Once more, thanks to Xomniac for the help in writing this thing.

Let's go!

~O~

EIGHT MONTHS UNTIL KUDELIA'S TRIP TO EARTH

Near the coast of Antarctica, uncharted island…

Sometimes, Deira Nadira wondered if she couldn't have performed her noble and glorious self-exile to some other place that was less of a frozen hellhole than Antarctica. Maybe some place with more sunlight, normal temperatures and no winds that threatened to flash-freeze her bones. Unfortunately, or somewhat fortunately, these thoughts were always squashed by the reminder that Gjallarhorn controlled most, if not all of said sunny territory, meaning she'd be discovered in a flash, and all the work to erase her traces from the world would have been for naught.

It still did nothing to ease the cold.

But if there was one thought always pushing her forward with this decision, was that this was the best path to finding the one person that mattered more in her life than revenge against Gjallarhorn in the name of her family: her fiancé… Mina Zalmfort.

Somewhere out there, be it on Earth or the colonies… Mina was waiting for her. Waiting for her to return, so they could finally have the marriage they had promised to one another. And Deira would be damned if she'd let Gjallarhorn stop her from getting revenge… And justice.

Sadly, these aspirations had long been put on hold by one large problem: there was very little Deira could do. Without her family's resources, need to keep an extremely low profile, and a severe lack of allies meant that all she could do was hide herself… Herself, and the one thing she had managed to steal away, hidden away beneath the ice near her compound for when the time was right. For now, however, Deira's life consisted of only a few simple activities: hide away in her compound alongside what few loyal Gjallarhorn members had stayed by her side, make a few supply runs from time to time, and check her scant surveillance equipment for whatever intel she had managed to gather. Overall, not a very glamorous life… But it was what Deira had for now, and what she would have to contend with for a long time.

Still, there were some creature comforts to be had that made the passage of time somewhat less monotonous: There was a fairly good selection of books to read, the combat simulator kept her occupied and her skills sharp… And the television, piggybacking off public signals so that some channels could be watched.

Or, when the time was right, to pick up the transmissions of that lunatic, Solomon.

It had been quite a shock to see someone so brazenly and openly challenge Gjallarhorn, especially during a time so filled with turmoil as now. Even more so when, instead of looking like some nutjob with a camera, this time they seemed very much well-informed, well-prepared, and not afraid to fire back. And while Deira had yet to risk attempting to enter their offered database, the conviction behind their words painted a good picture of just how correct their information likely was.

But who was Solomon? Where had they come from, and what was their goal? Were they really only aiming to expose Gjallarhorn's corruption and crimes, or was their objective something more insidious?

Well, if there was one thing Deira knew, it was that the answers wouldn't come to her if she just kept sitting here, staring at the television as yet another report on Gjallarhorn's hunt for Solomon that had ended in failure played on the screen. With a sigh, Deira turned off the TV, and rose from her chair, slowly moving towards the door…

And then the TV turned on again.

The suddenness of the noise made Deira stumble with her steps, the woman turning around to stare at the once-more present image of a reporter speaking, this time about the stock market and its ups and downs. With no small amount of confusion, Deira walked back to her chair, took hold of the controller and pressed on the power button once more. And just like before, the screen turned off… Then back again.

"What the…"

"Apologies for the interruption, miss Nadira."

The distorted voice coming from the TV almost made Deira jump out of her skin, her grip on the controller tightening to vise-like strength as the image on the screen began distorting and breaking apart, slowly being replaced by a pure-black background… And that now infamous sigil, code slowly bleeding from its edges.

"I am thankful, however, that I've finally managed to reach you," continued the voice, the symbol pulsing lightly as every word was spoken. "While I understand the need for secrecy, considering your current situation, it certainly made contacting you quite a hassle."

"You… How did you—"

"Find this place? Information gathering has been more than a pastime of mine for the longest time, and if I may say so, you are quite a person of interest to me."

It was hard to tell through the heavy electronic distortion, but Deira swore that there was more than a healthy dose of mirth in Solomon's tone as they spoke, though it did not lower her suspicion of the stranger who had now broken into her compound from somewhere, somehow negating all the efforts she had taken to hide her presence from the entire world. Nevertheless, with a quick moment to take a breath, Deira returned to her chair and sat down, staring intently at the screen as her thoughts began to race. "Alright… What do you want with me, then? I can already tell this isn't a mere friendly call… If you would ever do those."

Solomon's response was a garbled chuckle from the other end of the line, before a few images began appearing on-screen. And even after a year, the sight of the destroyed and wrecked shuttle floating listlessly in space made Deira's hands clench tightly, and her breath hitch for the briefest of moments.

"Let us talk about your exile… And your heirloom you stole when you escaped."

-O-

Lagrange Point 4, colony cylinder Melus 2…

"Thank you for your services, mister Fossil. Payment has been wired to your account as requested."

"You're welcome, chairman. If you're in need of further services, feel free to contact me again."

With a small bow of his head, the elderly man shut off the communication, leaving Zaza Fossil alone with his thoughts as he took hold of the cup of coffee next to him and sipped from it, feeling the warm liquid heat up his mouth and throat as it went down, before heaving out a tired, drawn-out sigh.

"Zaza? Is everything alright?"

Any negative thoughts were quickly squashed, however, by the almost cherubic voice of the petite blonde girl sitting beside him, staring at the mercenary with those emotional, worry-filled eyes of hers, a small mug of tea held tightly in her small hands.

"It's fine, just… Tired, is all," replied Zaza, making sure that his tone conveyed exactly what he had said, even as he put one hand atop of the girl's head and ruffled her hair lightly. "Just need a night of sleep and a good meal, that's all."

"Okay… You wanna go back now, then?"

"… Alright. Let's get going, then."

With a nod, the girl drank the last contents of her cup, her cheeks flushing lightly from the warmth of the tea, before carefully pushing her chair away from the table and hopping onto the floor, making sure that her dress did not get hitched anywhere, while Zaza emptied his own mug in one go, placed a few bills on the table for the server, then took hold of the girl's hand and walked her out of the small café they had entered not an hour ago.

As Zaza walked through the streets of the colony's commercial districts, the lamp lights slowly coming alive as the cylinder shifted to its night cycle, he couldn't help but give fleeting glances to the sides and behind them, eyes always attentive to any possible ambushes that could come their way, all the while making sure that the weight of his concealed handgun was still where it was supposed to, inside the pocket of his coat.

Normally, one wouldn't really worry too much about this sort of danger. After all, even with the inherent corruption of the system and Gjallarhorn's heavy-handed attitude to security, the more affluent colonies very rarely had major crimes happen so brazenly. After all, the colonies were one of the biggest economical symbols of Earth, and it'd do no good to have their image sullied by such things as a common citizen being mugged or shot in the middle of the streets.

But then again, Zaza wasn't quite a common citizen, regardless of his status as a free-lance mercenary. Especially with his current ward… Not to mention his prying into other sensitive matters. In the end, however, all Zaza could do was stay vigilant, keep his wits sharp, and make sure that they never drew too much attention to themselves.

With that in mind, as the artificial darkness of the colony finally fell upon its streets, the night-goers filling into the sidewalks and cars began passing by with increasing frequency, Zaza and the girl quickened their pace towards the apartment they had been staying at for the last two months, always mindful of crowds or bends with blind spots, until finally, the duo reached the ten-story building they for now called home. With a quiet sigh and a small relaxing of his shoulders, Zaza led the girl into the atrium of the building, giving a polite nod to the doorman as they passed before entering the elevator and pressing the button to the eighth floor.

