Gundam Seed: The Federation ver 2

by Blackshadow999

Different telling of Gundam Seed. With the conflict between Naturals and Coordinators getting worse as time passes, some nations have banded together and formed the organization known as the Human Federation. Will the Federation be able to help bring peace or will the hatred between Naturals and Coordinators destroy everything and bring extinction of humanity? Cover by Saddle Patch

40. Phase 40: Transition and Change

A/n

Here is Phase 40, the second half of the Orb vs Alliance arc. I don't see a reason to say much more as the Phase stands on its own. Enjoy the phase!

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Phase 40: Transition and Change

June 18th 71 CE

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Ocean off the Western Coastline of the African Community

The remanence of OMNI's First Fleet came into view of Victoria an hour after sunrise. The trip from the Republic hadn't been eventful in how Federation forces chased them out. And yet, there had already been a report that the Third Seaborne Fleet had to fall back from the Equatorial Union. That retreat would mark the Federation pushing back OMNI in two battles, potentially a third if the Second Fleet had lost to Orb. To have no success against the Federation was a blow to already hurting morale. ZAFT's attack on Panama had damaged the momentum gained from JOSH-A, being ousted by the Federation was pushing it lower. Through OMNI, the Alliance needed a victory and a notable one to help things change. If the current circumstances didn't change direction, then OMNI would lose major support from its member states. And the instability within the Alliance could tear it apart, which could cost the Alliance the war. Thus, the Alliance's leadership knew they needed to keep the Alliance together whatever the cost or lose everything it had worked for.

It was why the Victoria operation was so important for OMNI to do and have success with. Not having victory and gaining territory along with new technology options from the Federation was harsh. The Federation had shown they would stand up against the Alliance and OMNI was problematic in the long run. They had also proven they wouldn't fall easily and would take more work and planning than ZAFT had thus far. However, the Alliance's outlook was grim if OMNI couldn't have a victory against ZAFT now, they had mobile suits to work with. The Alliance was seen as losing right now, and the leadership and top brass wanted that to change. Victoria needed to happen and had to be a victory, or else the Alliance would lose all the momentum it had.

Mina could see the determination or rather near desperation, OMNI showed after the losses against the Federation. And while it didn't concern her what happened to OMNI as she wasn't a part of it, the scene was annoying. Victoria for Mina was the chance to display the fruits of her project to one of her funders. Mina was confident that her girls would do her proud and impress Azrael enough to get him to stop badgering her. She was still concerned that those who had gone with Azrael. The trios of boys that were to go against Orb's defending forces were decent performers. Mina didn't want the work that had gone into those three to go to waste just for a man who didn't consider the work investment. And the trio's handlers weren't the best or even consistent in their jobs which Mina wasn't fond of. Good candidates came out with proper motivation balanced with consistent medication regimens. If either of those weren't done, Mina had seen failure and then worked to get the group back to where they were before.

From what Mina had observed, the flagship's captain showed near desperation and frustration. Were she to guess, his "failure to report" had been discovered or more likely mentioned by Azrael to Alliance leadership. And whatever the answer had been from OMNI top brass, it had not been praise or congratulations for the man. It was more likely that the captain had been dressed down and harshly at that. At least, the captain appeared motivated to do notably better with the Victoria operation than with the Republic. Mina would've pitied the man if she cared about others, but her work was more valuable than other people were. Mina had long ago stopped caring about all but the select few individuals she was familiar with. The Enhanced Human Project was what she cared about and what her life involved, or at least what mattered to her.

As far as Mina had heard, the Lawdon had contacted OMNI's Fourth Seaborne Fleet within the last hour. The Fourth Fleet was the one that was assigned to begin OMNI's Victoria operation. With how dug-in ZAFT was supposed to be, Mina would be shocked if one of OMNI's fleets would have quick success at taking the former Alliance base. If what Mina had seen around the Republic was anything to go by, then OMNI's fighting strength hadn't improved much with the addition of mobile suits. OMNI may boast that they would turn the tides and beat ZAFT with mobile suits, but they hadn't gotten that to happen yet. And with the epic failure against the Federation, OMNI was hurting for something to show for their efforts.

The plan OMNI had that Mina was aware of had their Fourth Fleet having started the assault on Victoria the day after the First Fleet attacked the Republic. The Crew's chattering had informed Mina that their allies in the First Fleet hadn't made much progress with Victoria yet. Apparently, ZAFT forces were holding out and had strengthened the defenses that the Alliance had used when they had control of the base. Thus, OMNI could not push forward against ZAFT in anything other than small gains from OMNI's entry point. From what Mina had heard, OMNI's Fourth Fleet was under the command of one named Sutherland. When she had brought up the man's file, she wasn't all that impressed. Sutherland was not like Azrael in the way of him being a career military man, but the two shared the same type of views and hatred. Sutherland was also "involved" in the JOSH-A incident by what the man's file stated, but no details about what that entailed. At least, the file implied Sutherland was a competent officer, more so than the one Mina had to deal with already.

It was mid-morning when the First Fleet came into Victoria's range and the ongoing battle. Mina made her way to one of the ship's observation decks and gazed out at the fighting. Even from a distance, the Lawdon was from the battle, and Mina could see OMNI's Strike Daggers dancing with ZAFT GINNs and CGUEs. As an impartial observer, Mina would say that ZAFT was putting up a good defense of the base for what it was worth. It was almost like OMNI had gotten off on the "wrong foot" from the beginning of the skirmish, and they were playing catchup. However, Mina wouldn't say that OMNI was being totally foolish, they were clearly working hard for their goal. And Mina would give credit where credit was due, even when OMNI rarely deserved praise for a decent job. Nevertheless, the matter was that OMNI wasn't making good progress in their operation with the time they had been working on it.

