Inside a Capsule

After the wake of Dr. Hell's attack on the city, the local officials from the JSSDF were now on the process of removing the civilians from the battle zone to be transported to nearby hospitals and evacuation centers. The Federation forces would have to secure the area and determine if the mechasaurus won't be visiting again anytime soon. As such, reconstruction to the damaged city would take awhile, if ever.

Jed somehow recovered from the attack the red unidentified mecha inflicted, which was actually a bad bump on his head when he banged it against the leather seat of the cockpit. He was out for a couple of minutes and wasn't sure how he managed to get out from the firefight, but made a mental note to find himself a helmet the next time he went out in a sortie. Anyway, he decided that with the Freeden and Mazinger team assisting with the rescuers, he could afford to sneak away from the Gundam and head for the place he once thought as his home by himself… almost.

"You're still here?" Jed asked in impatience at the Arbalest pilot. Sagara didn't seem to mind the other's tone of voice and answered crisply. "I have orders not to leave you alone, sir." If Jed had looked closely, and not distracted by his annoyance, he would have noticed that Sousuke was very nervous. The red mecha they've encountered before had bothered him extremely.

Jed grimaced then suddenly gave a sigh of resignation. "Fine. You need to explain a lot to me, anyway."

The two walked for another three minutes in a debris filled street before they reached their destination and Jed found the old woman whom he called Grandmother standing on the lawn where their house had been. But Jed was too relieved to see her unharmed than his own doubts about her. He looked at Sagara, "OK, do you mind if you stay here? I need to talk with my Grandmother privately."

Sagara looked that he didn't like that particular order but complied, staying on the main road and letting the other go inside the lawn.

"I see." The old woman said after Jed told her the story. They were now sitting on the old swing set that miraculously stayed intact from the fighting. She was staring at her clenched hands, and Jed had the distinct feeling she was trying to keep herself from bursting in tears. "I've always thought I couldn't always protect you from everything…" she gave a dry chuckle as she gestured the ruined house. "Though I've never imagined it in such magnitude."

"So, is it true? Erin and me… are not your grandchildren?"

Grandmother's wrinkled face was immediately filled with guilt. "My real children and grandchildren died during the war." She admitted sadly. "Ten years ago."

"Oh," Jed said, surprised at his unnatural lack of emotion. Perhaps he already suspected, somehow. Silence ensued, the young man letting his elder tell him in due time she was able.

"I actually found you and your sister three years ago, when I was visiting a cemetery near Old Tokyo." She smiled bitterly, "back then, areas near that place wasn't banned from the government. Anyway, I found you two unconscious and for some inexplicable reason, I just have to take you with me as far from that place as possible. I had you smuggled away by a friend before anyone else found out."

Jed tried to remember three years ago, but he could have sworn those were the years he and Erin were living as ordinary adolescents. Beyond that… "But I still have the memories living with you as children, playing in these swings, fighting other kids…"

"Imagine my surprise when you both woke up that day and instantly recognized me as your grandmother, adapting to these kinds of life." Grandmother said, "You acted as if you lived with me all this time, and I thought you both must be suffering from some kind of twisted amnesia. I waited for weeks, months, to see if you could recover your memories. As you see…"

"But why didn't you tell us?"

"You'd never believe me, even if I did."

Jed nodded to that answer. Erin would most likely laugh out loud by such an outrageous story. "Did anyone visit us, or inquired anything?"

The old woman shook her head. "Not one person. The neighbors really thought you were my grandchildren left behind to take care of me so they've never asked anything. Except recently…" she pointed discreetly to Sagara who was standing nearby in full alertness to any sign of trouble, as if he's half-expecting that Jed's old foster parent will mutate into an alien in a matter of seconds and eats them both, "I noticed him following you around."

"With no big success, really," Jed said, smiling.

