A/N: Alright folks, this is what everything has been building towards! This arc is what I consider to be the first major arc of the series, unless you count Loum or the time we spent in the Thunderbolt Sector, which was more a mish-mash of adventures than a defined arc. I'm really looking forward to doing this!

KnightOfZaku: Yes, for one, it was a RWBY reference. Secondly, Lilith will be returning to duty in this arc!

Operation Wyrm Part I: Prelude

"God damn it…" Rose groaned in her bed, the last thing she truly remembered was teasing Lilith about her reluctance to drink, albeit she was pretty sure there were a few drinking games involved, which would explain her massive hang-over.

"Commander." Lilith approached her with a cup, and Rose tentatively sniffed it from her bedside, before shooting straight up and snatching it, Lilith watched impassively as usual.

Rose took a big sip before letting out a sigh of relief, "Honestly, I don't know what I'd do without this stuff."

Lilith didn't reply as Rose finally slid out of her bunk. "What time is it?"

"9:00 AM." Lilith deadpanned, and Rose paled.

"It's nine already?! Why didn't anyone wake me-" Rose finally looked around, only to find most of her team either dead asleep or too hungover to get out of bed.

"Oh man~." Rose gripped her head, the sharp pain of another headache coming in full force. "Man…if I knew hangovers were this bad…"

"Alcohol is a dangerous trap," Lilith said,

"Yeah…traps…" Rose gripped her forehead. "...I feel like that should be a lightbulb-esque moment, but I'm too hungover to pursue it."

"Well, you'll have time to think on it. Major Colmatta wishes to speak to you." Lilith said,

"Ugh…" Rose squeezed her forehead, "Is it too late to call sick leave?"

"-absolute breach of conduct!" Colmatta shouted, causing Rose to wince as the noise brought on another headache. Federico looked on impassively at the tirade.

"What you did last night was irresponsible! Not only did you leave the base without so much as a word to another officer-"

"We didn't even go five miles from the airfield…" Rose groaned,

"-But you also commandeered a military vehicle for this- this- ridiculous outing of yours!"

"We brought it back." Rose whined, "And please, Major, lower your voice, I think I might puke."

Looking up, Rose could've sword a comical plus-shaped vein was forming on the side of his head, then again, that might've been a hang-over induced illusion. She wasn't sure.

"Just…give me a rundown on what happened yesterday." Colmatta sighed,

"Right…right." Rose wobbled before standing up straight, "As you know, we landed a few kilometers from the artillery camp. We had no problems getting there, and we successfully managed to engage in contact with the enemy."

"And then?"

"We were ferreted out. How I don't know. But they figured out we were merely emitting their IFF codes, and we were a Federation Force, and we were forced into combat. We managed to inflict heavy casualties on the 300th Newtype Corps, as well as destroy two Dabudes, and damage a third before retreating." Rose stated,

"I see. Commander, get out of my sight." Colmatta waved her off and Rose gratefully saluted.

In her office, Rose sighed before beginning to replay a video, staring at it with surprisingly sober attentiveness.

'What was different this time?' Rose wondered, she was no fool. She knew that the 300th Newtype Corps had the advantage when it came to skill and experience against them, and their mobile suits weren't the worst either. According to their data, the Gouf had a performance almost twice that of a Zaku and was only barely surpassed by a Ground Type Gundam in many aspects.

Rose watched as the Quad-Stars closed in on her, before pausing and rewinding it, watching Alma retreat.

'This makes no sense…' Rose collapsed on the table,

Rose was laying against the table when she smelled the sudden aroma of the coffee, and a small grin formed on her face.

"Always with the best timing. You really are a Newtype." Rose chuckled,

"Something troubling you commander?" Lilith asked,

"Do you care?" Rose asked, and Lilith didn't respond.

Rose shrugged and began talking anyway. "It doesn't make sense. I've watched the Golden Gundam's combat data for the fifth time now. And cross-referenced it with every mobile suit on the base, but nothing that happens makes sense. Normally, the Zeon Devils are organized and synced fighting force. But now it seems like they're all over the place."

Lilith briefly thought about it and said, "Maybe that in and of itself is what's different."

"...Huh?" Rose raised an eyebrow,

"We caught them off guard, in unfamiliar terrain. The battle was chaotic and they didn't have time to prepare." Lilith explained,

Rose's eyes widened as she took a sudden gulp of her coffee and began scanning the video. Slowly but surely, she realized that Lilith was…right.

She was thinking about this from a loser's perspective. And if there was one thing Rose was not, it was a loser.

Rose's brain was working faster now, combat patterns, strength, everything they did seemed impromptu, with seconds of planning. Newtypes or not, they couldn't predict the future, they could only sense it to an extent, and that was a big difference.

"Lilith. Get me a holo-map. We have work to do." Rose chugged down another round of coffee before slamming it on the table.

Lilith nodded and turned to leave but Rose stopped her.