Mina made her way to the Lawdon's bridge to talk with the captain. The Lawdon's captain had made it obvious that he needed to be told about some things as he wouldn't consider "oddities" when giving out orders. And the First Fleet wasn't the readiest or able to help the Fourth Fleet with the losses taken around the Republic. One didn't need to be a genius or even half as smart as Mina was to make and understand that calculation. Mina's girls would certainly be able to tip the scales for OMNI, and she was sure of that. Plus, it would give the girls a chance to make up for what happened at the Republic. All three had been frustrated by what occurred back in the last battle, and they had been promising Mina they would make her proud when given another chance. Mina was willing to give the three a second chance as they tended to do better when they performed a second time. Failure wasn't a deterrent for her star girls, and it was a motivation to improve and do better the next time.

The Lawdon's captain glanced at the door when it was opened and faced front when he saw Mina. The woman had been troublesome since coming onto the ship, putting it nicely. Some of the crew had "quietly" complained about the woman and the incidents she'd been involved in. And discussion with Mina Moss had led nowhere as she waved off any accusations. Then there were the woman's unnecessary questions she'd posed during the combat with the Federation. He would admit that those girls with the woman had put on an impressive performance against the Federation, but that was all. The captain had a dressing down by top brass for what happened with the Republic, and he felt that Mina had played a part in that happening. The woman had gotten an encrypted call the day after the battle, and there had been nothing as to who the call was with from the comm-officer.

Mina noticed the captain's choice not to face or acknowledge her presence or entry on the bridge. Of course, Mina didn't care in the slightest about what the captain did for his ship or the fleet he was supposed to lead. She was here to tell him to open the cargo hold of this ship so her girls could go out and prove their skills. Mina told Azrael that her girls would prove the value of her project, so they would. So, the ship's captain would do what he was told if he was smart and let her girls head out. Mina didn't care if there were orders that would "stop" them from sortie out to the battlefield. "Captain," Mina started, "once in range, if you would open the cargo hold so my girls can head out and actually get progressing in a better direction."

The captain didn't want to argue with the woman as it had been clear already that few would win against the woman. The problem was the fleet's standing orders had the First Fleet providing support for the Fourth Fleet. Some Strike Daggers were to join those working on retaking Victoria, but the remaining Daggers were to help defend the Fourth and First Fleet from ZAFT forces. And yet, the woman was insisting that her "girls" should go out and fight among their allies. The Lawdon's captain wouldn't discount that the three had done a great deal during the attack on the Republic. But they had destructive tendencies and didn't regard much for any that were supposed to be allies. So, he was hesitant to let the three girls go out and defy orders and then have to answer to Captain Sutherland. "Standing orders do not have those girls going out to the battlefield," the man stated. "They are to be on standby while the Strike Daggers push ZAFT's forces out of the base."

Mina didn't care about the captain's orders from the officer-in-charge, which was likely the Sutherland she'd read about. If the man were anything like Azrael, Sutherland would be pleased with her girls working in the field. By what Azrael mentioned, some in OMNI had "expressed interest" in her project. And with what Mina had read in the file on Sutherland, the man could fit the bill of some of those Azrael mentioned. If an OMNI higher-up were impressed by her work, then maybe there would be less talkback Mina would have to listen to. "If it wasn't obvious already," Mina began, "I couldn't care less what your orders are. Your leaders want to see my work, and I will show them which my girls will display. I would think it will allow this fleet to provide support without throwing forces away unnecessarily."

The Lawdon's captain wouldn't say no to having a more long-range support role for the First Fleet. The fleet was still making repairs from the assault on the Republic and wasn't at full strength. But their orders were to support and not jump right into the fighting going on in the Victoria area. And if the three Gundam-type went out without being ordered, he would be the one that would take the reprimand. The dressing-down he'd gotten from higher-ups had been bad enough, and the man wasn't interested in having a similar experience again so soon. And Sutherland was rumored to be very "non-understanding" with orders being circumvented or defied. "While that is all well and good," the captain started but never finished as Mina cut over him. "Should it be about responsibility with superiors, you can direct them to me if you prefer. Just get to your job and let me and my girls do what we're here to do."

The captain had no problem pointing Sutherland to Mina Moss if there was any backlash from the Gundams going out the field. He wasn't for the idea, as he would then be on the hook for things should they go wrong with the Gundams. However, should he be able to direct any that asked to Mina Moss should things go wrong, that would work out better. The woman seemed to "report" to Director Azrael and so answered to him, which several of the top brass seemed to take orders from. Still, if the Gundams went out, then the remaining Strike Daggers the First Fleet had could be used more effectively in defensive roles. "Very well, do as you wish in this, but I will be directing to you if there are complaints," he replied.

Mina turned and headed away from the ship's bridge as she had no problem with the "condition" laid down. Azrael wanted a display of her work, and he could deal with any complaints from OMNI officers should they come. The work, her girls, would do should silence any complaint as it would move things along. As the old phrase went, "the end justifies the means," and it was an apt phrase that several used to reason why they did things. She used the phrase from time to time, as the end goal was what mattered to her regarding the Enhanced Human Project. Those that had come with her should have already finished the adjustments on the mobile suits from the data acquired earlier. Mina knew her girls had been brooding about their performance around the Republic. They had been cursing quietly and muttering how they would whip ZAFT around Victoria.

At the same time, Deborah, Lafter, and Rossweisse had suited up just before battle stations had been called. The three had agreed they would do better and make Mina proud out on the coming battlefield. They would be going against ZAFT, the ones the simulations at the lab trained them to go against. It wouldn't be exactly payback against those they had failed to beat, but it would be a step in that direction. And once they got to the cargo hold, they boarded their assigned machines and went over the OS as they had been told to do. Deborah saw the adjustments would help with smoother performance for the suits, and that would assist in defeating ZAFT. Mina would give them instructions and then her expectation of what they were to do out on the field, Deborah was sure of that. Lafter was doing the required checks that were expected of them, but she was squirming and fighting with annoyance. She would impress her mama so that she praised and rewarded her for the good job. Rossweisse was finishing her system check seeing everything for the Raptor was fine. She leaned back in her seat, closed her eyes, and thought about the mission ahead.