Instead of being cheered up by her grandson's reaction, she became a lot sadder. "I'm sorry for all of this. I never wanted to keep this knowledge away from you two, but I really don't know how to explain it. And…" her trembling voice faltered. "All these time, you and your sister have been very important to me, and I couldn't bear of you hating my decision to do that. I just don't want you to leave me all alone again."

Jed felt tears coming to his eyes, but he quickly dried them away with the back of his sleeve "I can't say for Erin… but I understand on why you did it," he said truthfully. "And even though you're not my family, or my past was merely made up… these three years with you, have been very real for me."

Grandmother slowly took hold of his hand, in which Jed tightened his grip with hers, knowing that their life together was coming to an end. "What do you intend to do?" the old woman inquired.

"It seems I'll have to go with that military guy after all. He may know something about me. I'm worried about you, though, on where you might go."

"Don't mind about me. I'm sure this place will be fixed before you know it," Grandmother assured him. "The government isn't that sloppy. I'll manage somehow… just promise me that do care of yourself, and Erin, if you meet her again."

"I will. And more than that… I promise, after all this mess is resolved, I'll definitely come back for you."

"Jed…"

"You are, first among all others, my grandmother."

No hugs were exchanged, and for them deemed unnecessary. Somehow, they knew they'll get together in the end, even if fate can be a fickle thing, and there'd be no guarantees in the future.

But they can simply hope. And that was what they were now clinging onto.

Sagara was so used being ordered around by him in such unpredictable moments that by the time Jed demanded to know how much he knew he didn't hesitated to answer his queries. "We've met before… 8 years ago at an operation in Afghanistan, a few months before the One Year War."

Jed thought that he was numb from the unpleasant surprises that would come at his way, he was sadly mistaken. "What!" he said. "That's impossible… I'd have to be 10 years old that time."

"Actually, you're 14 back then, sir…" Sagara corrected him.

"So… what happened?" Jed said, shocked again by that information… if he was fourteen when he supposedly did met Sagara, and he was fifteen when he was taken in by Grandmother…

"You served as a Federation soldier whom aided MITHRIL to halt nuclear weapons being transported in an illegal route in Afghanistan. It turns out they were supplying these to the people who would later create the Principality of Zion."

"You're a MITHRIL soldier back then?"

"No, I was part of the local guerilla forces. I joined MITHRIL after you left for another mission."

"And I suppose that's too much to ask what that is."

"I'm sorry sir, but I wouldn't know. It's classified Federation information. The captain couldn't even give me any leads back then."

"This means I'll need to see Federation archives to find out." Jed finished "Am I with another girl… my sister… Erin Shore?"

"In the actual fighting? No, sir." Sagara said and then quickly added. "But back then I'm not allowed to go to Federation bases set up there so I wouldn't know."

"Ah," Jed reflected, it never occurred to him that Sagara was the deceiving type ever since they met so he must be on the level here. "So, why are you tailing me?"

"We've been searching for you ever since you went missing. It's apparent you've had some information vital for the organization."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but whatever memories I had back then is gone now."

"We know. That's what Captain Tessa also deducted from your actions of not returning to the military all this time."

"But how'd ya find me, anyway?"

"From your Federation application form…"

"So I could receive formal training for engineering. That's right, I'd forgotten. And that weird Gundam over there…?"

"You used to pilot the prototype back then. Before you left, you left some enhancements for the Mobile Suit in its memory files. We never found out about this until three years ago."

"Hm, that's very efficient of me then." Jed muttered, and weird. "So why are we standing here for? Aren't we going to any military places you hang out with or what?

"I'm also informed that it's best that you and I join the Freeden for the time being."

"What for?"

The Ducanan is busy regarding past terrorist factions of late. Do you hear anything about the Blue Cosmos?"

"Those anti-Coordinator extremists? Yeah, I heard of them…" but in Jed's opinion, they were just merely a bunch of troublemakers who were too frightened to cause havoc in the Colonies and were causing havoc on Earth instead, after they had once successfully drove out the Coordinators about two decades ago.

