The next day the Bayonet departed from the colony and the pilots as well as Victoria and Captain Phillips were all assembled in the briefing room. Aston and Richard stood at the front of the room while the others remained seated. "Alright everyone, we've received new orders" Aston spoke. "We'll be deploying to Earth as part of a joint operation to take back the Australian continent that was previously under our control until it was taken over by Purity forces" he explained. "The mission will consist of three squads mobilizing to each state or territory and trying to retake them all simultaneously. We have been assigned as one of the squads to retake New South Wales" Aston explained.
"But what do we do about a ship? The Bayonet can't operate in the atmosphere" Marcel asked.
"Our team is being assigned the new prototype Ceres, the second ship in the Minerva-class" Richard explained.
"One of the Roman deities, like Minerva" Victoria pointed out.
"Once a fleet of Laurasia-class frigates reach Earth, us pilots will be dropped in the pods of said frigates and the crew will be dropped via shuttles. We will be landing at an outpost base not too far from Sydney, the capital" Aston explained. "Victoria, you will be accompanying us on the battlefield for this, we need all the help we can get" he continued, looking to the girl.
"Yes sir! I won't let you down sir!" Victoria replied enthusiastically.
"I trust all of you will go make the preparations for our descent to Earth, we leave the Bayonet at 1300 hours, you're all dismissed" Richard spoke. The three young pilots all stood, saluted and left the room.
"So we're going to Earth? This'll be my first time" Victoria stated. "You've been there before right Garret? What's it like?" she asked the blonde boy.
"Yeah I've been there, I was born there. It's pretty nice, as long as you're not in a warzone" Garret replied. "Are you going to be ok fighting in the atmosphere? You've only had practice out here in space" Garret pointed out.
"I should be fine, after all you two and the Commander will protect me right?" she asked, poking her tongue out a little.
"You can't rely on us all the time Victoria, you'll get complacent" Marcel said in reply. The girl pouted and stared at him.
"It was just a joke. Of course I'll be fine" she said and the three walked through the corridors in silence until they reached their rooms and split off. Garret entered his room and began packing his things into a single suitcase that would fit in the cockpit of his mobile suit. He packed his spare uniform, his casual clothes and various other personal items.
"We've gotta be at our suits at one, that's only an hour away... better hurry up" Garret said to himself, closing his suitcase. He floated down to the locker rooms and changed into his pilot suit. In the hangar he found Marcel already there. "Wow, you didn't screw around huh?" Garret remarked, floating to his Duel.
"Yeah. I wanted to do some last minute checks on my suit before we head off to Earth. Don't exactly want it overheating and going boom in the drop capsule during re-entry" Marcel replied.
"True, I should probably do the same" Garret said, climbing into the cockpit of the Gundam. He slipped his suitcase behind the seat and extended the keyboard. "Victoria not here yet?" he asked Marcel who he knew would be lingering around the Duel.
"Not yet. You know what that girl's like, she takes forever to get ready" Marcel laughed.
"Shut it Marcel" Victoria said, floating past the boy towards her GuAIZ. Garret smiled in the cockpit as he typed away. It was good to have actual friends to fight alongside, better than just other crewmembers he thought. At least he knew he could always rely on his friends. The three pilots worked on their mobile suits for the remainder of their wait until the Laurasia-class fleet arrived.
"Garret! Marcel! Victoria!" Aston's voice called from the floor of the hangar. The three pilots all emerged from their suits and floated down to the commander, assembling in a line. "The fleet has now arrived, we need to fly our suits over to the frigates and ready ourselves in the drop pods, can you all do that?" Aston asked. The three nodded and he waved his hand to signal them to get into their mobile suits. The four pilots all boarded their machines and then launched out into space. They proceeded to the closest ship and were docked into the drop pods. "We all secured?" Aston asked and the others all replied with a yes.
"Now we just get to sit back and relax" Garret said, releasing the controls for his suit. "Victoria, make sure you turn on the AC for your suit once we hit the atmosphere" Garret warned.
"I know, I'm sure I won't forget" Victoria replied, typing away on her keyboard. "Commander, what other squads will be fighting with us for this mission?" she asked.
"Well, the first is the Lions Team, there are six pilots in that group. I think I'll keep the other team a secret, you'll all be pleasantly surprised" Aston replied, a faint smile on his lips.
"Attention Falcon Team, forty-five seconds until drop. I repeat, forty-five seconds until drop" a voice spoke over the radios of the four mobile suits. The four pilots all readied themselves and the seconds passed quickly until the pod was launched towards Earth. The four pilots engaged their air conditioners as the pod began to quickly heat up during re-entry.
"Do we really have a chance at taking back an entire continent sir?" Marcel asked Aston. "I mean, Purity could have an entire army of Gundams down on Earth" he continued.
"We have no choice but to try. We can't exactly sit back and let those terrorists take over Earth" Aston replied.
"I thought they're objective was to eliminate us Coordinators not take over Earth" Garret pointed out.
"That was also the goal of Blue Cosmos and LOGOS, did they not also try to take control of large sections of Earth? They wormed their way into Earth's governments and tried to manipulate them" Aston explained in reply.
"I suppose you're right" Garret agreed.
"Ok everyone, we're here. Let's deploy" Aston ordered and the four doors of the pod fell open. The four suits slid out and deployed parachutes so they fell slightly slower.
-Earth-
They landed on the ground as they saw two more pods heading for them. "Everyone move, give them room!" Aston ordered. The GOUF and ZAKU ran to the right while the Duel and GuAIZ headed left. Deploying from the pods they saw, one ZAKU, a CGUE, two GuAIZ Rs and two DINNs.