As the leader of their trio, Deborah kept calm, which was one of the reasons she was chosen. Ahead of them on the battlefield that Victoria had become, Deborah and her sisters would help their mother show others her project had value. Deborah knew that their mother's work was important, it was why she took Deborah and her sisters in when they had lost everything. The sooner their mother could get back to the lab, the less testy she would be going forward. Deborah could see how their mother was not pleased to be here on this ship to display the Enhanced Human Project. Normally, another dealt with the project's "funders," and they were a "friend" of their mother, Dr. Kall. The woman was the face of the project, yet she was still involved with the candidates. Dr. Kall was in charge if Mina wasn't around, and she wasn't much nicer than their mother.

Mina made it to the ship's cargo hold as the three girls were doing the expected preparations. She was approached shortly after entering by one of the handler team and informed that her girls were already doing their pre-battle preparations. Mina hadn't needed to know where the girls were, and she had no doubt they were ready to head out to the field. The three had learned their lessons well, better than any other candidate from the project. Mina didn't really have a problem with whether they had some sort of complex that had them wanting to satisfy "their mother" who was her. As Mina had said to Azrael, she didn't have any "motherly attachment" to the three. They were just the top performers, and so were the project's star girls for the funders to see and take as the potential for the work. They were years of work that Mina didn't want to waste or have to redo because the Alliance was being ridiculous. Mina went over to the communication console so that she could give the instructions and expectations for the girls on this outing.

Deborah just finished up, much like Lafter and Rossweisse did when they heard Mina's voice. "Good to see you, girls, where you should be," Mina started, "I knew you would be ready for this chance." The image of Mina popped up on one of the vid-screens inside the cockpits of the Gundams. All three girls paused in their work and paid attention to their mother and the instructions she would give them. "I've seen all of you have been brooding about what happened the last time. But don't worry yourselves about what occurred, you did better than I would've expected of any other candidate in the same situation. However, today you will get to prove you can do better than OMNI soldiers and get their jaws to drop. Doing that will certainly bring a smile to my face and earn you a reward of your choosing." Mina paused at the point of being to show how her work could show up the fools that dismissed it as a "waste of time and money." "I know you three will do far better this outing than the last as this will be more like the simulations."

Mina had her instructions ready of what they were to do at the bare minimum out there around the Victoria Base. She, of course, had expectations, and then what would be even better were they achieved. The difference was instructions and what was to be done to be considered an acceptable job. On the other hand, expectations were tasks that would be much better but weren't a requirement if done. Mina's girls normally were able to both complete given instructions and achieve most if not all expectations. It was one of the things that set them apart from other candidates in any of the three labs. Mina continued, "As before, getting good data for your mobile suits is necessary. However, as you three have shown many times before, you meet the expectations given to you. So, my expectations are for you to shoo away ZAFT forces from the base or destroy them. As you do, make your best effort to keep the Mass Driver from being too damaged during the fighting. Don't expect OMNI machines to help you much in that task, and they are too foolish to be helpful in that. It would be best if the majority of the base is intact when the fighting is done. Also, if you could assist OMNI along the way, they will complain less about you working."

All three girls listened carefully to what their mother had been telling them. The instructions given were simple enough as they were much the same as they had been on the last outing. The expectations were much as they had discussed earlier when the outing was discussed. The base they would be fighting around belonged to ZAFT by what Deborah had read with OMNI's information. OMNI's machines would be all over fighting ZAFT, trying to push forward into the base. Yet, as Deborah and her sisters weren't under the command or taking orders from OMNI, what they did wasn't important. Their mother had told them what she wanted them to do to show their skills and how good her work was. They were to help keep the base as undamaged as possible and protect the base's mass driver. Mina kept going, "I know things happen out there, and I won't blame you for what others will claim to be friendly fire. Nevertheless, it would be best to make an effort not to shoot OMNI machines, please. I take it that you understand what is expected of you in this?"

Deborah, Lafter, and Rossweisse nodded to their mother to show they understood what they were to do. "Yes, mother/mama/mom, we understand," they replied together. Mina watched as the cargo hatches opened, letting in the early morning light of the day. The three Gundams moved from the docks and launched out from the Lawdon. Rossweisse had the Raptor leap up and take position on top of the Bandit, which had shifted into its mobile armor mode. The three flew forward toward the signs of battle, such as explosions on the land before them. They activated their Trans-phase shift armor as they closed the distance to the battle.

At the same time, ZAFT forces that were defending the Victoria Base were holding the defensive lines against OMNI. BuCUEs and ZuOOTs were on the frontlines fighting the Strike Daggers that were pushing. GINNs and DINNs were doing what they could to help from the air trying to wear down the Alliance aircraft. The base defenses added to ZAFT's efforts to repel OMNI from taking Victoria back. It was obvious to the ZAFT commanders that OMNI was here to get the base or the Habilius mass driver. The attack was an expectation after the successful operation against Panama. Nevertheless, the first day of this attack proved OMNI's mobile suit pilots had improved since Panama. OMNI had been able to push forward a bit, but the base was still under ZAFT control. OMNI suits hadn't breached the base's secondary defense perimeter yet, even if they had gotten a foothold on the eastern shores.

The current day had begun much as the previous one, OMNI had begun their attack shortly after dawn. Repairs had been made and resupply completed for damaged ZAFT machines before the assault began. ZAFT just needed to hold the base till the afternoon since reinforcement would begin arriving. Carpentaria was sending help, and there would be drops from space as well. With the reinforcements would help push OMNI back and then oust them from their efforts. Admiral Treize had said that patience would win this battle, and the coming forces would speed that along. If not for Admiral Treize, ZAFT would be in much harder straits than now. Most ZAFT commanders would admit that with the recent demands and orders from the National Defense Committee. There was enough discontent with the Alliance getting mobile suits and having a victory at JOSH-A. There was no need to add to it with the Committee pushing for more aggressive actions in the ongoing war.