"Coordinators. Although to be frank, I've never really met one… except from battles…" Sousuke was saying.

Half a century ago… when Space Colonies had not been, in essence, perfected for human living, Earth scientists used to create their own superhumans from their most basic genetic make-up to ensure that these people could survive the harsh environments of outer space. It had been successful, and those who can afford to add these new genetic quirks to their offspring were put into practice. But after a fight in which a Coordinator gone crazed single-handedly killed ten people from a mob incident, the normal people, branded as "Naturals", suddenly feared them… and from that fear came hatred and discord.

Much of the history behind the genocide of suspected Coordinators disappeared, and the Coordinators that managed to survive fled for the safety of outer space, where they've stayed ever since. The scientists behind the Coordinator creation were executed by the Federation to appease the public, and their research and projects regarding it were obliterated. Rumors exist, though, that the Coordinators were still doing genetic enhancements on their own, it seemed that their offspring did not carry over their own DNA alterations for some reason. How much of it is true was unknown, and the Spacenoids were keeping a tight lip regarding this. Then eight years ago, a man named Zeon Daikun declared the Newtype philosophy, of a next step of evolution for the human race. This "natural" evolution was widely accepted gladly in both Earth and Space, furthering the alienation of the Coordinators. Afterwards, the world was basically living in uneasy peace, until Zeon was killed, and his surviving family founded the Principality in memory of his name... which led to more fighting that until now wasn't quite resolved.

Jed couldn't figure out why he's thinking about this now, when he never really cared on the whole mess, "So I guess I'll be counting on you, Sergeant."

Sagara was relieved by this and replied a strong "Yes, sir!"

It didn't take long for them to get back at all. The Mazinger team was in fact waiting for them with the mechas they've temporarily abandoned. "Took you long enough!" a young raven-haired man called out. Jed could deduce that the same man was probably a few years younger than him. "I'm Kouji Kobuto! Pilot of the Mazinger Z."

Jed eagerly shook his hand; he was very confused these past hours. But now that everything was resolved, more or less, he was able to meet the others properly. "Yeah, I know! I've watched you guys from the evening news… the robots, not you, I mean, but usually everyone else was too busy running away before the reporters could give a proper interview." He was a rather huge mecha fan from the Gekigangar 3 generation… "I'm Jedis Shore, by the way. You can call me Jed…"

"And I'm Sayaka Yumi!" A pretty girl in a white jumpsuit interrupted, determined not to let Kouji get the spotlight for himself again. "Aphrodite Ace's pilot, and that's Boss."

"Pleased to meet ya de-wa-sa."

"Me too." Jed said, after shaking the other's hands. He gestured at Sagara "And this guy is…"

Sagara immediately straightened up, clasped his hands behind his back, feet firmly apart and then said in a loud, prompt, and crisp manner "Sergeant Sousuke Sagara, SIR!"

"Forgive me; he's a little eccentric…" Jed apologized, seeing the confused looks of the other three pilots. To answer their unspoken questions plastered on their expressions he added. "Yes, he's always like that."

"I… see…" Kouji said, then instantly switched into his cheerful mood. "Anyway, we're on our way to formally join the Federation army when the bad guys showed up along the way." He waved helplessly at the ruined city, "I heard this was your turf. I'm sorry."

"Don't mind. If it hadn't been for you guys coming to the rescue, it would probably more disastrous than losing buildings." Jed said, then his mind struck him that they seemed to be missing one team member "By the way… where's the pilot of the Great Mazinger robot?"

"Oh, Tsurugi Tetsuya," there was a shadow of sadness showing in Kouji's features, but was gone a second later. "He really had no intention of joining the army, actually. He was supposed to act as our guide to the nearest Federation base…"

"And left as soon as Freeden volunteered to take us there." Sayaka said, "Although honestly, I do think it's more like he never really liked to be here. Brings a lot of unwanted memories…"

"Tetsuya lost his family from an attack like this in the past wars when he was a lot younger." Kouji explained grimly. "Back then, the government never really gave much thought of installing sturdy emergency shelters."

