It's been almost an hour since the Gogg had descended into the ocean. The suit was damaged from the small skirmish, but still sea worthy. Autumn had nearly fallen asleep as the pilot he had met drove them deeper into the ocean, but the Federation pilot finally broke the eerie silence.
"Victor." said the pilot.
Autumn raised up his head trying to comprehend what the pilot just said.
"What did you say?" asked Autumn curiously.
"You never asked my name before. It's Victor. I thought you should know since we seem to be stuck in this situation together." He said staring out into the blue abyss ahead of them.
"Ah, I see. I'm Autumn." He responded politely. "So where exactly are you taking us?" he asked.
"There's a bunch of patrol routes for Federation subs around this area, hopefully will run into one before we run out of fuel." says Victor pushing some buttons on the control console.
"Federation subs? You realize I'm an ex-Zeon pilot right?" says Autumn nervously.
"We'll figure that out when we get there I guess." Victor responds.
Autumn gets distracted by the ocean ahead of them. He'd never seen an ocean before and it was finally setting it just how beautiful it was, though he couldn't really see much through the screens ahead of him. He looked down at Victor's leg, it was still drenched in blood. Some had began to pool on the floor of the cockpit.
"Victor. What about your leg?" asked Autumn with some concern in his voice.
Victor looked down and seemed almost surprised about the amount of blood. He hesitated for a moment before speaking up. "Well I'm still kicking aren't I? If we find what we're looking for I can get treated there. We just gotta stay focused."
Alarms begin to blare on the console cutting their conversation short.
"What's going on?!" asks Autumn grabbing hold of the sides of the cockpit.
"Federation mobile suits are closing in on our position." says Victor stopping the Gogg.
In front of them, three RX-77AQ Guncannon Aquas coast toward the mobile suit. The lead suit in the center raises it's hand signalling for the others to stop. A gruff sounding man comes on over the comms.
"Zeon mobile suit, you have entered Federation waters. Power down your mobile suit and surrender immediately or we will open fire." says the voice. The other two Aquas raise their weapons and aim at the Gogg.
"Why aren't they firing?" asks Autumn quietly.
Victor thinks for a moment, his eyes light up once he realizes what it going on. "The treaty talks must've been a success. I think the hostilities have ended between the Federation and Zeon." he says in a light tone.
"Really?" asks Autumn. "I don't remember hearing anything about peace talks." he says.
The gruff voice speaks again, "I repeat, power down your mobile suit and surrender immediately."
"We have no choice but to comply." says Victor powering down the mobile suit. The mono-eye of the Gogg fades out and the suit goes limp in the water. The lead Aqua grabs a hold of the Gogg's arm. Another Aqua grabs a hold of the other arm and the Federation suits take the suit back their submarine.
The three Guncannon Aquas dock with their U-Type Submarine. The Gogg coasts into the hangar bay of the vessel. The water in the room drains and the suit gently gets placed onto the metal floor. Federation technicians rush toward the mobile suit and begin cutting away at the armor plating. The cockpit pops open and Autumn and Victor jump out of the mobile suit onto the cold metal floor. Victor's leg has gotten much worse, he falls down to the ground not long after exiting the cockpit. Autumn rushes over and grabs his arm hoisting it over his shoulder. Autumn helps Victor up off the floor and carries him to the end of the hanger bay. A Federation medic runs over and takes Victor from Autumn. Autumn watches as the medic rolls Victor away toward the medical bay.
The hanger bay isn't nearly as busy as the one he remembered from the Thunderbolt. There were barely any mobile suits being repaired or serviced. All he could see were the three Guncannon Aquas being refueled. The rest of the mobile suits were simply standing idle along the hanger wall. It was an obvious sign that this warship almost never sees combat. It didn't surprise him though, Federation submarines never saw much action in the first place.
"Hey! Over here!" says a voice from behind Autumn interrupting his thought.
Autumn turns around and sees a man in a captains uniform striding towards him. He's a short and thin man with a slight stubble on his face. He takes off his cap and offers his hand to Autumn.
"I'm Captain Tilton. Pleasure to meet ya." he says shaking Autumn's hand.
Autumn nods before responding, "Autumn" he says.
The captain turns and points up at the Gogg. "Quite a beautiful machine ya got there. Looks like she's taken a beating. What exactly happened to you guys?" he asks turning back to Autumn.
"I wish I knew sir, I'm assuming it was Zeon forces." says Autumn struggling to look into the captain's eyes.
"I hear you're a former Zeon pilot. Listen, with the cease fire enacted and peace talks in the works you have nothing to worry about here. I'll treat you like one of my own till we can get you to port." says the captain patting Autumn on the shoulder. "I'll get a cabin ready for you." he adds walking away.
Autumn follows close behind him through the ship. On the way they pass by Federation sailors, Autumn pretends he doesn't see them staring at him. He makes eye contact with one of the sailors, all they seem to do is glare at him. Once they reach the cabin, the captain gestures for Autumn to go inside.
"Thanks captain." says Autumn gratefully, "I don't think I can remember the last time I slept." he jokes.
"No worries, I'll be on the bridge if you need anything." says Tilton walking away.
Autumn walks inside and shuts the door behind him. Inside the cabin is a small desk in one corner with a light on it, a mirror, what looks to be a dresser below it, and a cot in the corner. Autumn lets himself fall onto the cot. He rolls over onto his back and stares at the ceiling. He tries to remember what day it is, it feels like it's been years since he was in the Thunderbolt. He hoped that Captain Tilton and his sub would be his ticket out of the war. He couldn't wait to start over. As he got lost in thought, Autumn's eyelids just grew too heavy and he found himself captured by sleep...