On the other end of the conflict, Captain Sutherland watched the battle from the bridge of the Spengler-class he was on. The first day the Fourth Fleet was to handle had been tedious and not very fruitful in the end. ZAFT had managed to keep- them from making much progress or even getting into the base's perimeter. The Dagger pilots were trying to push ZAFT back, Sutherland would give them credit for their efforts. Most Strike Dagger pilots worked hard to improve their skills since Panama to level the battlefield. Thus, the first day of this operation hadn't been a complete loss, but there wasn't much progress made. A message from the First Fleet a few hours ago was that they were on route and would arrive at the estimated time. If the First Fleet was on time in getting to Victoria, then Sutherland hoped that better progress could be made today.

OMNI top brass wasn't happy with the operation being accelerated forward, Sutherland knew, and he understood some of the reasons why they were. The plan had been to do the operation later that year when the weather would give an advantage. However, Panama had made it more important the base be taken back sooner rather than as cleanly as possible. Sutherland knew the Alliance needed a mass driver not just for OMNI's lunar supply line but also for future plans. ZAFT had destroyed Panama's mass driver at the beginning of a crucial stage of OMNI's new offensive. OMNI had been looking toward fighting ZAFT in space and putting them on the defensive. It would be the first time OMNI would have forced ZAFT on the defensive and defeat them on their "home turf." If OMNI could push ZAFT back, it would be a turning point and change the tides of the war. The standing issue was that the Ptolemaeus base could only produce the Strike Daggers so quickly, which wasn't enough for the planned offensive. The mobile suits being produced in complexes on Earth were needed to augment and increase the number of mobile suits. That required a mass driver to get them up to space at a reasonable pace and not a few at a time through transports.

Nonetheless, Sutherland was brought out of his thoughts when a console operator reported that the First Fleet was coming into detection range. Sutherland glanced down at his watch to see that the First Fleet was arriving at the time expected, which he was pleased with. It didn't entirely make up for the failed assault on the Republic, but it did have Sutherland leaning more toward being nicer to the Lawdon's captain. Perhaps a mild chastisement would be enough if the captain helped with Victoria to improve his performance results. Sutherland wasn't unreasonable in the point of admitting things didn't always go according to plans, the unexpected happened. So, when the First Fleet began deploying their forces, Sutherland had a soft smile and nodded. "Good to see the First Fleet has arrived when expected," he remarked, "Perhaps we can wrap things up and have Victoria under control before the end of the day."

Sutherland was going to order one group of Daggers to change their tactic when two objects zoomed past the Fourth Fleet. The man looked over and saw three machines surging forward toward the battle. A split second later, Sutherland realized that the three machines were from the GAT series. Specifically, they were the Raptor, the Sinister, and the Bandit, as Sutherland recalled the specs he'd glanced around a month ago. Sutherland remembered Director Azrael mentioning that the six second-generation GAT machines would be deployed. And that they would be piloted by results from a secret project OMNI and others had been covertly funding. Azrael had said that the "candidates" were supposed to be trained to fight and beat ZAFT soldiers consistently. Sutherland would say OMNI would have been funding something great if it could do what Azrael said it could. Standing orders for the First Fleet was to have them reinforce ground forces, not deploying a team to the front. However, Sutherland decided to allow the GAT machines to do what they were. He wanted to witness what Director Azrael had been talking about and see what the "hype" was about with his own eyes.

Meanwhile, Deborah, Rossweisse, and Lafter closed the distance between them and the battle. The three were taking in the field, both how OMNI was trying to push their position forward and ZAFT keeping them from advancing. Deborah began to see where best her sisters could work on this battlefield which was another reason she was the trio leader, her skills with tactics. "Rossweiss, you will help break through ZAFTs defensive line," Deborah began, "Lafter, scatter ZAFT's aerial forces and keep them on their toes." Deborah paused, "And remember we are to avoid damaging the base and more so the mass driver per mom's instructions."

"So," Lafter started, "Does that mean we have to easy on the baddies?" Nothing had been specifically stated about being "nice" to ZAFT forces. And Lafter knew their mama wanted them to do their best and show what they were capable of. Should they have to go "easy" on their opponents, they would have to hold back, which was no fun.

"You should listen harder, Lafter," Rossweisse remarked, "We are to shoo them or destroy the enemy. It will be up to them whether they run away fast enough or we shoot them for being in the way. We are to avoid hitting the weaker dorks than us we are helping for mother." While Deborah appreciated Rossweisse's level logic, she had, when not worked up, there was work to do and so no time to waste on details. "As Rossweisse said, Lafter," Deborah said, "We only need as much of the base structures standing and mass driver working. So, as we have agreed, the one with the highest kill count gets to talk to mom first and get the reward of their choice."

Lafter snickered, "Oh goodie, I can go hard and have lots of fun cutting bad guys into pieces," she exclaimed. Lafter broke off from her sisters with her climbing towards ZAFT's aerial mobile suits that were trying to attack the Daggers. She took her anti-ship sword and zoomed at the nearest ZAFT GINN, and sliced it in half before the pilot could react. Lafter moved on from there, slicing and slashing at any ZAFT machine that came into range. This did have the pressure ZAFT was attempting to put on OMNI lessen slightly as they had to defend against the Sinister.

Deborah flew over the base for Rossweisse to get to where she could make the best difference. Rossweisse scanned the area and found a spot where she felt the Raptor would have a slight advantage over ZAFT forces. Thus, Rossweisse leaped off of the Bandit and landed on the ground around the hangars the base had a moment later. Deborah kept going forward after the Raptor had leaped off and separated to do its work. Her goal was to find ZAFT's commander group and take care of them while Deborah's sisters kept ZAFT busy. If ZAFT's commanding group were taken out or disabled, enemy ranks would tremble and fall.