"Hey, Zaza?" asked the girl aloud, once more staring at him with those worry-filled eyes. "Are we… Going to leave again?"

"No, not this time," he replied calmly, lightly shifting his body around as he watched the floor counter go up. "We've got plenty of time to stay here, so don't worry about it." The girl, in response, let out a hum of acceptance, then let her gaze lower back towards the door as she waited alongside him for their floor. Moments later, the bell inside the elevator pinged and the doors slid open, allowing Zaza and the girl to enter the hallway that led to their room, their feelings slowly rising in positivity…

That is, until Zaza put his arm in front of the girl, almost making her stumble onto the floor, as he quickly withdrew his pistol from within his coat.

The reason for both his actions being quite simple: the light of their apartment was on.

Pressing a finger to his lips, Zaza crept forward towards the door, even as the girl gave a shaky nod and hid herself in one of the hallway's alcoves, until finally he was right beside the door. Carefully and slowly, Zaza reached for the door handle and gently twisted it until it was enough to open the door, but to his surprise, the door was still locked. Undeterred, Zaza took the key from his pocket, carefully slid it into the lock, and turned, the soft click being thankfully muffled by the low speed of the action, until finally the door came open.

With practiced ease, Zaza slipped into the room with his gun at the ready, quickly sweeping it across the apartment in search of hostiles… But yet again, to his surprise, there was no one. For a moment, panic gripped the mercenary's heart, and he almost dashed out of the apartment to check on the girl… But she was still there, unharmed, staring at Zaza with deep concern and gripping the edge of the alcove as tight as her hands could.

So, steeling his mind one last time, Zaza moved into the apartment and began methodically sweeping all rooms for danger: bathrooms, kitchen, bedrooms, living room… All of them checked, and all of them clear of any sign of intruders, or that anyone had been inside. No furniture moved, no objects disturbed… All that was changed was the lights being on.

"I-Is it safe, Zaza?" called out the girl from the hallway, already peeking her head around the door's frame. And while for a moment longer, the mercenary did not respond, he finally lowered his weapon and gave the girl a nod.

"Yes… It's safe. You can come in, Mina."

With a shaky nod of her own, Mina walked into the apartment, her eyes glued to the pistol in Zaza's hand even as he placed it back into its holster inside his coat and threw himself onto the sofa, kneading his forehead almost furiously. "I'm sorry… I never meant for things to be this way…"

"It's… It's alright, Zaza…" she replied in return, carefully walking towards Zaza and taking hold of one of his hands. "I know you try your best… And that no matter what happens, you'll help me… So don't be too hard on yourself, okay?"

And with that, Mina threw her arms around Zaza's neck and pulled him into as tight a hug as she could, earning a gasp and widened eyes from the mercenary as he looked at the young girl hanging from his neck… And in response, awkwardly put his arms around her, lightly brushing one of his hands against her hair.

He might not be the most compassionate person… He might not be the most approachable… But Zaza Fossil knew one thing: That no matter what… He would keep this girl save.

To the end of his life, and until he found the answers he had been looking for… Zaza Fossil would fight on… Him, and his Gundam.

"Very cute, very cute!"

Both Zaza and Mina, however, found their hearts jumping to their throats as they heard the high-pitched, almost child-like voice cry out inside the apartment, followed by a strange orange ball jumping out from within the laundry basket inside the bedroom and rolling all the way to them, stopping just shy of Zaza's feet as it stared at the two with its small, slit-shaped eyes.

"Message for you! Message for you!" it cried out happily yet again, and before either Zaza or Mina could do or say anything, the small ball opened up its "mouth", revealing a keyboard and screen inside itself, the latter which was showing a single green line, that began to shift and move as a garbled voice echoed from unseen speakers in the ball.

"Hello there, Zaza Fossil. Or perhaps you'd rather be called Zadiel Zalmfort? I only request that you do not destroy this machine in retaliation, as it is quite important to me."

Fortunately for the mysterious voice, and unfortunately for the two it was addressing, both Zaza and Mina were unable to properly take action against the ball machine. The reason, of course, being that both Zalmforts were staring with earth-shattering terror at the revealed intruder that had oh-so casually revealed a secret the older brother had literally killed to maintain. And as if sensing their horror, the voice continued its speech.

"You need not worry, my boy. Your secrets are known only to me, and no one else in the entire solar system. I am only here, of course, to extend an invitation to you… And I assure you, it will be in your best interest to accept this, pilot of the Dantalion. After all, your sister's bride misses her very dearly."

-O-

Deep space, uncharted routes between Mars and Earth…

"Found the container, boss, seems intact."

"Good. Check the contents and make sure nobody stole from the damn thing."

Not all jobs are exciting or mother loads, those were the words Gianmarco's grandfather had passed down to him, so many years ago. And while he certainly knew that it was true, it did not make the jobs any less boring.

Gianmarco was a man of simple pleasures and comforts: women, drink, food and a steady stream of pirates who thought themselves lucky enough to try and shoot him down. He didn't need a big job, or some top leadership seat in a huge organization, that was too much responsibility and trouble for the payoff it gave. No, Gianmarco would rather stick with being an underling with freedom… Provided his boss proved to be reliable and paid his dues, of course.

Thankfully, so far McMurdo Barristan had proven himself to be a good boss, making sure that Gianmarco was free to come and go, provided he picked up the call whenever Teiwaz needed his services.

Today, however, was not one such day. No, instead he had received an independent job offer from a small shipping company, requesting retrieval of cargo lost in-transit between Mars and the colonies. Apparently it had fallen off the transport ship mid-transit due to a pirate raid, and the container's transponder had just fired off, marking it still lost in space, and with its contents apparently being of "sensitive nature", the company had paid a handsome amount to have it done completely under the radar. By all accounts, it was a completely bog-standard off-records job for recovering contraband or merchandise that skirted the law, nothing new to it.

And yet… Gianmarco couldn't help but feel like there was something a bit… More to this job. If the company had hired him to hunt down the pirate ship itself, or if a larger number of containers had been lost, then it would make more sense. But just one, and in uncharted space, rather than official trade routes?

Something was weird.

Still, the only way he'd get his answers was to complete the job. So, just one week after accepting the offer and following the transponder signal, the Mercurius had found the container floating aimlessly adrift, with no apparent signs of ambushes or remains of a battle. By all accounts, an easy job.

Strangely easy.

So, rather than fully committing with all his Mobile Suits, Gianmarco chose instead to send the two best pilots aboard his ship. That the two were Human Debris was a sad thing, but what can one do?

Besides, their contract was dirt cheap, like their handler didn't know what they were worth. Oh well, his loss.

"Keep an eye out for any surprises while you haul that thing back, you two. I'll meet you at the hangar," said the mercenary captain aloud as he watched the two Hakuri Rodis flying back towards the Mercurius with the container in tow, quickly leaving the bridge moments later to make his way down to the Mobile Suit hangar of the ship.

Thankfully, the trip did not take long at all, and in barely minutes Gianmarco found himself floating through the door that lead into the warship's hangar and into the midst of the many Labrys suits he had acquired throughout the years, alongside his own machine, the Kallisto, and the two Hakuri Rodis that had also just arrived moments before him and were now moving towards their respective docking areas, their weapons already holstered, while the container they had dragged with them laid in the middle of the hangar's floor, a few of the security guards already circling the container with their rifles at the ready, just in case some nasty surprise was waiting for them all. Before either of the Rodi machines were docked, however, both their pilots threw themselves out of their cockpits and floated down to meet their employer.