"I see." Jed said, feeling a little sympathy for the unknown man. "Why are you joining the army, anyway?"

"Partly because the good guys would need every help it could get." Kouji replied, "Commander Oka is an old friend of my father's, he proposed to create a new autonomous troop for the Federation, and wanted us to join in."

"But don't we have the Titans for that?"

"Yeah." Sayaka answered hesitantly, "but the commander wanted to make a kind of group that would listen to him if something's up."

"I see." Jed understood the implications of that statement alright. "Well you're in luck. Seems me and Sagara are gonna be with you guys too."

"Neat!" Kouji said. "Welcome aboard. Now let's go! We'll have to meet the captain."

Oddly enough Jed was anticipating for this… his first literal step of self-discovery. He could only hope he'd be up to the task. "Guess we'll have to bring our mechas to the mothership first." He suggested. The others nodded to his wisdom as they broke away to man their respective mechs.

Jed was checking his instruments when he felt something brush against his leg, stooping to the floor; he realized that it must have shaken loose from its hiding place during the fight. "Now what the heck…?" he muttered as he brought the object out to the fading sunset's light to study it. It was a small heavy metal object shaped like a capsule, and try as he might he couldn't find any lock or any compartment to yield what's inside. He found it strange that if this was his, Sagara would surely bring it to his attention. He wondered what the heck he was thinking eight years ago if he had to lock it away, even from himself, much later. He also added another one in his mental list to find a mechanic to help him unravel this mysterious object.

Satisfied that his Gundam wasn't badly damaged as he feared, he willed the huge mecha to its feet, and followed the Arbalest to the Freeden.

Quattro was surprised by the fact that Kamille and Erin had ran off together on their own without permission, and that Paula had given him a tense report that the Titans had Kamille's parents hostage. It was apparent the boy somehow knew, and went away without consultation. Fearing for a trap, Quattro added his suggestion not to let the Ahgama join in the fight, and that he'd need to bring along the prototype weapon Astronaige was perfecting.

"But that thing's not ready for testing!" the mechanic protested.

"Well now it's fine time to do it." Quattro replied smoothly. "Have Paula use the extra mk. 2 to help me carry it."

Paula's expression told him she wasn't up the task to pilot a Mobile Suit, but was about to do it anyway when Emma Sheen grabbed hold of the younger girl's hand before she could walk away. "Lieutenant, please bring me along!" she shouted.

Everyone near the hangar stopped what they were doing and looked at Emma in shocked silence. Quattro's face was expressionless, as if he expected her to do this sort of thing after all. "But…" he was saying.

"I won't let the Titans practice this sort of thing and hurt civilians."

"But you're from their group." He finished firmly.

"I'm a Federation soldier, first." She corrected "I did not join the military for Basque Ohm. I'll help you rescue the hostages."

"You know this could be a trap," Astronaige said. "Lieutenant!"

"My intentions are true." Emma looked at Paula. "Will you accompany me in the cockpit?"

"Uh, sure." Paula managed to mutter.

"If I attempt treachery of any kind, you may shoot me." Emma said firmly. "Just let me join you."

"Very well. I'll take full responsibility." Quattro said, to Astronaige he added, "We're in a hurry, we can't afford to make a formal meeting about this."

"Yes, sir." Astronaige didn't like the idea, but understood their predicament. Henken always assured him that Lt. Quattro Bajina always knows what he was doing, and that sort of thing also required some reckless plan…

It took only a couple of minutes, but there, a hundred feet away from the Alexandria, Erin could see a small object shining dimly against the darkness. She quickly willed her channel open to all transmissions, straining her ears for any word from their mothership. Kamille wasn't much into subtlety, as he was still hell bent on reaching the capsule, before the Alexandria fired a particle beam to the course his heading. The Gundam veered away in the nick of time, the pilot afraid to bring the line of fire to the helpless capsule.