Lafter was having fun cleaving ZAFT machines into pieces one after another. In this battle, Lafter would make her mama proud and show her that she and her sisters could still fulfill her expectations. Whether it was DINNs or GINNs, the Sinister dispatched ZAFT units mostly with its sword and its high-energy beam cannon. The fight was much more similar to the simulations that all the candidates did back at the lab. And Lafter knew that she and her sisters had been among the best performers with the simulations. The bad guys were falling like flies, and Lafter would do her best to make her mama praise her for her efforts. That was her motivation, Lafter always loved to make her mama proud or smile, and the sweets she got were also nice.

At the same time, the Raptor had quickly gotten to work after landing on the ground. Rossweisse had aimed at the BuCUEs and ZuOOTs, which were approaching where she was. The ZAFT machines shot their weapons at the Raptor, to which Rossweisse would jump out of the way and use her shield to intercept. While she dodged, Rossweisse had the Raptor had her high-energy beam cannons, and the railguns on the backpack fired at her enemies. The railguns attached to the shoulder binders swing up and add to the barrage and her bazooka. And Rossweisse was having much better success at hitting her opponents than ZAFT was striking her. Rossweisse found this was more challenging than the simulations at the lab, and she was actually starting to like this a bit.

While her sisters occupied ZAFT's defending forces, Deborah flew the Bandit dove down to be between the base's structure. She did so to keep out of the direct attention of ZAFT so that she could find their commanding group. Deborah had glanced over the layout of the Victoria Base as it had been when the Alliance had control of it. The control center had been positioned at the northern part of the base within a reasonable distance of the mass driver. Deborah knew that tactically speaking, ZAFT would be hard-pressed was the command center to fall. Chaos would spread throughout ZAFT's defending forces with their command structure falling apart, which OMNI could take advantage of. The efforts of Deborah and her sisters would impress those that her mother was working with. Hopefully, that would make their mother less stressed and let her and them go back to the lab.

Deborah came out of the street that she'd been traveling down into a plaza or square with a large building at the north end. It matched the layout that Deborah had looked over, with the large building being the command center. There were even a couple of GINNs and a CGUE looking to be standing guard of the building. Deborah rushed towards the ZAFT suits and fired upon them as she shifted the Bandit into its suit mode. In one hand was a beam saber, and in the other was the Bandit's beam rifle as Deborah surged forward. She cut down the GINNs and shot others dispatching the GINNs quickly, leaving just the CGUE to deal with. Deborah had the Bandit's claws shift forward and fire its machine guns in the claws at the CGUE. The ZAFT pilot used its shield to defend itself from the Bandit's attacks. The CGUE pilot was scared at this Gundam-type that had shown up and had taken out their allies. There had been chatter about three Gundam-types appearing a short while ago and them pushing the defenders back for OMNI.

Deborah shot forward and ran the CGUE through with her beam saber before she lept back away from her enemy. The CGUE exploded, and Deborah turned her attention to the command center ZAFT was using. With the instructions from her mom to keep what she could of the base intact, Deborah felt the beam rifle would be too much. The machine guns would be fine, but they were not as precise as Deborah would like to be in dispatching ZAFT's commanding group. In the end, Deborah decided to use the Bandit's beam saber to handle those in the upper control room. The ZAFT commanders could only watch as the Gundam approached with its beam saber. Some tried to run away, but the beam saber's sweep killed all inside the command center's operations room.

ZAFT began folding with the command structure in shambles now the command center was gone. Sutherland noticed the change as he kept an eye on the three GAT Gundams. The work they were doing was impressive, Sutherland would admit that after watching for a bit. If the "pilots" in those machines were an example of the Enhanced Human Project, then Sutherland would say it was definitely worth pursuing. While the GAT series second-generation was more powerful than the first, their pilots made it more pronounced. The three machines had made more progress while on the battlefield than the Daggers had yesterday. Yet now, the Daggers were making a good push forward and were closing the distance between them and the Victoria Base.

The only thing that had Sutherland curious was Azrael hadn't said anything about some of the GAT machines coming to help with Victoria. Not that Sutherland would complain about the help as it moved the operation along with more efficiently. However, from the times Sutherland had talked and listened to the National Defense Industry director, he planned things out most of the time. Granted, reports said the First Fleet had failed against the Republic's forces, which Sutherland expected. While he might not like the Federation did things or ran its organization, he would admit they were strong. From what Sutherland saw, the "special" pilots were doing very well against ZAFT, better than the Daggers had been so far. Sutherland was brought out of his thoughts when the report came that Victoria's command center had been disabled and by one of the GAT machines, no less. It did explain why ZAFT forces had suddenly started having problems keeping their defensive lines firm.

Without orders from their commanding group, ZAFT quickly began losing ground to OMNI. Deborah joined in with her sisters after taking care of ZAFT's commanding group, working to take down ZAFT forces. The battle shifted into more of a slaughter for ZAFT as OMNI machines kept surging forward. ZAFT may have had variance in their units' capabilities, but it was overcome by the beam weapons OMNI was employing. The ZAFT soldiers fought as hard as they could but could not halt the advancing enemy forces. Deborah and her sisters prevented ZAFT from falling back and retreating while taking down enemy mobile suits. And with the GAT machines helping, the battle was essentially decided within a little over an hour from the First Fleet's arrival.