One was a young man, wearing a wine-colored beanie with a brown cartoon mouse embroidered at the front, and his pilot suit fully closed. The other was a young woman, whose own pilot suit had its torso open to reveal both her neckline, and the low-hanging yellow shirt. Both had equal physical traits to each other: brown hair, brown skin and clear green eyes, and even their height near equal, though whereas the man held a more calm and reserved air to himself, the woman had a cock-sure, carefree expression as she lazily hovered over beside him, both of them stopping just short of Gianmarco.

"So, boss, we got the job done," said the girl cheerfully, hands on her hips as she watched the workers screen the container. "Do we get paid for it now?"

The response she got, however, was neither was she expected, nor did it come from Gianmarco. Instead, the young man beside her thrust his elbow onto her side, casting an annoyed glance at the girl before refocusing his attention onto the ship captain. "I don't know what was in that thing, captain, but you sure the job's for real? Seemed a bit too easy, honestly…"

"You're preaching to the choir, Sampo," replied Gianmarco with a wave of his hand, his eyes locked firmly on the technicians as they began the process of opening the container, the faintest hint of air escaping from the seals around the metal box. "But all the digging I did got me nothing out of place, and things are quiet around us for miles. We'll ask for answers when we deliver this thing to the owners."

And so, the three watched as, slowly and carefully, the container's door was opened, even more steam wafting from the side of the metal box, until finally its insides were revealed.

And after a long moment of silence, Yuhana Hakuri could not rein herself in any longer, quickly breaking down in hysterical laughter as, with mixed amounts of surprise, her brother Sampo and Gianmarco stared at the empty container… Well, empty, save for the single briefcase laying at the far back of the container, secured only by a chain bolted to the wall.

"… Well… Least I know why it was so easy to bring it here…" muttered the male twin as he scratched his chin, only briefly turning to give his sister a stink-eye before Gianmarco snapped his fingers towards one of the workers, who in return gave a nod, took aim with his rifle and fired a single round at the briefcase. To no surprise, the bullet bounced off of it, though the dent left behind was a good indicator that, at the very least, they could shoot it into pieces.

"Any traces of explosives or something in there?" asked the ship captain, his eyes never leaving the floating briefcase even as it knocked onto one of the walls of the container.

"None at all, boss. The whole thing's clear."

"Hmm…"

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, Gianmarco stepped into the container and moved to the briefcase, quickly grabbing hold of it and checking the thing over. To his surprise, it wasn't anything really special: just a standard, if extremely durable, briefcase. The lock was just a small latch, no passkey lock, keyhole or scanner visible anywhere, and the chain attached to it was likewise a completely normal chain, nothing special at all.

All of which begged the question, why had Gianmarco been paid to retrieve this?

"… Ah, the hell with it…"

So, with an annoyed growl, Gianmarco undid the latches and ripped the briefcase open, revealing…

… A note.

An honest-to-goodness paper note, with words scribbled on it with regular pen ink.

To Gianmarco Salermo,

Thank you for finding this note

Let's have a chat, shall we?

Solomon

Below that, there was a specific LCS frequency number, one he never had seen before, but that Gianmarco was acutely aware of who would pick up on the other side, and a specific date and time.

And for a fleeting moment, he wondered if he should bring booze to this call, and how likely it was that Yuhana would steal it if she found it.

-O-

SIX MONTHS UNTIL KUDELIA'S TRIP TO EARTH

Mars, hidden ex-Force Nest…

"You can do this… C'mon, you can do this, you got this shit in the bag, let's go…"

Normally, Serena wouldn't freak out about having a meeting with possible allies. It was standard routine in GBN for Force leaders to meet with one another when it came to forging alliances or organizing specific events, like a Force-sponsored event… Or the recruitment of an entire army to fight for or against the right to live of spontaneously generated Ais, but that was beside the point.

What made this meeting different from those was the slight difference in that this was real life, her entire plan hinged on getting the help of all these people she had almost blackmailed into joining the call, and that if she fucked it up, would drop her chances of survival into a brand new low that she would certainly need a lot of alcohol to cope with.

In the days leading to this one, Serena swore that if she ever met the asshole that dropped her ass in here, she was gonna give them a piece of her mind… Plus a few handgun shots, just for good measure. It probably wouldn't work, but it'd be cathartic as all hell.

So instead, here she was: having a mild anxiety episode ten minutes before her meeting with four potential allied groups to a cause she started as an impulse more than anything. And she couldn't even drink to get my nerves under control.

So, overall, peachy.

"Boss, boss! Calm down, calm down!" cried out some of the Haros as they rolled by, their work with tuning the Valefor done for the day. One of them, a purple model, scooted closer and jumped onto Serena's lap, his little arms stretching out from beneath his ears to wrap around her waist.

It took all her willpower not to squee furiously.

Serena may now look like a demon woman who could bench-press anyone into oblivion, but she still had her weaknesses.

"Heh… Thanks, buddy," she chuckled softly to the robot, giving him a gentle pat before placing him back on the ground, watching him roll away with his friends back to the charge station, and leaving her once more alone with her now thankfully calmed thoughts, and the computer terminal that would soon put her in contact with her targets. So, with one last check of her uniform and a swish of her hair to expose her horns, Serena laid her hands atop the B-Veda terminal and let the information flow onto her brain, her eyes flashing into the familiar nebula gold that she had now grown used to seeing in the mirror.

Moments later, the LCS began pinging.

"Alright Veda, start scrambling the signals and encrypt everything… It's go time."

One by one, the screens came alive, and to Serena's relief, all four had joined in: Deira Nadira sat alone in her bedroom, dressed in a standard piloting suit and with a professionally neutral look, while on the screen beside hers was Zaza Fossil, his arms crossed and brow creased in obvious displeasure, and Mina nowhere in sight, unsurprisingly.

Below the two ex-Gjallarhorns were the two mercenary groups in her interest list. On one side, Gianmarco Salermo, slouched on his sofa and dressed casually in civilian clothes. On the other side, the packed group that was Volco Warren, Argi Mirage, Nanao Narolina and Liarina Morugaton, sitting around a metal table of what seemed to be a hastily put together meeting room.

And of course, once all four parties laid their eyes on the woman with monochromatic hair, two devil horns jutting out from her forehead, and the now-infamous golden eyes swirling with light, they couldn't help but react in their own little ways, all of which brought a light smirk to Serena's face.

"Greetings, all of you," she said aloud with just a hint of pride in her voice, while being immensely thankful that she did not stutter right out of the gate. "Now, I believe all of you are aware of what I am, but for the sake of politeness, allow me to introduce myself yet again: my name is Serena Durandal, CEO of Jormungandr Security Solutions, and recently-started revolutionary and political activist. I'd like to welcome you all to this meeting, hopefully the first of many."

"You're Solomon?" asked Liarina aloud, her eyes roaming over Serena's body, stopping just a tad longer on her horns, while from behind Serena swore she heard Argi mutter He's a woman…?, something that clearly did not escape Liarina's ears, considering the slap she aimed at his head the moment after.

"Well, unless you are able to name to me someone else with eyes like mine, or who'd use the same frequency as the ones I've offered to you, yes that would be me."

"Heh… Well, this is certainly interesting," chuckled Gianmarco as he leaned forward and took hold of a bottle of cognac and glass sitting in front of him. "And here I was, expecting some nut job with a few screws loose."

"We have yet to see if that is not true," said Zaza with, unsurprisingly, a cold and suspicious tone. "Before you begin your little sales, I want to know how you found us, or even knew either I or Deira were alive."

And that was a good question, no? How could Serena explain the fact that, contrary to the rest of the Solar System, and the intelligence agency of the biggest paramilitary organization in recent human history, she was aware of the two being very much alive, and where to find them. Obviously, the truth would be "my quantum computer hacked every electronic device currently existing until I found all of you, or trails leading to you", but that was a can of worms that Serena didn't want to open any time soon.

