The first was a tall young man with shoulder length brown hair with a fringe that sat just above his eyebrows. His Orb uniform was in pristine condition making him look almost like a mint condition action figure. His brown eyes looked at the gathered ZAFT soldiers as he approached. Following behind him was middle-aged woman with long, black hair. She wore an Earth Forces uniform and her crystal blue eyes seemed to wander around the dock. The last person in the line was a tall young man with shoulder-length brown hair and blue eyes. He wore a ZAFT flight suit and walked as if he was half-asleep, his eyes gave the same impression. The three gathered behind Mu and stood at attention.
"Go ahead and introduce yourselves" the Admiral said, stepping aside slightly. The Orb soldier was the first to step forward.
"My name is Atticus von Schwarzlang. I am an Orb soldier and pilot an M1A Astray" he spoke. His voice was clear and his tone calm. He spoke with a sense of formality that seemed rather different to a normal soldier. He stepped back and the woman stepped forward.
"Ensign Cassandra Thompson. Earth Federation Forces, Windam pilot" she spoke loudly with a salute. Garret could easily tell she was a seasoned soldier. She stepped back and let the ZAFT pilot come forward.
"Yo! The name's Dante Wolf. I'm a ZAFT soldier like you guys and I fly a GOUF Ignited" the young man said eagerly. His former tiredness had disappeared as he introduced himself. Aston's group introduced themselves in return and Mu again began to speak.
"Now obviously this squad's mission is to take the fight to Purity. However this does not mean it will simply fight any Purity forces that appear. Our mission is to seek out and take key positions that Purity holds. We will assist in defense operations if we can, however we will primarily act as commando unit with no specific attachment to any of the three armies" Admiral La Flaga explained.
"So we're not members of ZAFT anymore?" Marcel asked, slightly confused.
"That is incorrect. You are all still part of your official armies, you will just be acting separately from them for the duration of this mission" Mu explained. Marcel nodded understanding and Mu continued. "For now all operation will occur here on Earth, however should Purity further expand into space, the Ceres crew will move to combat them while the Izanami remains here. I may be in charge of this squad but I will most likely not be joining you in every mission, I will simply be giving you your missions and submitting reports to the higher-ups" he explained.
"Um, excuse me sir, forgive me for interrupting" Victoria said, raising her hand. Mu looked to the girl and she continued. "Um, I know you were a pilot in the first two wars, does that mean you'll be joining us on the battlefield when you are with us?" she asked.
"Should the situation require it then yeah, I guess so" Admiral La Flaga replied with a kind smile. "Now, enough with the explanations. There is a relatively large Purity force heading for Orb and we are going to stop them. I am aware that the Ceres has come under fire lately quite a lot lately and I'm sorry for throwing you into battle straight away but unfortunately it can't be helped, hopefully you can rest for a while after this" Mu said apologetically.
"It is fine Admiral, we can handle ourselves out there" Captain Phillips responded.
"Very well then. I'll board the Izanami and we'll move out straight away, the Purity forces should be here in less than half an hour" Mu said and he led the Izanami pilots onto their ship.
"Let's get back to the Ceres and prepare for combat!" Captain Phillips said and the ZAFT crew ran from the docks. When they arrived back at the ship, the pilots boarded their machine while Richard returned to the bridge.
"We'll need two Guuls for the Duel and my Calamity. All of us will go on the offensive this time but I want Hilde and Marcel ready to return to the Ceres to defend it if necessary" Aston ordered as he checked his suit's systems.
"Let's get this started" Garret spoke as he walked the Duel to the catapult. He waited for its equipment to be loaded then grabbed the controls. "This is Garret Kross in the Duel Gundam, soar!" He called and the grey Gundam was flung out into the air, a Guul following close behind. Garret landed on the aircraft and watched as the other Ceres pilots launched. The Ceres and Izanami sailed side-by-side and Garret could see the other ship's mobile suits standing on the deck. Atticus' blue and white M1A Astray with its large sniper rifle, Cassandra's Windam with a Jet Striker equipped and its beam gun ready and Dante's midnight blue and silver GOUF Ignited with its sword out.
"Wow, it feels kinda unfair that we have Gundams and they have to use mass-produced suits" Marcel said sadly. "Oh well, if they're on this squad they must be pretty good in those things" he continued, shrugging his shoulders. Garret saw Atticus raise the sniper rifle of his suit and gaze through the scope.
"They must have picked up the pace. I can see two Aegis-class ships, two Spengler-classes and one Vosgulov-class submarine just surfaced" the Orb pilot spoke as he gazed onto the horizon. "Multiple mobile suits are deploying from them, both aerial and aquatic" he pointed out.
"You all take care of the mobile suits, the Izanami and Ceres will focus on taking down the ships" all of the pilots heard Admiral La Flaga's voice say. "Show me that all of you were good choices for this job" he said before closing the communication.
"Alright, let's take em down!" Dante called, sending his GOUF flying into the air, closely followed by Cassandra's Windam. The Strike and Chaos followed close behind them while the Duel, Saviour and Sword Calamity hovered near the Izanami.
"Garret, I want you to remain here and protect the Astray, don't let anything get close while he's lining up shots" Commander Falcon said, tapping the Duel on the shoulder as he flew past.
"Roger!" Garret said in response as he lowered himself slightly closer to the Izanami.
"Boom" Atticus said as he pulled the trigger on his rifle. Garret watched as the round flew a large distance before tearing through the cockpit of a DINN just about to launch from one of the Spengler-class ships.
"Wow… I could barely see that guy" Garret said in awe, watching the explosion. "Why did you aim for that one, not one of the closer ones?" the blonde pilot asked.