"Oh, and Lilith," Rose said as Lilith turned to leave.

"Yes?"

"Welcome back to combat operations. If this works…you'll have your chance to earn it."

It was only two hours later that Rose was back in Colmatta's office.

"...Commander." Colmatta gripped the bridge of his nose. "Do you realize what you're proposing here?"

"I'm proposing a shot at turning the tide of the war." Rose said confidently,

"You're proposing a major operation that could potentially allow Zeon to punch a hole the size of Sydney in our frontlines."

"If it succeeds, we can eliminate the majority of the 1st Terrestrial Mobile Division's strength and turn the tide of the war, at least in Europe."

"You realize this will require the coordination of the entire frontline and will have to be vetted by Field Marshal Revil himself?" Colmatta asked,

"Yes, I supposed that would be the case."

Colmatta sighed, "I can't deny its strategic merit. But it's a risk. I'll discuss this with the rest of High Command."

"Ryan…we have a problem." Seven ran up to him with a clipboard.

"Do we have to replace the MS entirely?" Ryan asked, Seven shook her head.

"Nothing like that, but our damaged mobile suits have to be sent to the rear for repairs. And that could take weeks."

"Okay…so what spare suits can we get?" Ryan asked,

"The only ones available are J-Type Zaku Is and IIs. There's enough for everyone in the unit, but still…"

Ryan nodded contemplatively, "This will decrease our combat effectiveness as an elite unit…by a lot."

"I can place an order for them if you want?" Seven asked hopefully,

"Yes, please do that." Ryan nodded, and Seven bounded away to the Weasel, glad to be of use.

A short distance away, the other Quad-Stars watched the two talk.

"Little soldiers…" Gaia muttered, "Does it ever bother you?"

"What does?" Ortega asked,

"Just…think about it. We're practically the oldest people in this unit. The average age here is fifteen or sixteen, the youngest member is seven, and our commander is nineteen." Gaia noted, "It just feels like we're cutting off our nose to spite our face. We have all these young people fighting right now…" Gaia sighed, "...Maybe I'm getting soft, since, you know, I'm probably starting a family once all this is over. It's probably the dad-instincts kicking in early."

The team fell silent before Ortega said: "Maybe that's why we fight." When he received blank stares, "You know…to make sure…there aren't any more 300th Corps. To make sure people don't end up like…well us."

"Isn't that why everyone here fights?" Mash asked suddenly, "To make sure everyone else has a future."

"S'pose it is." Gaia shrugged, "Still…I'd like to think it'd be better if kids weren't the ones making that choice."

"Amen to that," Ortega said, and Mash nodded.

June 18th, UC 0079 - Rittmeister Airbase

"-that's the details of her plan," Colmatta explained to the digital assembly of Federation officers. "I've gone over it and I made-"

"I see." Revil nodded from the screen, cutting Colmatta off. "It's a bold, but extremely risky plan. From what I heard, it's definitely worthy of the Golden Valkyrie."

"You can't be considering this!" A general named Elran shouted, "Such a move could prove devastating for us!"

"But-" Admiral Gopp interrupted, "If this succeeds, we can issue a devastating loss to Zeon."

"Field Marshal Revil." General Issac Graves began, "This is an excellent chance for our forces to win a decisive victory and gain valuable combat data."

"...Very well. Operation Wyrm has been given the go-ahead. Jaburo will confirm the details of this Operation within the week, and will send you the support you need." Revil ordered.

June 20th, UC 0079 - Z.E.A.F Dabude, Odessa

"Is this information accurate?" M'Quve said, at last, finishing reading the report.

"Yes. Multiple Federal channels confirm this information." Uragang explained.

"What about our…agent?" M'Quve asked,

"No contact as of yet," Uragang confirmed,

M'Quve lowered his head behind his hands. "I see…" His eyes narrowed in contemplation, "Get me Rear Admiral Kellerne, Lt. General Von Bohn, and Major General Reuters on the line."

"At once sir!"

"Field Marshal…if this is real then…" Von Bohn trailed off,

"Reconissance flights over the Alpine region have confirmed this." Yuri stated, "Major troop movements are occurring all over Southern Europe."

"This is an opportunity!" Reuters said eagerly, "We can pierce their lines as they do this! We can break the stalemate in Southern Europe!"

Von Bohn nodded, "Field Marshal, Reuters is right. We can't allow this opportunity to slip through our fingers."

M'Quve thought on it somewhat, then looked up at the screen. "Very well. Rear Admiral Kellerne, you are to take your forces through the Gurktal Alps and break through the frontline!"

Yuri, however, looked concerned. "Sir…with all due respect, the 300th Newtype Corps needs replacement mobile suits, without them…"

"They're one unit, Rear Admiral Kellerne. They will survive." M'Quve said dismissively. "You are to move out as soon as possible, understood Admiral?"

Yuri swallowed the bitter taste in his mouth, and nodded.

"Understood…Field Marshal."

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