So, what lie could she tell instead?

"Because I am a woman with a vested interest in Gjallarhorn's activities, mister Fossil. And believe me, when major incidents occur, no matter how thorough they believe themselves to be, even they leave traces and trails." With a wave of her hand, several pictures came up on their screens, showcasing summaries and mock-ups of investigations performed onto many of Gjallarhorn's activities, chief of which were the loss of flight N323 around the Avalanche colonies seven years ago, the suppression of an uprising in the Marden colonies of restless workers that led to the fall of Morugaton Heavy Industries and subsequent embezzlement charges levied against the Warren family, and of course, the growing number of protests taking place on Mars, particularly the strange bouts of violence that seemed to erupt in the midst of peaceful demonstrations.

As expected, many of them got reactions from the four parties, particularly from the ex-Gjallarhorn side of the table, for try as they might, they couldn't hide the narrowing of eyes or gritting of teeth at the sight of the images. And though Serena did not enjoy the emotional manipulation… Well, it would certainly be useful.

That the investigations were half-bogus due to not being a year-long process, but instead having been put together in the last few months through highly illegal hacking and destruction of companies, was the smallest part of the lie.

"Of course, I'm not stupid to think I can do it alone. So, I started digging for traitors, exiles, for others who had suffered just as much under the banner of Gjallarhorn and their laws, or due to the world they created and maintained. After that, it was a simple matter of following the trails back to all of you… Or in the case of Gianmarco, see his portfolio. No offense of course, mister Salermo."

"None taken, lady."

"That still doesn't explain why you'd choose us," said Deira as she leaned forward on her couch. "Even if some of us are ex-Gjallarhorn, we don't have much to offer in return. You said it yourself, we're just exiles, we barely have the clothes on our backs."

"Not to mention, miss Durandal, that if you are to ask that we join your movement, you must offer an equal or greater repayment," added Nanao, the maid-slash-mercenary lightly brushing aside one lock of hair from her face as she stared at Serena with that unnerving smile she seemed so practiced with. "After all, this is quite a dangerous proposal you are offering to us, no?"

Giving a quick nod as a response, Serena made a show to touch some of the keyboards around her, typing out believable keys even as she sent Veda a few quick thoughts, the quasi-AI in return sending the four parties the pre-prepared information packages she had built over the last few weeks. As she watched them open said packages and skim their eyes over them, Serena took no small amount of pride and joy at the widening eyes or hanging mouths as they saw just how much she was willing to offer in return.

"Your vendettas? Your revenge quests, your calls for justice? Join me, and I will see them all answered. Because I can and will see them through, have no doubt of that." For extra measure, Serena leaned forward just so, giving the four screens a chilling glare and a smirk, which served to at least put Liarina on edge. "I don't care if you ask me to personally tear off the head of the Seven Stars family leaders, as long as you join me… I'll fulfill your wishes."

"As for why I chose you all, specifically… I believe I've made that clear, no?"

This time, she decided to be theatrical. With a wave of her hand, images began appearing on the screens, each one a detailed blueprint of a specific Mobile Suit, with a highly-detailed sigil behind them, and all were unique to each receiver.

"Dantalion, Astaroth, Gremory, Vual… Time and again, in times of conflict and strife, the machines known as Gundam emerged from the shadows, forcing change into the world as civilization lived through turning points in their history. If I… If we are to burn away the corruption of this sick, twisted world, then a tool of change will be required… And the Gundams shall be those tools." And for a final blow, she showed them all her own machine, kneeling but fully restored, a rarity in this age, and let a feral grin split her lips. "There are many more waiting to be awakened, of course… But I've already taken some precautions to guarantee they align with us."

"Three hundred years ago, the Gundams marched to war and saved humanity from devastation. I ask that they do so once more… To save us from ourselves."

It was no surprise, of course, that Argi directed a furious glare at the pictured Mobile Suits, his metal hand creaking softly with how tight he clenched it, no doubt from the undoubtedly unearthed memories of the shuttle accident from so many years ago, but Serena still decided to take advantage of the silence to draw back attention to the matters at hand. "In return, of course, I expect your cooperation with this organization. Not monetary, of course, I assure you all that in that front I am very much well off, but in terms of actions, information, and overall participation. If you are called upon, I expect you to answer such a call."

"Resources will also be made available to you so that you may undertake your agendas or goals, but I will make it clear to all of you: if they would interfere with any long-term goals, there will be compromises made for them. I will not sacrifice our end goal for your personal vendettas. And if any of you consider betrayal, well…"

And for a moment, regardless of their past or training, all the present parties felt a shiver travel up their spine as they stared at the golden-eyed woman, whose glare seemed to bore into their soul, not helped by how they swore they could see the shadow of a Mobile Suit looming over Serena.

"I certainly hope your affairs are in order."

With her part said, Serena leaned back onto her chair, putting her arms atop the armrests as she gauged the reactions of the four parties. And as she expected, they ran the gamut, whether it was Gianmarco and Nanao's amusement, Liarina's uncertainty or even Zaza and Volco's visible suspicion and anger.

But to her surprise, the first to speak was neither of them.

"… If we help you…"

It was Argi.

The young man's eyes were glued to the image of the Astaroth, hands no longer tightened but instead hanging limply beside his body. "If we help you do this… Will you help me find out who killed my family…?"

After a long moment of silence, Serena's features softened, and she looked at Argi with a far more sorrowful and understanding look. "Yes. I will," she said softly, before turning her attention back to Zaza and Deira. "All of you… I'll find your answers, whatever it takes."

Thankfully, that seemed to be enough, at least for now. After a long pause, all the members of the call gave nods, with Deira being the first one to speak up. "Alright… What's the plan, then?"

"You will stay where you are. Right now, moving you is too risky, Gjallarhorn would pick up any attempts and that would ruin our secrecy," began explaining Serena as she thought the timetables onto the screen. "Zaza, stay on Melus 2 for now, once the time is right I'll give you a signal to head to Dort."

"Dort?" asked the Zalmfort heir with a raised eyebrow. "That place is a hornet's nest, the workers' movement keeps getting more radical."

"Indeed, and by now the Arianrhod Fleet should be preparing their little clean up massacre. But I can assure you, very soon the perfect opportunity for us to join up will present itself… Just as it will for Deira, not much later. But until then, keeping a low profile will be your best choice."

Even as she spoke, Serena could see the stares filled with curiosity aimed at her by some of the other people, and even suspicion from Volco, but thankfully Zaza and Deira both gave nods as a response, which took some of the pressure off of Serena's chest. "Moving on, then… Gianmarco, I take it your contract with Teiwaz will go on for a while longer?"

"Yeah, old man Barristan offered up a pretty good paycheck for me, so don't expect me to drop him for you," said the mercenary, only for a playful grin to grow across his face. "Unless of course, you wanna top his offer?"

Serena's response, of course, was to chuckle and wave her hand. "You're worth a lot, Gianmarco, but not that much."

"Heh… Is that so?"

"Besides, you being there means I have an easy line to McMurdo if I need… Which I will. So try not to fuck things up, you hear?"

The guffaw the man gave in return was all the answer the ex-Diver needed, so she instead turned finally to the last group, and snapped her fingers, making several documents appear on their end. "Those are passports and landing documents for all of you, plus your ship. Head to Mars, we'll rendezvous at Chryse, and I'll have the Astaroth brought in for a tune-up and calibration."