"Warning shots, they don't want us to reach the capsule." Erin reported.

"This means they're waiting for Emma's report on the negotiation." Kamille suggested.

Erin snorted the unlikely theory, "Us being here is an answer enough," as soon as she said those words; four squads of Hi-Zakus and Zaku 2s emerged from the Alexandria's massive hangars. "Here they come."

Kamille didn't have to reply, as he cleanly shot an incoming green Zaku into space dust, and were now swooping at the three others. Erin half-expected that the huge Titan ship would come forward as support, and was surprised to see that they're standing their ground. An unpleasant suspicion was forming in her mind, and she asked Kamille to check something out, which he later confirmed it.

"Minovsky particles are high. Are they trying to bait the Ahgama?"

"Or they're trying to capture our mechas without damaging us too much." Erin said. "Can you reach the capsule from here?"

Kamille made a quick estimation, perhaps with a little speed and considerable risk for both their parts, "I think I can…" he began.

"Can you or can't you, Bidan?" Erin's voice was harsh.

"I can," Kamille retorted grimly, "Unfortunately the Alexandria will cause us some trouble."

She surprised him by saying promptly "We'll have a touch and go operation then. I'll attempt to attack their ship. You handle the rescue and some units left behind. Can you do it?"

"I will."

"Go!" Erin cried, and the Hyukebein broke away from the leading squad and threw the mecha into what it looked like a suicidal ram. Her sensors showed that the Alexandria's cannons were shifting towards her direction and opened fire. The mecha then, under her mental instructions, threw into a very complicated move of evading almost all of the energy waves directed at her, dimly aware that the Titans were also shooting their comrades who were chasing after her. Another fake and a drop, the mk.4 , opened fire with its missiles against the Alexandria's bridge, which made little damage against its reinforced hull. Kamille told her before of the Alexandria's strength but Erin never really appreciated that assertion until now.

Still, her attack proved to be enough, the Alexandria's weapons all shifted to its immediate threat, ignoring Kamille and his battle for their hostages completely. A lone Zaku attempted to strike her down with the heat axe, but Erin already warned by both instincts and the EOT computer about the danger, and proven to be much faster. In the blink of an eye, she already rammed the Hyukebein's sword onto the cockpit, grabbed the lifeless mecha, and used it as a shield when the huge battleship's lasers fired. The Hyukebein used it thrusters, and was now in a safe distance as the Zaku was being fired upon. The black Personal Trooper returned the favor by shooting the Alexandria with the Photon Rifle, Erin wishing that Kamille would hurry up, not knowing if she can hold the fort any longer. When she realized that one of the laser barrels turned away from her and fired before she could attack it.

"KAMILLE!" She shouted helplessy, forgetting her own danger for the moment, as the laser continued its course to where the helpless capsule was.

Kamille braced himself as the Gundam mk,2 swerving left and right to avoid enemy laser beams, while counterattacking with its vulcan, at the same time keeping an eye at the capsule. Any screwup in his part, the remaining Hi-Zakus would have simply struck down the helpless capsule, making their rescue operation end in vain.

The Gundam mk. 2 seemed to follow the footsteps of its forefather, as the enemy Hi-Zacks were being shot down one after another in a matter of seconds, while the white Gundam took little to no damage at all. Before long, the enemy squad that remained were reduced to metallic rubble. Kamille quickly engaged the Gundam's remaining energy into its thrusters, grabbing the glass-like capsule with its outstretched hands, ignoring the warnings that a high energy signal was heading towards his direction. And if he wasn't fast enough, he and his parents will die this day…

It was all up to fate…

"I've got them!" Kamille cried to Erin over the radio, just as the Alexandria's laser passed by only a few feet away below him. "Get out of there!" he shouted, seeing that the Hyukebein still couldn't break away from the enemy mothership.

Now Erin seemed to be the one in trouble.