When the time came that the three GAT machines had to go back to the ship for resupply, the Daggers were inside the Victoria base itself. Sutherland would applaud the GAT machines and their pilots for their efforts. They had moved this operation along to its conclusion faster than even he hoped they would. Sutherland ordered the Strike Daggers to continue moving into the base and clearing out ZAFT. In those orders, Sutherland stated there was no need to take prisoners and to execute any ZAFT personnel found. ZAFT had proven at Panama they wouldn't do any different in OMNI's position, so Sutherland felt the same courtesy was fitting. Once the three Dagger team leads called in the base was under their control, Sutherland ordered ground forces to start sweeps for remaining enemy personnel.

Over the next thirty minutes, Sutherland was given reports of the operation results. He was glad it was nowhere near the worst-case scenario for this operation. OMNI had only lost an average of twenty percent of their Strike Dagger units, and aircraft was around the same. The base was overall mostly intact, some areas would need reconstruction work, but nothing vital had been damaged. Techs and engineers were already checking over the mass driver to see if it was still usable as it was. So, all in all, the operation was both a success and a notable victory against ZAFT, which hadn't happened for a time now. JOSH-A was a victory, but that was seen differently than the Victoria operation. Thus, Victoria's victory would be seen as better.

When the report of the mass driver being okay and operational came in, Sutherland couldn't help the smile that came to him. The mass driver's capture and being in working order had been the major objective of the operation. It was a necessity as it would be used to reestablish OMNI's supply line back to space and the moon. The mass driver would also speed along with the transition to fighting ZAFT in space and push them back to L5. Sutherland knew that mobile suits could be mass-produced on Earth faster than on the moon. Thus the supply line with the mass driver would be crucial to begin pushing ZAFT back and winning the war. Sutherland could see a potential path to ending the war with the destruction of the PLANTs at the finish. If there were nuclear weapons, that would make the job even faster and easier, but such wasn't available.

At the same time, the bridge crew of the Lawdon had been watching the three Gundams doing their work, most with open mouths. They hadn't forgotten what the three machines had displayed back around the Republic. The ship's captain hadn't been the only one to be impressed with the Gundams' performance against the Federation's forces. Their work against ZAFT had been even more surprising as they had whipped ZAFT, to put it simply. It had been almost unreal just how efficiently the Gundams had turned the tides and sent ZAFT running. It made the captain wonder what the devil woman Mina Moss had done to get those girls of hers to be able to do that. The man had heard some of the stories and rumors that Lodonia Labs and the other two places like it did.

The official statements were that the work Lodonia did was improving methods to help OMNI have an edge, which was vague, but that was all which higher-ups said. Some of the rumors the captain had heard were the places broke kids and then made them into some kind of super-soldiers. The Lawdon's captain wouldn't have put much into such rumors before, but he was forced to reassess after meeting Mina moss. If the woman was involved in the work Lodonia did, then he could see the possibility of the rumors being true. Moss was cruel and unfeeling, so he wouldn't exactly be surprised if the woman and others like her took children and changed them into what they wanted. However, he wouldn't stick his nose into the idea to find out if the rumor was true or not, he would rather not know. Instead, the captain ordered the First Fleet to move forward and start assisting the Fourth Fleet with cleanup operations. And as the Lawdon approached the docking facilities, the captain saw the Fourth Fleet was already in control of the docks. The hours that followed docking were used to help secure Victoria and do damage control as could be done.

Mina had taken in the reaction of the ship's bridge crew as they had watched her girls work on the battlefield. She was pleased that her girls had done so well, not that she'd doubted they would make her proud and display her work. Even Azrael would be pleased by their efforts as it had gotten the base with much of it intact and the mass driver working by the end. Perhaps, with how good her girls did, Azrael may even say he was impressed enough he would get with the other funders and get them to quiet down. Mina wouldn't say no to that result, and she knew Lori would be pleased with being bugged less too. Mina left the bridge of the Lawdon after the ship docked and returned to her quarters to write up the report on this skirmish, and the results were of note after all.

It was one of the nicer reports Mina had written for a while if she was forced to admit it. Her girls had done even better than even she'd had hoped for in their first real fight against ZAFT forces, and she was extremely proud of their performance. Granted, all the candidates went through training regiments designed to do well against ZAFT. Thus, most of the candidates were expected to give good performance as a minimum standard. However, candidates were regularly motivated to do better than the expected standard they were held to. And her girls were the "unofficial" standard that other candidates were encouraged to aim for. With how they send ZAFT running, it wasn't a great surprise her girls were the project. The recording of this battle and its data would be used to update the simulations, and Mina would ensure that.

Then, Mina expected Azrael to call at some point today to get the rundown of how things went with Victoria. And this time, she would make the man please, and hopefully, he would not be so insistent on her "helping" with his business. She even may ask the man to let her go back to Lodonia and have the male trio sent back when they were done. Mina didn't expect them to do much better against the Federation than her girls had. So, she was planning for their failure and would prepare for them to do simulations to refresh their skills. If any report from the handler team suggested the three did things they weren't supposed to, Mina would deal with that accordingly. The discipline system she had set up back at Lodonia was strict. Thus, every candidate knew what the wrong action earned as a consequence. Even the other two labs used the same model for discipline so that all candidates were to the same standard.

Mina was sending a message to her girls to start thinking about what they wanted for their reward after such a great performance but was interrupted before she could finish. The interruption came in the form of a call coming into her, and when she opened the communication found it was Azrael. And it was a moment later, and Mina could tell that Azrael was not happy at all right now. That led her to believe the assault against Orb had not gone well, which she expected even if others hadn't. And yet, for him to call her suggested he had a "bone" to pick with her. It implied that the male trio had performed poorly, and she could only think of two main reasons that would be the case. Either the three had been foolish and did things they knew they shouldn't while working on a task, or there was mishandling. "My my, Director Azrael, it appears that our moods are reversed from the last conversation we had. In fact, you appear to be in quite a bad mood today," Mina said, "should I ask what caused this?"