"So we'll be the only ones meeting up for now?" asked Liarina as she skimmed the offered documents, and thankfully far calmer than when Serena's speech had been happening.

"Correct. You'll be hired out by Jormungandr Security Services, my company, so that your stay can be legalized, and from there it'll be easier to coordinate our movements. We'll keep the ship in orbit alongside the Adler, and wait until we can finally make our first move."

"I still have one question, however," interjected Volco, one hand rubbing over the scar on his forehead. "You keep talking about changing this world, but how do you intend to do that? Even if Solomon is growing in infamy, a masked philosopher isn't much of a charismatic figure."

And though she knew that that tidbit was still a road that would need to be traversed with utmost care, Serena couldn't contain the chuckle that rose past her lips, her nebula-like eyes seeming to shine even brighter as a thought crossed her mind.

"Oh, no need to worry about that, mister Warren. Let's just say I already have someone quite… Influential in my sights."

-O-

FIVE MONTHS UNTIL KUDELIA'S TRIP TO EARTH

Bernstein Estate, city of Chryse…

[Search prompt: Gjallarhorn's production capabilities]

[Search prompt: Gjallarhorn past treaties with Earth's nations]

[Search prompt: Mars' economical growth throughout the ages]

[Search prompt: Mars' economical downfall throughout the ages]

[Search prompt: Colonial development and economical systems]

It had been a long, long time since Kudelia Aina Bernstein had stayed up late, hidden from her parents, and perusing the web for things she'd rather they not know she read about. She'd forever be thankful to Fumitan for always keeping quiet about all the boy pictures the woman had found on Kudelia's laptop, one fateful night.

This time, however, the contents were sensitive for an entirely different matter.

For if her parents, more specifically her father, were so against her decision to travel to Earth in the name of the Mars Independence Movement, what would they say if they caught her browsing the website of a borderline criminal, who had made clear their hatred for the organization responsible for maintaining order and peace for all mankind?

And yet, the more Kudelia browsed Solomon's database, the more the young woman realized that no matter what her parents would have said, she would have read these documents one way or another, because they were truly fascinating.

Being from a well-off family, Kudelia had gained education far beyond that which would be available to Martian children, and that meant access to libraries and databases of a much higher quality and size than other schools. And yet, even those paled in comparison to the data being put into Solomon's archives. There were documents, research papers, reports, recordings and videos both amateur and professional, most likely pulled from devices around the world…

The fact that Solomon simply had access to all this was a frightening thought, yet all of it painted a far more personal picture of the world to her, and hardened both her resolve and future decisions.

One way or another, Kudelia would make her way to Earth.

The question, of course… Was how.

Financial support was not a worry, her benefactor had already made clear his willingness to pay for her journey, freeing Kudelia from requiring monetary help from her family, but the method of travel itself would be a complicated affair.

Before, Kudelia would have simply hired out a company to take her to Earth, maybe a security firm for protection, and that was it. But ever since Solomon had begun speaking out and showcasing Gjallarhorn's past deeds, the young Bernstein realized that such a plan would never be feasible: humanity's watchdogs would most likely do everything they could to hamper her travels in a way that could lead to plausible deniability, and thus deny her efforts any chance of succeeding.

No… What she needed now, was a way to travel under wraps, and make sure her movements were at the very least difficult to track. And that would mean partaking in the less-than-legal side of Mars' civilization, yet not enough that her own cause would be undermined or looked down upon.

Carefully, Kudelia rose from her bed and tip-toed to the door of her room, placing one ear against it to check for any signs of servants or, heaven forbid, her parents coming to check on her. Once the silence was confirmed, the young girl walked back and took hold of the laptop once more, quickly opening an anonymous tab on the web browser before starting her search. Her goal? Security or transport companies on Mars.

Unfortunately, as it turned out, the results weren't very promising: what private security companies were available for hiring did not possess personal transportation that could leave the Mars Sphere, and those that did were very clear on utilizing only official routes out of safety. And though she had found a few transport corporations that looked willing to… Bypass the legal pathways to head to Earth, they would offer no protection.

With a sigh, Kudelia set the laptop aside and slumped back onto her bed, an arm draped over her forehead as she stared at the ceiling of her room. "What can I do…" she muttered just loud enough for the words to reach her own ears, eyes half-lidded from both drowsiness and dreariness, when suddenly a soft ping rang from her laptop.

Every ounce of tiredness disappeared from Kudelia's body and mind, however, when she turned her head towards the screen, and saw what had made the ping.

Displayed on the screen, overtaking the browser completely, was a chat window with two messages already displayed, both of them from the same sender, whose picture was a striking rune.

The first one was simply two files attached.

The second had text on it.

If you're in doubt, I do offer my recommendations.

- S

Even as she jolted upright and scrambled to take hold of the laptop, Kudelia saw both files open at the same time the chat window closed, leaving the young Bernstein to stare wide-eyed at the portfolios for two separate security corporations.

One was for a smaller company, Jormungandr Security Services, no personal transport but plenty of arms, and the fact they had only recently formed meant that they'd most likely both be free of any ties with Gjallarhorn, and cost very little to hire.

The other was an older company, established a few years ago, and while they were not very large either, they did possess their own ship to traffic between Mars and Earth, and apparent ties to others who knew plenty of backdoor routes to the blue planet.

But more importantly… The portfolio made it clear that Chryse Guard Security seemed to employ a large number of Human Debris and child soldiers.

With sleep now forgotten, and a new sense of determination filling her heart, Kudelia noted down the contact number for both companies, and began drafting a proper business contract to present to both JSS and CGS.

-O-

FOUR MONTHS UNTIL KUDELIA'S TRIP TO EARTH

"Are you sure about this, Miss Kudelia?"

"Yes, Fumitan, I am."

As their car raced through the streets of Chryse, the sunlight filtered through the tinted windows, Kudelia gently wrung her hands as she stared at the passing scenery outside, while Fumitan calmly continued guiding the vehicle to their destination: the corporate headquarters of Jormungandr Security Services, for Kudelia's meeting with the company's owner. It had taken an unfortunately long time to prepare the contracts and find a proper date for the meeting due to the need for secrecy, but thankfully Fumitan had offered her help to perform corrections and suggestions to Kudelia's original draft, and agreed to keep mum of it for now, until the young woman was ready to let them know. She had done likewise to the drafted contract to CGS, but the matter of the "younger" workers made it a far more delicate matter to handle, so it would be left for later.

Thankfully, the response from JSS was significantly swifter, with their owner, Serena Durandal, simply requesting an in-person meeting to both confirm the delivery of the contract, and for "a quick talk" as the woman had put it. It wasn't truly an unusual request, granted, Fumitan had more than once commented on the suspicion of it.

Kudelia, however, disagreed. One way or another, she'd require allies for this mission, and right now this was the best route she could take.

"Miss Kudelia, we've arrived," called out Fumitan as she eased the car onto a spot near their destination, which the young Bernstein would admit looked surprisingly plain for a building where a private military security firm resided in. Once the car had stopped, Fumitan left the car, taking note to grab the small briefcase resting in the passenger seat, and opened the door for Kudelia, quickly falling into step behind her charge as they approached the headquarters for JSS. And already, the aide felt herself grow weary as she spotted the two figures standing guard at the door.

Because while the guards did not have any visible weapons in hand, the fact they stood two meters tall, dressed in heavy trench coats with hoods, gloves and boots, and had their faces hidden by eerie featureless masks served as enough incentive to keep distance from them.

That was made clear when Kudelia stopped mid-walk to stare nervously at the two guards, particularly when both turned to stare at the two women with strangely stiff head movements. The young woman quickly reeled her nerves in, and resumed walking towards the door. Once she was only five steps away from it, the two guards stepped between the two women and the door, one of them raising their hands in a sign to halt. "Please declare your business."