Somehow, one of her stabilizers had burnt off during the attack, and the Hyukebein was having trouble moving from the tailing Zaku 2 that had miraculously remained unscathed from the attack, the two were now exchanging fire, while trying to dodge from the Alexandria's guns. Erin willed her photon rifle to the enemy cockpit… only to see it obliterated by another energy blast. At first, she thought that Kamille, against all common sense, had come back to her rescue. Lt. Quattro's voice broke in the silence of her cockpit a second later. "Erin, break away from the Alexandria after I shoot!"

Erin didn't know that the Hayaku Shiki had such a long range attack, not until after the battle did she found out that he was using the mega bazooka launcher prototype that Paula was raving about a few hours ago in the cafeteria. But both of them knew that the bazooka was too heavy to carry around by an ordinary Mobile Suit on its own, how did…

The Launcher fired again, this time destroying the Titan's main cannons, helpless the Alexandria would have been an ideal target… if the offensive team had been a larger force. Erin could only nod at the ship's luck as she and Kamille fled away, she could see the Gundam's hands holding the glass capsule protectively… and inside, her sensors show two humans encased. Kamille had been right after all. Erin felt another stab of rage against the Titans for using such a dirty tactic when she heard Lt. Quattro's voice cut in. "You two would have to answer to Brecks for engaging the enemy without authorization."

"Authorization!" Kamille raged, "They could have killed my parents!"

"In which we could have rescued them anyway, instead of chasing after you like fools."

Erin wisely kept away from their conversation, knowing that Quattro was berating them for their apparent lack of respect to procedures. What struck her was the way Quattro talked about it… I knew it, this man… he's been in the army before…

As the two mechas approached the yellow mobile suit, Erin could see that he wasn't alone. Supporting the heavy launcher, was the black Gundam. And the pilot. "Hey, you're…" she was saying.

"I am Emma Sheen of the Earth Federation." The Titans' negotiation officer replied. "I'm in your side now."

"I know you are." Kamille said, "You're too good to be a Titan in the first place."

"Boy…" Emma replied, recognizing him instantly.

"We'll talk all these things later." Quattro said. "We need a doctor to check the hostages."

It wasn't as fearful as they'd thought… both Hilda and Franklin Bidan were simply put into some sort of suspended animation within the capsule… similar to Luna's hibernation facilities where they've put their people into slumber to accommodate them as they create the Space Colonies by others. After the construction, they were revived and be transplanted there. But on the Vidans' case, they would have slept forever in death, had the capsule been destroyed or malfunctioned a bit in deep space. But for now, Kamille was restricted by the doctor to visit them, until they'd recover the hibernation sickness by giving them a full night's rest. And so he ended up in the briefing room with Erin and Emma instead, about what would happen to them from now on.

"It's amazing that the Titans managed to have this kind of technology, and actually using it..." Quattro said, after giving his report to the captain and the senator.

"And cheap too, that casing protecting the capsule is almost as fragile as glass." Brecks retorted angrily, remembering the Astronaige's analysis on the pod. "If Kamille wasn't skilled enough to control his Gundam's hand with its grip, he could have accidentally shattered the capsule into pieces." Another proof that the young blue-haired man had shown a great potential, Quattro thought as he gave the boy a brief glance. Calculating the Gundam's fingers… strong enough to carry the small capsule but not too much pressure to crack it… under a matter of seconds was not a common feat.

"Had you two been in a military, I could have demoted you for insubordination." Brecks said gravely to Erin and Kamille who were standing in stiffly in attention, but Quattro saw beginnings of a smile in the old man's features as he added. "But AEUG is not a military army… yet. Therefore I'll give no penalties in your conduct, for now."

"Thank you sir!" Erin replied, saluting him in which her younger counterpart hastened to do the same gesture.

"As for you, Ms. Sheen, before joining us, you'd have to be under inspection by our people… Namely Paula." In which the younger girl replied "Gah, again!" Brecks ignored the outburst and finished by saying "Standard procedures, if you understand."