As Mina had said, Azrael was not in a good mood, and he wasn't inclined to talk about what normally put him in a foul mood. But attempts to get the Federation in line and follow orders as they should fail. Preparations had been made to have the best chance of success against the Federation, but none of that mattered. And then, to top off things, Mina's candidates had been less than helpful, they had been more interested in fighting each other than doing the task assigned to them. "Mina, I've been needing a word with you," Azrael began flatly, "about what happened around Orb."

Mina suspected this call had something to do with the assault on Orb, and it made the most logical sense. And it was more than likely about her candidates was Mina to guess which made her a tad irritated. Even when they did acceptably by themselves, the three boys weren't the best as a trio. However, all three knew that they were to focus on a task and not get distracted when given a task to work on. So, Mina sighed, "I assume that the three candidates didn't perform well in the fight, among other things?"

Azrael grunted, "You sound like you almost expected they would do poorly, Mina," he remarked. "Yet, you said nothing to me about any expectation of that sort. Those three seemed more interested in fighting one another than doing what they were told to."

Mina put a hand to her forehead, "That trio has sporadic attention issues, yet you never asked about potential issues. You were rather insistent on getting examples of my project even after I told you that I didn't have many candidates ready. Those three were the closest to ready even though they have flaws that were being worked on." Mina paused before continuing, "But I say again that my work is the best it can be right now, and I've stated it as such. There's nothing wrong with the mobile suits or the candidates. The mobile suits are as efficient as they can be made without more viable data that comes from field tests and actual combat. My candidates have been trained and conditioned to be able to do well against ZAFT forces. It's your fault that you hear things I don't actually say, it is why I'm not the one funders interact with."

Azrael was about to say that Mina's work had still failed, but she beat him to speak, "And if you want an explanation, then don't interrupt me," she snapped. "You sent those three against Federation forces, and that's not what they've been trained to perform against, so the results will vary." Mina stopped considering what had happened back around the Republic with the custom machines appearing. She would be surprised if Azrael would see custom model mobile suits as different than mass-production machines. He was a businessman, not a logical thinker, so he didn't see the complications that happened. "And my intuition tells me there were some custom model machines on the battlefield, correct me, should I be wrong?"

Azrael thought back to the battle with Orb and recalled there had been a few custom model mobile suits fighting for Orb. However, custom models should not make a difference, and they require a bit more work to handle. So, Azrael didn't see the point of Mina bringing up the subject when it shouldn't make a difference. "You are right, and there were some custom models on Orb's side, as I recall," he replied. "However, what difference should that fact make in the failure of the attack on Orb?"

Mina was frustrated that she had been right about Azrael not taking into account factors such as custom machines. She expected at least the three boys had not been reckless and fought them without thinking. That action should have been done with how ingrained the lesson was with all candidates. Then there was still the possibility that mishandling would make things worse overall. Yet, Mina exhaled before speaking, "Allow me to tell you then, Azrael, and exceptional individuals almost always pilot custom models. And those types of pilots don't go down easily and don't fall to normal methods most of the time." Mina paused and looked Azrael straight in the eye, "My project's candidates haven't gotten to the point where they can consistently take on a pilot of that caliber unless they work as a team, and even then, it is questionable. When you have multiple pilots of that level and caliber, even veterans would be challenged to survive, let alone win." Mina stopped as the other possibility came back to her mind of there being potential mishandling of the candidates by the handling team. "It also sounds like there could be other problems going on that I'm not aware of." Mina then smiled slightly, "But director, I believe I have a way to brighten your glum and foul mood."

With Azrael's current mood, there wasn't much that would help change it for the better. The failure to stress Orb's defenses to a real degree seriously frustrated him. That was added to the abysmal attempt against the Republic, which had come to not in the end. So, Mina said she had a means that would "improve" his mood was, something he normally wasn't interested in hearing. However, Mina's smile was slight as it got Azrael curious about what had her pleased. Mina Moss wasn't one that usually appeared pleased to those around her, not how she was. "Oh, you don't say," Azrael mused, "and how would you do that, Mina?"

"Well," she began, "In our last call, I said that my girls would show just how good they could be with the Victoria operation."

Azrael nodded, "Yes, you made an offer to have them display the fruits of your Enhanced Human Project." He paused, suspecting that the First Fleet could've reached Victoria already. Were that true, Mina may be reporting the results of that, and Azrael had been looking forward to those. With Mina's sales pitch, Azrael was expecting great things from Mina's candidates. "Am I to assume your group has reached Victoria, and you are about to tell me the operation results?"

Mina's smile shifted to a smirk, "Indeed, the overall result is Victoria is now under the control of the Alliance. The mopping up is just about done by what I hear, and ZAFT suffered major losses in this operation." Mina paused, "From what the Lawdon's captain told me, the Fourth Fleet had made little progress yesterday. However, my girls sped things along and got the operation to head towards a close within an hour." Azrael's eyebrows rose at being told Mina's girls had got things to move and going quickly to have ZAFT lose. "The majority of the base is intact, and the mass driver is in good working order thanks to my girls' efforts," Mina continued. Azrael's foul mood was fading at hearing of the success of the Victoria operation, more so with Mina's iterations. Granted, he wanted to see for himself what Mina's work could do, but he wouldn't say no to having such described to him. Mina kept going, "My girls' performance had many OMNI officers' jaws hanging open if that is anything to go by. And I will let that be a standard of my project's ability when given a chance."

Azrael hummed, "It sounds like your girls haven't disappointed you and have shown your project has merit. It makes me glad you offered a second chance of performance as it seems they did far better the second time. I only wish I could have been there to see them in action, Mina," Azrael replied. "It certainly does lighten my mood to know there has been an amount of success."

"I got some recordings for you to view of my girls whipping ZAFT at your convenience, director," Mina stated. "Their performance was even beyond my expectations which is saying something as it is rare for them to do so. I tend to have high expectations of my girls, so they normally meet them, but they went beyond them this time. And it was extremely satisfying to observe them show the fruits of my work."