"I'm guessing that's the Lions Team" Victoria stated, watching them all land.
"One would assume so" Garret said. "That only accounts for two squads though, where is the third one that should be helping us out?" Garret asked, looking around the area for anymore pods.
"Garret, Victoria! The Commander said we have to get to the base!" Marcel called, running over in his ZAKU. Garret and Victoria acknowledged the instructions and the three followed the white GOUF running towards a small base in the distance. Upon arrival, the four pilots all entered a hangar where they saw their ship, the Ceres. It looked identical to the original Minerva except the majority of the body was a pale blue and the parts of the Minerva which were red were coloured white. The four pilots disembarked their suits and allowed for them to be loaded onto the ship while they headed for the base's briefing room.
"Dammit, don't we even get to sit down for a break?" Garret muttered as they walked.
"Our operation is scheduled for tomorrow morning, so no" Commander Falcon replied. The four of them arrived at the briefing room where five reds and a white soldier were all waiting.
"Commander Aston Falcon, good to finally meet you" the white-clad soldier said, shaking hands with Aston. The man was tall and well-muscled with a balding head of grey hair. He had several scars on his face, clearly from earlier battles.
"Commander Gerald Lions" Aston replied.
"This is my squad" Gerald said, introducing each pilot. The pilot of the ZAKU was Stephan Louise, a man in his early twenties with short, brown hair. The first GuAIZ pilot was Terrance Kingston, an older man is his forties with grey hair like his commander. He wore a black eye patch over his right eye, an injury from the first war. The second GuAIZ pilot was Raquel Queen, a woman about the same age as Aston with a black bowl cut. One of the DINN pilots was Victor Fiorelli, a young man no older than 18 with short, blonde hair. The final pilot of the squad was Roberto Fiorelli, Victor's twin brother.
"A pleasure to meet all of you, these are my soldiers. Garret Kross, Marcel North and Victoria Mays" Aston said in reply.
"Really, they've got a green fighting with them? This ain't no fight for newbies" Stephan remarked.
"Hey quiet you uptight asshole, she could kick your ass any day!" Marcel snapped, raising his finger to the other pilot.
"Marcel, cut it out! Gerald, I'd appreciate it if your pilot refrains from any such comments in the future" Aston ordered, giving the other commander a threatening look.
"Listen to the man Stephen, we're fighting a war against Purity here, not each other. Mind you Aston, those pilots of yours better know how to follow orders out there, one screw-up and we're all dead" Commander Lions replied. Gerald was a very strict commander, he expected every order he gave to be followed without a moment's hesitation. He often had a habit of ordering his superiors around on the battlefield.
"I'm sure they'll do fine, make sure yours do the same" Aston warned the man.
"They won't disappoint. Now where the hell is that other commander, he's late!" Gerald roared, getting impatient.
"I'm not late you ear-splitting gorilla, I'm right on time" a voice replied from the door. A white haired young man wearing a uniform of the same colour walked into the room followed by a blonde young man about the same age in a black uniform, a slightly younger young woman with purple hair, also a red and a girl with longer reddish hair in a green uniform.
"W...what did you...?!" Gerald went to burst out when the third commander interrupted.
"Commander Yzak Joule, pilot of the GAT-X102 Duel. This is my squad" the white haired young man said.
"I'm Dearka Elsman, pilot of the GAT-X103 Buster Gundam" the blonde pilot said with a small salute. "Interesting looking bunch we've got here…" he commented, looking around at the gathered soldiers.
"Lunamaria Hawke, pilot of the ZGMF-X56S Impulse Gundam" the girl with the shorter hair stated.
"Meyrin Hawke, I pilot a ZAKU" the other girl said, looking around and noticing that there was only one other green uniformed pilot in the room.
"Alright everyone, sit down" Aston said as he, Yzak and Gerald moved to the front of the room. The pilots all obeyed the commander, sitting in the seats set in the room. "Now, let's get this started shall we?" Aston asked, looking to each commander as they nodded. "Our main objective here is to take back the capital city of this state, Sydney, as quickly as possible. Sources within the city have informed us that the Purity forces there have a base on the outskirts of the city where all of their mobile suits and heavy weaponry are kept" Aston explained, bringing up a map on the screen behind him.
"My team and the Falcon Team will be deployed there" Yzak stated, pointing to the part of the map where the base was located. "In the meantime, the Lions Team will be deployed into the city to take out any internal defences they may have deployed. Our sources tell us that inside the city Purity have deployed tanks and heavy guns" he explained.
"It is imperative that we reduce as many civilian casualties and structural damage as possible. Try to destroy defences before they have time to mobilise" Gerald explained. "This means that you must all follow every goddamn order you're given out there!" he said loudly.
"My own team and the Joule Team are to enter the base and destroy all Purity mobile suits as quickly as possible, preferably before they can fight back" Aston explained. "Any questions?" he asked, looking between the soldiers.
"Are the two little greens gonna be able to cut it on the battlefield?" Stephan remarked, looking at Victoria and Meyrin.
"Another comment like that and I'm putting you in solitary for a day" Gerald warned his soldier, a threatening look in his eyes.
"You're all dismissed, be sure to practice atmospheric combat before tomorrow. We move out at 0600" Aston informed them. All of the soldiers rose; saluted and left the room. The members of the Falcon Team entered the hangar where the Ceres was being held and boarded the ship.