Huh? Why is his voice so… Strange?

Pushing the thought aside, Kudelia shook her head and turned towards the guard who had spoken up, one hand held close to her chest. "We… Have a meeting with the head of the company scheduled," said the young woman, her voice only slightly trembling. "She is expecting us."

The guards remained silent for a moment, only slightly turning their heads back towards the building, before finally returning their attention to Kudelia and Fumitan. "You may enter. Follow the directions given to you inside."

"T-Thank you."

With their part finished, the two guards stepped out of the way and resumed their post, allowing Kudelia and Fumitan to pass through unimpeded into the reception area. And just as the outside of the building hinted, the inside was just as plain and simplistic, with only the receptionist and two more guards waiting inside, surrounded by the most basic furniture Kudelia had ever seen. The moment the two visitors stepped foot inside, another guard stepped forward and motioned to them, leading them to a hallway off to the side and into the building itself, through featureless white halls and the occasional worker, who gave her a passing greeting before returning to their own affairs. It felt almost surreal to have people not react strongly to her presence, and yet… Kudelia couldn't help but feel relieved. At the very least, it was one less thing to fray her nerves over right before the meeting.

Finally, after several minutes of walking and riding up elevators, the guard led Kudelia and Fumitan through a pair of double doors and onto another reception area, this one far smaller than the entrance reception, but at least a bit more well-decorated, and a receptionist also waiting for any arrivals. Said receptionist gave a glance over the screen of the computer she was working with, then pressed down on an unseen button, before returning her attention to whatever lay on the screen. Moments later, and before either Kudelia or Fumitan could voice their arrival, another set of doors off to the side opened up with a loud crash.

"Hey there! So you're the young lady, eh?"

And through them, walked one of the loudest and largest women Kudelia had ever seen.

She easily towered over both Kudelia and Fumitan, and was also shockingly well-built for someone that was supposed to be an executive, something that was quite obvious by the muscles on the woman's arms. Her hair, black and white, was tied onto a ponytail that rivaled the ones Kudelia would sometimes sport herself, yet somehow still leaving enough at the front to form a thick mass of bangs that only slightly hid her blood-red-colored eyes, or the X-shaped scar spread across her face. And rather than being dressed in anything reassembling formal wear, the woman wore a sports top, cargo pants, boots and a heavy jacket with a collar lined with fur.

Overall, it was not quite how Kudelia expected her first encounter with Serena Durandal to go.

"U-Umm… Yes, that is me," she said in response, her mind still somewhat reeling from the sheer shock of the meeting. And it seemed that the woman either did not realize, or did not think very much of it, instead choosing to walk all the way to Kudelia and give the young woman a pat on the shoulder with a massive grin plastered on her face.

"Well, glad to have ya! Come on, let's talk business inside, better than doing it standing in here!"

And with that cheerful remark, Serena turned around and marched back into her office, oblivious to the scathing glares her personal assistant and Fumitan had aimed at her back. Nevertheless, Kudelia instead chose to shake her head lightly to clear her mind, then paced after the woman, her hands only lightly clenched as she tried to get her thoughts in order.

The office wasn't particularly different from the rest of the building, but at least the furniture was nicer, what with the two cushioned armchairs set up in front of the large wooden table filled with assorted knick-knacks, including a scale model of a warship, and even what seemed to be poseable Mobile Suit figures and Mobile Workers models, and a computer monitor mounted on a swivel arm. As Serena sat herself down on her own chair, Kudelia chose one of the armchairs, while Fumitan chose to remain standing off to the side, still eyeing the company owner with a disapproving look.

"Well, young miss Bernstein, I'm happy that you gave us a call," began Serena as she leaned back on her chair, the woman taking hold of one of the Mobile Worker models and carefully playing with its articulated points. "It's an honor to have Mars' most preeminent reformist in touch with us, and I'd like to say, I'm a huge fan of your work."

"T-Thank you, miss Durandal," replied Kudelia with a smile, even as she wrung her hands into nothingness atop her lap. "I apologize for the suddenness of my request, but circumstances were… Unusual to me as well."

"Ah, no need to worry about that, young miss. We've had no job offers in recent times, so yours won't cause any trouble at all." Still with a smile, Serena set down the model in her hands and leaned forward atop the table, her head resting atop her intertwined fingers. "So, now that we have time and privacy, tell me about your offer."

Her window given, Kudelia turned her head to the side and nodded, a gesture that Fumitan returned in equal before stepping forward while withdrawing a small pile of paper from the briefcase in her hand and presenting said papers to Serena. "This is the contract we've prepared. It details the services required and all information related to it. If you'd like a moment to review it—"

"Give me a moment."

And to Kudelia's shock, Serena began reading through the contract at incredible speeds, the woman's eyes flitting to and fro as she scanned every word on the document, quickly flipping through pages in a machine-like fashion until in barely three minutes, she had seemingly read through the entire contract and already withdrawn a pen from one of her drawers. "Yeah, I can work with these terms. I'll list up the number of personnel and equipment that I'll be bringing up, so you can offer it to CGS in case they request the information." With a smile, Serena initialed all pages and signed on all the lines she needed, then handed back the contract to the wide-eyed Fumitan, who, after a pause out of surprise, placed the contract back into the briefcase. "You don't have to worry about our travel costs, though, we can cover those no problem. I'll settle for a flat payment fee for our services… Though I do have a question, Miss Bernstein."

Admittedly, the ending of the sentence certainly caught Kudelia off-guard, with the young woman blinking numbly for a moment before refocusing her attention onto Serena, who was now looking at her with a more serious, but still calm expression. "Oh… Of course, go ahead, miss Durandal."

At first, Serena did not reply, instead simply shifting her eyes to the side to focus on the monitor as she began typing down on an unseen keyboard. "I am a well-informed woman, Miss Bernstein, you need to be if you wish to succeed in this business. And that information can pertain to anything: clients, risks, work opportunities… And of course, competitors."

And Kudelia could feel her heart tightening as, with one smooth motion, Serena turned her monitor around and showed what it displayed to Kudelia and Fumitan both: it was a set of pictures showcasing CGS' base, equipment, and work personnel… And the number of children dressed in military uniforms far outstripped the number of adults.

"So forgive me if I'm overstepping here… But why would you contract someone who so openly does something so despicable?"

There was no anger in the woman's voice, nor spite or disappointment. Rather, her tone was completely level and neutral, just as her expression and body language. It once more reminded Kudelia of a machine, and yet… There was something more there. As if the corporation owner knew the answer to the question, but wanted Kudelia to properly voice it.

And so, with her hands tightening into fists, Kudelia cast her gaze down onto the floor, the young woman felt both the words and feelings rise up from her chest, the memory of everything she had seen all these past months flashing on the corner of her eyes.

"If… If you had asked me this long ago, I would have given a different answer than now. I would have answered that I wished to see the same world as these children, share their plight and stand equal to them, so I could help them better. It is that thought that motivated me for so long, and even back then, I would have made this same decision regardless. But now… Now I know that even if I wished to, that can't be the case. I am not equal to these children. I have seen their pain and struggles, but I have not lived them, have not experienced them."

Her words were soft, almost quiet, but most of all, they were sorrowful. Every moment Kudelia spoke, she remembered the things she had seen both by herself throughout her years, and more recently in the nights she had stayed up, perusing the database of a criminal. Yet in that moment, something seemed to bloom in Kudelia's heart, and when the young woman raised her head once more, her eyes shone with determination and resolve.

