could bring peace to this world. After what the gundams did five years ago along with Katharon in the past couple years, the only way to ensure peace is to destroy the enemies that threaten the stability of the ESF." 'And to make sure nobody has to have their parent die pointlessly in war.'

Ribbons gave him a disarming smile, "That seems to be a good reason if anything to join them. And I do appreciate your service. I have good news for you in fact."

"What is it?"

"You have been approved to pilot the custom ahead that was piloted by Lieutenant Peries. It just needed a little nudge is all."

Andrei saluted him, "Thank you sir!"

Ribbons waved his hand in deference, "No need to salute. I just wanted to give you the best means to fight the gundams. You are going to go far in this organization, Second Lieutenant Smirnov." Ribbons heard a knock on the door, "I am truly sorry, but I don't have a lot of time left so one of the staff will guide you back to the main hall. It was an honor meeting you."

"Same here. Thank you for your support of the A-Laws."

"No need for that. Any good person should support this organization. Unlike some people."

With that, Andrei was guided out of the door and back to the party, invigorated by his gaining the Ahead and affirmation he made the right decision to join the A-Laws. Ribbons just looked out the window into the night, grinning. 'I'll keep my eye on you Andrei. You may prove useful yet.'

Main Hall of the Mansion

Tieria was fuming internally. The fact he had to talk to these people willing to suck up to the Federation and the A-Laws. He was currently standing in the middle of the main hall of the mansion, being forced to socialize to blend in, disguised as a woman. He understood Sumergai's logic, but being here how he was still wasn't pleasant. And unfortunately for him, he did not see any of the innovators here. He had spotted some of their public leaders, like Homer Katagiri, but that's not the goal here. He needed to get to the bottom of the innovator business. As he kept up his social interactions, he heard Regene's voice in his head, "Very soon now". A few minutes passed and he heard a calm voice behind him, "My name is Ribbons Almark, my dear. Do you care to dance?" Tieria turned around and saw Ribbons offering his hand. 'He is one of them. He has to be.' Tieria took the hand, scowling for a second. Ribbons guided them to the dance floor and the two began to waltz, Tieria following his lead. The crowd watched them intently, not knowing what was truly going on between the two. Ribbons began the conversation, "I never imagined you would show up like this."

Tieria replied evenly, "It is well known that all of the gundam meisters are men. I merely following our tactical forecasters orders." The two continued to move across the dance floor, Tieria asked, "We you the one who asked Regene to contact me?"

Ribbons gave him a slightly exasperated look, "Oh no, I'm also being tossed hither and yon by his little games."

Tieria gave him a critical look, not fully believing him, "I heard you're the one attempting to carry out Aeolia's plan?"

"You don't believe it? If you wish I could return them…" He whispered in Tieria's ear, "Your Veda access rights." Tieria stumbled for a second, caught off guard by that info. 'He can do that?' Ribbons caught Tieria without missing a beat.

Tieria looked at him in confusion, "Are you saying you actually control Veda?!" Ribbons just gave him a smirk as the dance ended.

He kissed Tieria's hand and said, "We can discuss this more in my private quarters." Tieria nodded his head and followed him, now curious as to how the green-haired man got control over Veda and what he was doing with it.

Outside of the Mansion

Louise walked out into the driveway of the mansion, heading to her car. She had met with Ribbons and throughout the short talk they had, she felt uneasy about him. Maybe it was her growing suspicion of the A-Laws, but the green-haired man seemed a bit too smooth for her comfort. She gave him a non-committal answer about full support of the A-Laws but conceded she would be willing to help out to a small degree monetarily. He seemed happy at that answer and she only stayed for a little bit longer before she decided to leave. As she started to approach where the cars were parked, she spotted a man using a handheld terminal, leaning against a car. Something about him reminded her of someone she knew. 'Black hair. Reddish eyes. Was that Setsuna?' She approached the man, who didn't seem to notice her approach. Trying to get his attention, she spoke up, "Hi there." She saw the man turn to face her, turning off the portable terminal. 'It was him.' "Your name was Setsuna, right? I'm Louise Halvey. We met five years ago in Japan."

Setsuna gave her a look over for a second, then replied meekly, maintaining his cover, "I think I remember. You were dating Saji right? And I'm surprised you remembered me."

She rubbed her arm awkwardly, "Yeah, that was me. Also your name was not something you hear every day, so of course I remembered. I do want to apologize for yelling at you back then. It was unfair of me to do that." She remembered yelling at him when he said at least her parents weren't dead after her mom went back to Spain and while it was insensitive of him, she did overreact. And now that she had lost her parents, she understood the point he was trying to make.

Setsuna waved that off, "No problem. You were going through something and I was insensitive. It's all in the past."

Louise laughed at that, "I suppose so. Both of us have grown, though some of us more than others." She definitely was aware that Setsuna had grown taller, and matured since she last saw him. Not since what happened with Saji. With a curious tone, she asked, "By the way Setsuna, have you seen Saji at all since Japan?"

Setsuna, nodded his head, trying to be careful with his words, "I saw him a few weeks ago at one of the colonies. He seemed to be doing some sort of engineering job up there." Louise could sense that Setsuna was leaving out some details, but they probably were inconsequential.

She awkwardly responded, "Well that's good. What have you been up to since we last met?" Setsuna could see Saji was an awkward topic for her, but her asking about Saji reminded him of something Saji wanted him to do.