Emma had now gotten rid of her Titan get-up and was now donned in a green AEUG standard uniform, removing all doubt on her intentions to her future in the war "Thank you, sir." She replied graciously.

"You may now leave, except for the superior officers." Henken said, who seemed to spend the whole time reading an unwritten piece of paper than chipping in to the conversation. Erin wondered if Emma had something to do with it, as he was acting very strange the second she joined their forces.

Paula led the other three pilots out from the briefing room, in which Henken finally raised his head to look at his companions. "What?" he demanded.

Quattro was tempted to reply his observation on the captain's oddness of the whole scenario a few seconds ago, but professional pride and personal habit kept him from indulging on such things, and he was curious on what Brecks just mentioned. "What's this about the army?" he asked.

"We must look at this in an objective level, gentlemen." Brecks said quietly, studying an apple from the fruit basket. The only item adorning their table. "The Titans had apparently grown too much in power, both in technology and its troops. Soon, they may launch a coup against the government with that rate. We'd also need more manpower in our cause. I may have to convene a meeting with Wong and the others on Luna."

"So, we're finally making the move," Quattro muttered under his breath.

"Yes, I've received UN Commander Gou's, a very good friend of mine, message a few days ago, in which he provided a sound plan. With the reports from our recent Titan sorties, the AEUG leaders would have to reach a common agreement sooner." He nodded at Henken who replied. "This could also be a good opportunity to check out Anaheim."

"Of course," Quattro replied dryly. That particular company would help them a lot, including refitting new arms to their new mechas, if the price was right and regardless the group it sold its weapons to. "We could also check Mao Industries. Heard one of their number was hiding in asylum there." He suggested.

"For the Hyukebein," Henken nodded to his wisdom. "That would be difficult without the head in charge, but that'll do."

Brecks stood up, with Henken following suit, deciding that the meeting adjourned. "Well, it's a long night. We'll have to get some sleep while we still can." It would take a few days to reach the moon, and with the Titans still giving chase, they'd need the rest they could get.

The hours of the next day had been relatively quiet, but Kamille finally received permission from the doctor to see his parents on person. Erin was surprised, though, that the young blue-haired man asked her to come along with the visit. She assumed that it's because she was involved, with a huge risk of her life, to rescue his parents. Only when she entered the small medical room regarding the truth: she was just asked there to maintain the peace, as their family reunion had not been as emotional as she'd imagined.

First of all was Franklin's apparent disinterest of seeing his long-lost son and stayed in bed, ignoring his family. An almost hysterical Hilda was crying and reprimanded her son over the foolishness he was doing by joining a rebel faction. Erin felt small stirrings of anger and annoyance from her friend like a half-burned furnace, but Kamille surprisingly kept his temper… perhaps realizing that yesterday he was so close of loosing them both, and couldn't afford to be snappish.

"Kamille! You are leaving this ship with us as soon as we've reached a colony!" the concerned mother cried out in which Kamille gave a retorted "No! I've made up my mind! You can't force me!"

Erin felt a little awkward overhearing the whole conversation, but couldn't find an excuse to leave the room. She noticed that Mr. Bidan was spending a little too much studying the area, instead of joining in and contributing his opinion. But then again, Hilda and Kamille were talking to each other as if he wasn't there. She wondered what kind of man he was who'd never even noticed his own family's aversion to him. He wasn't so different from my old man, she concluded sardonically. Jed would object, of course, but he'd always been the kind one, she was always the disagreeable member of the family.

The AEUG are brutes who attacked our colony without warning! How could you…" Hilda was saying.

"Those 'brutes' are the ones who just rescued you, mom! Your precious Titans find you expendable!" Kamille shouted back at her face, ignoring his mother's wince, finally reached at the end of his patience.

"Leave him alone, Hilda. You can't convince him otherwise," Franklin's voice calmly put in from where he was sitting, instantaneously stopping mother and son from their argument. But only for a moment.