"When that one that exploded, it would have badly damaged the launch bay it was standing in as well as the surrounding hull of the ship" Atticus explained as he began lining up another shot. Garret nodded in understanding and looked around for any approaching suits or missiles.
Aston flew amongst the Purity forces that were rapidly deploying. His twin swords cleaved through torsos and limbs causing explosions all around him. He turned to dispatch a Windam but before he could, Marcel shot it down with his gunbarrels. "Sorry Commander, but you're too slow!" Marcel commented, flying past him.
"Aren't I supposed to be the ace here?" he asked, following the green Gundam. The Aile Strike flew forward and Victoria attempted to shoot down several Purity mobile suits with its rifle, but the enemy machines kept dodging her attacks.
"Come on, sit still" the brunette pilot commented, trying to hit her opponents. She put her beam rifle away and sped forward with one of her sabres. She rammed her shield into an enemy Murasame and then quickly drove her sabre down through the top of its head. "Yeah that's right!" she said triumphantly as she flew away before it exploded. Dante soared past her and flicked out his heat whip, piercing the flight pack of an enemy GOUF before he sliced through its torso with his sword.
"You ok there?" he asked Victoria, flying level with her.
"Yes I'm alright, they just don't wanna sit still" Victoria replied, blocking a strike from a Windam's beam sabre before countering with her own.
"We're firing the Tristans! Allied forces get clear of the line of fire!" Richard's voice called to the pilots. They quickly spread out as four large beams tore through the enemy mobile suits, destroying several of them as well as the two Spengler-class ships.
"There were aquatic suits too right, where are they?" Garret asked, scanning the water.
"Not to mention, where are their Gundams? I haven't seen any yet" Atticus added, using the scope of his rifle to examine the remaining ships. The fight went on for almost an hour until all of the visible Purity ships and mobile suits were destroyed. Several aquatic suits had attempted to sink the Izanami and Ceres with a surprise attack from the rear but they were stopped by Garret, Atticus and Hilde.
"Alright then, that was well done. All forces return" Mu spoke to his troops when the battle was over. The pilots all returned to their respective suits and disembarked from their mobile suits. When the Ceres pilots reached the bridge, Captain Phillips was waiting for them.
"We've been granted one week's break here in Orb. You all have permission to leave the ship so feel free to do as you please" the Captain spoke.
"But what if Purity attacks in that time?" Garret asked.
"Then your vacation will be cut short" Richard replied, taking his seat again. "Dock the ship! Secure all mobile suits cargo in the hangar!" he called to the bridge crew who frantically typed away and relayed orders to other sections of the ship. The pilots all saluted the Captain and then left the bridge.
"Alright, we finally get a vacation after all this damn fighting" Marcel said. The others shared his enthusiasm, after fighting nonstop for so long it would be good to be able to rest for a while. "So where do we go then?" he asked, looking between his comrades.
"Well, I do believe I have a good idea" Aston spoke, walking up to the other pilots, a mischievous grin on his face.
"You're coming too Commander?" Victoria asked, looking at the crimson haired man.
"Is there a problem with that?" Aston asked in response. Victoria stepped back and her cheeks turned slightly red in embarrassment.
"N..no of course not sir!" Victoria said, feeling even more embarrassed when everyone started laughing.
"So then, what's the plot you're dragging us into?" Garret asked as the group began walking down the corridor leading away from the bridge.
"Now that's a surprise, all of you go get some casual clothes on and meet me in the hangar" Aston said, breaking off from the group. "Oh, and that's an order" he said before rounding a corner.
"Well, you heard the Commander, let's get changed and get our vacation on!" Marcel said eagerly, charging down the corridor towards his room.
"Victoria, would you have any casual clothes I could borrow for a little bit? I don't have any outfits with me" Hilde asked, looking at the brunette girl.
"Of course, we'll have to take you shopping while we're here" Victoria replied, leading the purple haired pilot to her room.
"Everyone's excited to get this break, I can't blame them. It'll be nice to let our hair down, even if it's only for a little while" Garret said with a smile. After twenty minutes or so the pilots gathered in the hanger around Aston. The Commander stood near a sapphire blue convertible dressed in black pants, a white singlet and a blue, denim jacket. He stared at the other pilots through the red sunglasses he wore.
"You all took your time. Let's get going" Aston said, climbing into the driver's seat of the car.
"I call shotgun!" Garret called, running and vaulting over the door into the seat next to Aston.
"Wow… how old are you?" Victoria asked, climbing into the far left-hand seat in the back. Hilde sat next to her and Marcel on the right-hand side. Aston turned the car on and sped out of the Ceres' hangar as the door opened. The Commander steered the car with expertise through the streets, the wind blowing through the hair of the pilots as he sped up.
"Commander, are you even sticking to the speed limit?" Marcel asked, trying to see the vehicle's speedometer.
"Of course I am" he said curtly. "Now first thing's first, as long as we're on vacation you can all call me Aston instead of Commander, you can abandon the formalities for now" the red-haired man said.
"I don't think I'm ever gonna get over seeing you out of uniform" Marcel said, looking at Aston and shaking his head. The five ZAFT pilots passed the time of the car ride with idle chatter until Aston parked the car in front of a large three story building. Above the front door was a large rectangular sign with the word 'Karaoke' written in large neon lights.
"Whoa wait a second, we're gonna do karaoke?!" Marcel blurted out, seeing the sign.
"But if this was the Commander… I mean Aston's idea, does that mean he's going to sing?" Victoria asked, looking at the crimson haired man as he stepped out of the vehicle.
"Of course, now come on, we're wasting time" Aston said, heading inside the building.