It was still young, still untested… But ertainnly there.

"But I can experience it. I can allow myself to reach the same level as them, see the world they see, and share the pain and struggles that they do. And I can show them a world beyond what society has forced upon them, give them all a chance for something better. No matter what others say, either of me or them… I will do my duty, and help create a world where children don't need to suffer under the weight of a society that casts them aside."

For a moment, there was silence.

In the next, Kudelia watched as Serena Durandal let out a short, but honest chuckle, then stood up from her seat and offered one hand to the young woman, a warm smile upon her face.

"Then it's an honor to work for you, Kudelia Aina Bernstein. And I pledge that whatever happens, we will keep you safe until this world of yours comes true."

Minutes later, Kudelia and Fumitan were escorted out of the building by the guards back to their car, with a signed contract now in hands, and plans already forming for their encounter and meeting with Chryse Guard Security for their hiring.

And unbeknownst to either of them, inside her office Serena threw herself onto heir chair and linked herself to B-Veda, feeling a smirk spread across her face as she sent a message to all her contacts:

- Solomon

Our maiden is now within reach

Seconds ticked by, and a reply quickly arrived from Gianmarco.

- Hound

Took your sweet time, eh?

- Solomon

Go to hell, Salermo.

She quickly shut off the connection before he could reply, however. There was no need to indulge Gianmarco that much.

After all, she'd have her chance to laugh at him once she told Volco about the Kalisto aboard his ship.

-O-

TWO MONTHS UNTIL KUDELIA'S TRIP TO EARTH

Serena took a bite off the burger she had bought, letting out a low moan of happiness that certainly should not have come from a woman like her, but that she could care less that people listened to. And besides, people would be crazy to stay close, considering the four Machine Soldiers she had brought as an escort, and who were standing around her like statues, keeping watch for any hostiles, just waiting for a reason to pump 12.7mm rounds onto the poor sap who tried their luck.

Not that there would be any here, thankfully. For all that Chryse could be a hellhole depending on where you went, no one would dare to cause any chaos on the city's spaceport, lest they risk having Gjallarhorn's wrath brought on their heads. It had already been a hassle and twelve to convince the troopers at the door to let her guards past and into the building, but a bit of hand-wetting had served to expedite the process. Besides, Serena had little time to lose, even if she had arrived earlier than needed to make sure she could have some lunch with no rush.

That the burgers from this Six Guys joint had been just, if not even better, than the ones from her home dimension's Four Fellas was icing on the cake.

So for now, all she needed to do was wait for her future employees-slash-collaborators to arrive, make sure everything was alright and their suits were ready for the tune-ups and repairs.

Well, that, and triple-check the list of assets she was bringing on the mission.

As much as she wished to throw everything she had into helping Kudelia and Tekkadan, Serena didn't have infinite resources, and what she had needed to be carefully rationed between Jormungandr and her Nest. If the company had too few assets, they'd flounder, but if she pulled too much from her base, even if it was carefully hidden, in the event of an emergency, it required a contingent to make things safe.

For now, she had taken the liberty of going over her Nest's full capabilities after the Haro team was finally done refurbishing the place into an actual base, rather than the more cosmetic look. The Invisible Umbrella was not yet ready for use, not with how power-hungry the damn thing was and with the Gundam about to be removed as a power source, but the optical camouflage was running properly enough with the re-installed solar panels and batteries to shield the Nest from prying electronic eyes, and the remote location would dissuade people investigating it for any random reason. Serena had also managed to jury-rig a Haro, automaton and Machine Soldier builders, but as expected, they did not just magic things into existence, and required actual parts and materials. Parts and materials that she did not have in overabundance, and would thus also require resources to produce.

Still, what she had found stashed inside the base's storehouses had been enough at least for a few more additions to her fighting force, with the rest being kept for repairs of the active equipment. In total, Serena had managed to build six more Machine Soldiers, four more automatons and ten Haros and Karels, enough to staff her businesses better, and not shorthand her manpower. That left her total force to number thirty M-Soldiers, fourteen automatons and fifty Haros + Karels.

After some quick math, she had decided that the unit to be deployed for Kudelia's trip would be composed of ten M-Soldiers, six automatons and twenty Haros, while JSS HQ would maintain twelve Soldiers, four automatons and eighteen Haros. The rest, totaling the last eight Machine Soldiers, four automatons and twelve Haros, would remain behind inside the Nest to both maintain and guard it, making sure that the production facilities were up and running while she traveled to Earth.

Serena had also set aside a generous piece of her black budget cash for the purchase of newer Mobile Worker models for Tekkadan, so their firepower could be marginally better without Mobile Suits, but that would have to wait until Orga had put a bullet in the head of all the assholes of the First Group. Said purchase would also need to be done in a way that the Workers be delivered at Dort, both to keep suspicions quelled and make sure that Gjallarhorn did not intercept the shipments at the last minute. Not to mention the need for all the "extra hardware" she'd require to be shipped ahead of them to the colonies, so it could be utilized on her plans, something which would most likely require the use of the Biscoe-class owned by Argi and his group, but that had yet to be decided. Not to mention moving the Valefor from inside the Nest to Tekkadan's base, all without Gjallarhorn realizing it…

All in all, it was a tedious, arduous process, not unlike when Serena had to organize intel thefts for Forces back in GBN, only made significantly more annoying by the fact that this time, she was alone in the endeavor. And while she could have contacted some of her new allies for help, the woman also agreed that the less they were involved with her actual capabilities, the better.

"Attention passengers, shuttle A254 is now docking for disembark at gate 1. Please have your tickets in hand, and be present at gate 2 for boarding of shuttle B917. I repeat…"

And speaking of said allies…

Casually tossing the paper wrap for the burger and the emptied fries pack inside a trash can, Serena took hold of the soda cup she had yet to empty and took off toward gate 1, her Machine Soldier escorts never leaving her side as they parted the crowd for her with their imposing presence and size, all the while Serena scanned the crowd in search of her new acquaintances. And indeed, in moments she had spotted two of them off to the side, picking up their luggage at the conveyor belt: Argi and Liarina, both looking the part of a casual civilian couple recently arrived on Mars.

With a bit more pep to her step, and slurping down the last of the soda inside the cup, Serena strode towards the two as inconspicuously as she could be when followed by four towering death machines, which as it turned out had not nearly been enough, considering the way Argi began glaring her way, and Liarina's eyes widening at the sight of the oncoming group. "Well hey there, folks!" called out Serena happily, giving them a hearty wave until finally she stepped between the two young adults and drapped her arms over their shoulders to pull them into a crushing hug. "Been a while, huh? How's things back home?"

Before either of them could say something or try to pry themselves free, Serena pulled their heads closer until their ears were just next to her mouth, and her hair shadowed her face. "Keep it natural, let's leave the talking to the car," she whispered, before promptly tossing herself back and grabbing their arms just tight enough to keep Argi and Liarina from squirming away.

"Alright, time to visit that restaurant I kept telling you two about, lemme tell ya the shrimp there is just mmmm-hm!~ C'mon, we ain't got time to lose!"

And so, off they went, Serena dragging the two younger adults by their armpits as the bags they were carrying flopped wildly in the air, all the while the four M-Soldiers circled the trio, parting the way until finally, they were out of the spaceport and headed to the parking lot, where two armored sedans were waiting for them. Three of the Machine Soldiers took one of the sedans for themselves, while the last one got into the driver seat of the second one, leaving the passenger seat to Serena, and the back seats to Argi and Liarina.

"So, I take it Volco and Nanao are up in orbit?" asked the ex-Diver, keeping her eyes on the streets outside as the sedans sped back towards the JSS HQ.