Hilda gave a sarcastic laugh at her husband, "Since when do you care anyone else but yourself?" Erin saw Kamille bracing himself, as if he expected his father would suddenly stand up and attack her in rage by that remark.

But Franklin continued talking as if he didn't hear the thinly veiled insult. "There's still time for him to reach a final decision, I suggest you don't force him."

Hilda would have taken a more verbal sparring with her estranged husband, but seemed to keep herself in check, apparently for both Kamille and Erin's sake.

"I'll take you to your rooms," Kamille said tiredly, "Please follow me."

His parents followed suit, a cold atmosphere enveloping their presence, and Erin found herself holding her breath that she didn't remember doing.

"Very interesting," Quattro's voice broke in from behind her, Erin looked over shoulder to see him standing a few feet away, studying the drama quietly, and watching Kamille and his parents' departure.

"You act as if this is the first time you've witnessed a dysfunctional family." Erin observed.

"Yes, in a way… as I have no family." Quattro replied flatly, obviously deterring anyone for feeling sympathy for him with that piece of information. "Yours?"

"I have a brother and a grandmother back on Earth. But with a better condition." Erin looked at Kamille. "His parents aren't very thrilled being here, I might add."

"Maybe," Quattro agreed distractedly. "What did Kamille say?"

"He wanted to join us… but he did mention he's having second thoughts." Erin replied, remembering their conversation in the briefing room the afternoon before.

"He'll join." Quattro said with much confidence. "He, of all people, realized the need to stand up against the Titans."

"So I guess you shared the same notions then, on you joining the AEUG, I mean?" The girl asked, her curiosity go the better of her tact by this mysterious pilot.

Quattro gave a slight smile. "It's the only way I know how to live. That's also the reason why I'm not married." She never found out if he was merely joking, as a quick view in his pager alerted him that his presence was needed at the bridge this instant. Saying his quick goodbyes to the girl, Erin watched him leave for a few seconds, then turned her attention to the small cluster of debris that they're approaching. Since this was a neutral area, they can ease somewhat in their defenses, knowing that there won't be any fighting to expect soon. For the first time since joining the AEUG, she felt small stirrings of homesickness… with Paula still supervising Emma and Kamille busy entertaining his parents…

And she couldn't help feeling very lonely.

She wondered helplessly if Jed knew what has happened to her. Most likely not, as the Titans and the small Federation allies they had would simply cover the whole thing up and would spread around official news she'd had an accident or something. She hated not giving word to at least assure them she was alive, but made a mental note to at least try contact him when they reached the moon. Slightly cheered by that plan, Erin decided to check up on her Hyukebein's repairs.

"SOS?" Quattro asked, realizing that his summons was more important than what he'd realized. "Where?"

"From the Heliopolis colony," Tores reported, opening the schematics in his station for Quattro to see. "We received the transmission fifteen minutes ago."

"Naval SOP demands we at least to check it out." Henken said. "But as for us being AEUGs." He didn't need to add that implication.

"So we'll ignore them, and let the Orb people do this?" Quattro asked, feeling uncomfortable in the pit of his stomach, in which a quick view to the rest of the bridge showed that most of them felt the same sensation.

"Or we could leave them in the tender care of the anti-Spacenoid Titans." Brecks said, still meditating. Finally he opened his eyes and continued. "We'll answer the hails, but put on a weapons alert for any sign of trouble." The bridge team relayed those orders to the respected stations.

"I wonder what Heliopolis did to get itself into trouble? It's unlikely for a neutral colony to signal for help, with the moon quite a distance away," Henken asked aloud.

"It could be Federation pressure, or Neo-Zeon. They've done that before." Quattro suggested.

"Despite the Antarctic Treaty?"

"Even that Treaty has loopholes. We recently broke one of those remember?"

"Of course," Henken replied dryly. "You'll brief the pilots?"

"As soon as the ship changes its designated course. If you be so kind and call them to the briefing room?"