As Setsuna headed to the elevator to head to the hanger, he heard Saji call out to him. He stopped and turned around, seeing Saji running towards him, a note in his hand. Saji stopped in front of him, out of breath. Setsuna gave him a few seconds to catch his breath and then the Japanese man spoke up, "If you happen to see Louise at this party, can you please give her this note? The A-Laws are probably hounding her for support so there is a good chance she will be there."

Setsuna took the note and asked, "Should I be worried about anything in the note?"

Saji shook his head, "You don't need to worry. It's only personal stuff I wanted to say to Louise. Nothing about Celestial Being or where I currently am."

Setsuna nodded his head, "Then if I see her I will give it to her."

In a grateful tone, the brown-haired man replied, "Thank you Setsuna. And if she's there she will probably be happy to see you."

Setsuna responded to her, "Just odd jobs here and there. Been on the move mostly." He pulled the note out of his pocket and offered it out, surprising Louise, "When I met Saji he told me to give you this in case I met you. Said something about not getting to earth anytime soon." Just then he heard a beep from his terminal unit and opened it up, seeing something from Tieria, "I'm sorry Louise, but I need to resolve a work thing. It was great meeting you again."

Louise gave him a smile, "It was great seeing you again too. Good luck with whatever job you have now." She walked to her car, finding it a bit strange to see Setsuna so friendly and animated. He still seemed awkward and a bit stiff, but he was more personable than five years previous. When she got into her car, she relaxed and opened the written note.

Dear Louise

This is Saji. I'm sorry that I have to talk to you this way, but if you have been watching the news, then you know I'm a criminal at the moment. I don't want to drag you into my issues at this second, but long story short I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The A-Laws attacked the colony I was working at and massacred the people there. I got rescued by a third party and I am currently safe, so don't worry about me.

Being where I am has helped me reflect on the past five years. I realized in that period, I was selfish and only focused on trying to maintain the bubble of my happiness, trying to ignore the outside world. I see that view was wrong. I also apologize for ignoring your wish to put the gundams behind you. I couldn't let go of my anger at what they did to you and what happened to my sister. I want to become a better person, for myself and for you. I still love you Louise and I will come back, just after I feel like I made up for what I've done. Please stay safe.

Love,

Saji

P.S. Be careful around the A-Laws. They are not to be trusted.

Louise felt a storm of emotions reading the note. She was happy that Saji was at least safe, but still worried about the fact he was a wanted criminal. She then reread the second part of the letter and saw tears hitting the letter and realized she was beginning to cry. 'He wants to get better, for me? Did he have to make it harder for me, having to worry about him?' Even after all that had happened, she still had a flame for him. 'Please stay safe Saji. I need you to come back and see what has changed with you.'

Resting Room of the Mansion

Tieria stood in the middle of a lavish room, the only light being that of a fire in a fireplace. He glared at Ribbons, who was casually sitting down on one of the couches in the room, "You were serious when you said you took control of Veda?"

Ribbons replied evenly, "You should be able to recall yourself." Tieria began to think back, and realized what he meant.

"You mean you disengaged the trial field when we fought the Trinities? And that means you also gave the Pseudo GN drives to the UN forces. Why?"

Ribbons poured a glass of wine, lifting it up, "Because the plan explicitly called for the destruction of Celestial Being. According to the plan you were supposed to be gone five years ago."

Tieria looked at him in shock, "You are kidding. That can't be right! I know that Aeolia Schenburg trusted it all to us. The gundams, the GN drives and the Trans-Am system!" Tieria realized his gut was right. If Aeolia had trusted Ribbons, he would have given it to him. Instead, he gave them to Celestial Being. Whatever Ribbons was doing was not part of the plan. "As someone who was given a gundam, I'll continue to fight and follow the path I believe in. Call me a fool, but I'll stick with it to the end!"

Ribbons looked at him with a malicious smirk, "You've been influenced by the humans far more than I expected. You allowed that man to get deep into your heart. Lockon Stratos." Tieria glared and grit his teeth. 'This being will not insult Neil.' Ribbons continued, "He placed vengeance for his lost family over the plan. What a foolish human."

Unable to take it anymore, Tieria drew his gun from the holster he had hidden on his leg and was about to fire when he felt something graze his hand holding the gun, forcing him to drop it. He turned his face to see another green-haired innovator in the doorway, though they had wilder hair than ribbons. Seeing no choice, he ran, jumping out of the window. He landed and rolled in the grass, pulling out his terminal unit when he was evenly on the ground after the roll. He sent a message to Setsuna saying they needed to get out of there. 'And I finally know my path. Lockon, you were right. If being an innovator means being like those people, I would rather be a human.'

Author Note Two

That chapter was a beast, at least for me. Also as I said to my editor at one point, Feldt is just having a rough week. I think from the start of landing on earth to now, it couldn't be more than a week or two, but the show doesn't give a good time frame. But that moment was one of the big ones planned in the outset of my "script", so to speak, so I hope you enjoyed it. This was originally planned as the first moment of the ship tease, but I wanted the emotional reciprocation to be on both sides be established.

I don't have much of note on my changes this week, other than maybe the fact I changed Louise's dress to be like Sakura's from Fate Hollow Ataraxia if you want a visual reference. Also the fact that because Louise has gotten some therapy over the years, there was no need for the breakdown scene that happened in the show.

Thank you guys for reading. I appreciate the favorites, kudos, follows and other things you can guys do. And if you don't want to publicly comment, you can always private message me, though I'm not quite sure you can do it on Ao3. See you guys next time as we start to get into the juicier stuff when it comes to character changes.