"He said he wanted to keep working on the Astaroth before you got there," replied Argi, the young man's mechanical hand clinking softly against the door of the car as his gaze flitted between the outside and Serena. "Can you really fix it up?"

"Of course I can, I've worked with Mobile Suits my whole life. Trust me, when the team's finished with your Gundam, it'll be better than ever! Hell, I'll even throw in a simulator for you to train on… Stray dog~."

Neither Serena nor Liarina could stop the smiles that Argi's sputter caused, even as the pilot leveled an annoyed glare at the white-haired woman, though Liarina quickly coughed into her hand as she schooled herself back into neutrality. "You said you had plans ready for the future. Do we factor into any of them?"

"Of course you do, miss. But for now, don't worry, we got about three or four months to get things settled and ready before our job," replied Serena as she turned back to give the two a smile, lazily pointing a finger at the younger woman sitting behind her. "For now, I'll let you two get acquainted with the company, the staff and how things work. We can talk revolution shop after everything's prepped… Oh, and when we get to the HQ, tell Volco the engineering team will be up there in about four hours. They'll get things ready."

"I see… Though I'd like to ask: do you trust your team?"

"Ahh, don't worry, they're the best~"

-O-

In orbit, Hakobune Civilian Port, four hours later…

"HARO! HARO! HARO! HARO! HARO! HARO! HARO!"

As he watched the rainbow-colored horde crawl all over both the Adler and Astaroth, Volco swore he could feel his blood pressure spike as his grip on his crutch threatened to rip it apart, and the headache made his brain feel like it was imploding.

That it was caused both by his implant working overtime to find intel on these robots, and their incessant chatter that echoed inside the hangar, only made his annoyance grow.

"'Engineering team', she said…" muttered the Warren heir as he forced his focus back onto the software tuning he had been trying to perform until now. "I sure hope this is all worth it in the end…"

"Oh, I wouldn't be so grouchy about this, young master…"

The sound of Nanao's voice made Volco take his gaze away from the computer's screen once more, only to make his annoyance reach a point higher at the sight of the maid calmly stroking the ball-shaped pink robot that the woman held on her lap, a playful smile on her lips as its small ear flaps moved like a dog's.

"They're quite adorable, don't you think?"

"Adorable, adorable! Haro's adorable!"

"See? Such a cute little thing…"

And for a brief moment, Volco seriously considered sacrificing his crutch to whack some of the robots off into space.

-O-

FOUR MONTHS LATER…

"So, everybody ready for a long road trip?"

It was a rhetorical question, really. No matter what Serena asked, the Machine Soldiers would not respond, because small talk was not a part of their programming, only enough intelligence to respond to orders or pass off as slightly human. But the small talk wasn't for them, honestly.

It was for her.

Because this would be it. Over one year of planning and preparation, covering all the bases she could for now, seeking out help and making sure she'd be ready for when the big wigs of the game tried to come for her, Kudelia or Tekkadan. One year since she had been tossed into this new but familiar world by some whatever for shits and giggles, with the task of entertaining them and surviving a hellhole of a Solar System, helping save children who wouldn't give their own death a second thought, and a reformist with a bullseye the size of a moon on her head.

Was she worried? FUCK yes, she was. This was the real deal. No respawns, no being ported back to her Nest, no logging off for the day to go back to work… One go, and that's it.

Could she do it? Who knows… But at this point, it was a bit late to have any self-doubt. Especially now, as the M-Soldiers finished loading up the necessary supplies onto the cargo trucks, readied weapons and finished gearing up with armored suits, while the Haros filed into containers piloting their Karels alongside the automatons.

Whatever happened now, and wherever the pieces landed on the board, Serena would have to play this game. And if nothing else, and everything really was doomed to fail… Well, she'd kick and scream all the way to the grave, and she'd drag as many rotten souls as she could.

So, with one last sigh to calm her nerves and a last check on all the body armor she had strapped onto her body, plus the sidearm, knife and comm headset, Serena walked over to one of the APCs and slammed her fist on its side twice, an action that made the hatch at the top open and allow a thoroughly annoyed Liarina to pop her head out. "Why did you do that?" she asked with a growl, her eyes threatening to fusillade Serena away. "Do you realize how loud that was?!"

"Yup, wanted to make sure you were awake," shamelessly replied Serena with a grin, before her features softened into a smile. "You ready for this?"

"Yeah… Yeah, I'm ready. Argi's ready on the other one too, just don't knock, he'll probably try to strangle you later. He spent all day on the simulator yesterday…"

Unfortunately, that was the wrong comment to make. With a returned grin, Serena tip-toed her way to the second APC, readied her hand…

"WAKE THE FUCK UP, ARGI, WE'RE LEAVING!"

And banged it repeatedly onto the APC, something that resulted in someone inside tumbling to the floor, followed by a string of profanities that would have made any sailor proud.

Ignoring the glowering glare that Liarina aimed at her, Serena quickly rushed to the truck at the back of the convoy, and hopped onto the passenger seat, giving a honk of the horn before the M-Soldier climbed onto the driver's seat. "Alright folks, let's get this show on the road!"

And with that, they were off, each vehicle riding the elevator of the hangar up to the surface until the convoy of four had left Jormungandr headquarters and began driving down the street as carefully as they could on their way out of Chryse, with the convoy soon being joined an armored, featureless sedan, inside of which sat Serena's charge, and Mars' only chance for reform.

On and on they drove, the gun turret of the APCs quickly starting to swivel as they drove down the dirt roads leading into the Martian countryside searching for any possible threats in the darkness of pre-dawn, and Serena stretched her senses as far as they could go, the golden glow of her eyes only faintly hidden by the polarized glasses she was wearing. Once she made sure there were no blaring alarms in her psyche, the ex-Diver let her Innovation recede…

Just in time for the convoy to crest a large hill, revealing both the rising sun far beyond the mountain ridges in the horizon… And the small, blocky fort built a massive stone hill, the three-letter emblem spray-painted onto the largest building easily visible even from this distance.

And as her hands clenched into fists, and the wind blew into the truck's cabin in just the right way to part her bangs and reveal the horns in her forehead, Serena heard a playful, almost eager laugh somewhere in the distance.

~O~

Welp, here we are!

Yet again, what was SUPPOSED to be a quicker chapter became yet another 12-13k monstrosity. It certainly did not help that midway through writing this, I began thinking up a rewrite for my One Piece SI fic, which made my attention be split in two, more on that shortly, but right now what matters is that it is FINALLY out.

And as we can see, Serena went and tracked some help for herself, and we're about to enter Season 1, so buckle your britches, bitches, we're going absolute babirusa.

Now of course, this ain't gonna be a straight retelling of IBO, cause there's NO way it's staying the same with all the shit Serena is about to pull. But primarily, expect me to be a bit more merciful to our heroes and, to a lesser extent, our villains.

Unlike the director of IBO, I don't throw away characters willy-nilly.

Still expect suffering though, cause I'm going turbo on that c:

Now, circling back to what I said at the start, yes I did end up with some inspiration on how to rewrite To Charge the Heavens, and it feels like it'd be a far, FAR better story compared to what I had set out to write at first. Especially after all the extraneous shit was cut, thanks to critiques from other authors, like the metal ship and some of the crazier crewmembers/points to be added. However, I don't know if I will go back to it now, unless there's some demand for it.

For now, I'll focus on the next Call of Soul chapter, though if the desire becomes too much to bear, I'll do at least the rewrite for the first chapter of Charge the Heavens, and publish it alongside Call of Soul.

Until next time folks, and let's head into the dueling world!