Azrael would view the video Mina had of her girls later, and upon that, he would tell others that funded Mina's work whether it was worth it. But by what Mina had said, her project was indeed well worth pursuing. Azrael had suspected it would be, yet it was still nice to be proven right about his assumption. "While I applaud your pride in your work, Mina, as it is well-earned with the results, there are still standing problems. Orb is one of those problems, and your candidates did not perform as you implied they would given a chance. I hope you can either explain or preferably motivate your candidates to do better. As I recall, you've shown you have quite a knack for getting your candidates to do what you tell them."

Mina was now more sure there had been bungling in the handling of the trio that was with Azrael. It would explain some things the director described that the boys had done. And it would be more helpful if she got a good look at what was going on with the trio to judge what was happening. Mina was never fond of others she'd given instructions not to do what they had been told to. Most at Lodonia and the other labs did as instructed, so it wasn't a regular issue. However, a select few strayed from the path of obedience from time to time. At Lodonia, that was curtailed quickly, so it rarely got out of hand with those Mina tasked to watch staff performance. However, the handling team that had gone to the Second Fleet had less to keep them in line. So Mina sighed, "If it would help you understand what I've stated is correct, I could meet up with the fleet around Orb and check things over. Should any of the male trio be unable to perform, then I'll send out one of my girls in their place to show you that candidates from Lodonia can give acceptable performance," she stated. "Would that be agreeable and to your liking?"

Azrael blinked at Mina's offer as it was the second unexpected offer the woman had made to him recently. The Victoria operation going well was nice and helpful, which Azrael wouldn't deny was a mood booster. Mina's offer to come and check out what was going on was nice of her, and she didn't tend to be so. It was even odder for Mina to say then if the boys weren't up to doing the job, her girls would pick up the slack. Not that Azrael would refuse such an offer from Mina, he was just curious what had brought on the offer. "That is quite an offer from you, Mina," Azrael mused, "It is unlike you to say you would do something like that. What brought this on that you would be willing to come and check on things yourself?"

Mina had the pet peeve of involving "outsiders" in her "internal" issues. Normally, Mina had a group that handled internal issues that came up from time to time at Lodonia. It was one of the pieces of the system Mina had come up with that kept things running smoothly. And in this instance, Mina was really suspected the handling team had messed up things. If that was true, then there needed to be a correction, and she would do that herself as needed. Thus, Mina frowned, "Truthfully, I'm starting to suspect the problem you are describing is due to an underlying issue. I doubt the candidates nor the mobile suits are the source of the problem but the handling team they have." She paused for a moment deciding how to explain the issue she felt was happening. "For acceptable performance from the candidates, they require a certain level of consistent maintenance. Should that be neglected, then quirks and problems tend to crop up with candidates."

Mina stopped as she had tried to prevent such mistakes from occurring with the lab staff. All those who worked on the project were informed of the consequences if they didn't follow critical instructions. A few took one instance of experiencing the consequences to know it was better to follow orders given them. A select few that Mina kept an eye on to make sure they did things as they were instructed to. And one on the handling team with the male trio happened to be one of those. Mina hadn't liked that, but with the "urgency" this had been said to be, there hadn't been many lab staff available. Thus, Mina had to accept one of the troublesome staff had to be assigned to the handling team. "Failure to observe such does occur occasionally, but due to efforts of myself and others, much less than in the early days of the project. If it is indeed a fault of the handling team, then I would prefer to take care of the issue myself. I've found internal issues are best handled personally to have the best results and not have loose ends."

Azrael hadn't thought of an issue with those watching over Mina's candidates. The woman's management style tended to get obedience mostly out of fear of the consequences of not doing so. It was a mentality that Azrael could respect and agreed to use to get work done. And that Mina preferred to handle internal problems was yet another thing that Azrael could respect. One who was willing to handle the messes that happened with their work showed they took responsibility for problems rather than making excuses. "Now that is a mentality I can respect, Mina," Azrael replied, "Yes, if you could come and check on things, it would certainly be appreciated. How long would it take you to get out here, Mina?"

Mina took a moment to think about the question as it was a distance between Victoria and Orb. And the point that would create a slow down would be going through the Equatorial Union's territory. That was more a likely issue with OMNI having attacked the Federation's member nations. With the top speed a Spangler-class could travel at, Mina would estimate it would take a day and a half, should there be no contact with Federation forces. However, with the experience with the Lawdon's captain, Mina didn't think the man would have the ship travel at full speed unless ordered to. "From what I would estimate, two days at average travel speed the Lawdon can do. And from what I've seen, the captain won't push things to get us there sooner if not directly ordered to."

Azrael knew some OMNI officers were stubborn, and he could deal with those when needed. All that would be needed would be a superior officer saying to push the Lawdon's speed, and Azrael could get that in less than an hour. The sooner Mina got over to the Second Fleet, the sooner they could resume the assault against Orb. "Tell the captain to head out and set course for Orb," Azrael stated, "I will get the order to have the Lawdon do so with haste to happen in the next hour. The sooner you get here and get things in order, the better I will feel as we can get the business with Orb settled."

Mina nodded, "I will tell the captain to get the ship going, just please keep OMNI personnel away from my candidates and those who are supposed to be handling them." The call ended, and Mina headed back to the bridge and delivered Azrael's message to the captain. She also mentioned it would be wise to do so at all possible speeds as an order would be coming. While the Lawdon's captain did give the order to head out to Orb, as the woman said, he didn't do so at full speed. Victoria's capture was a good step forward, and even if the National Defense Industry's director ordered the Lawdon to come, all haste wasn't necessarily. However, an order from the top brass came less than an hour later to travel at full speed, forcing the captain to speed up the Lawdon.

A day and a half went by, and the OMNI forces in Orb's territory were using the time to prepare for the next assault upon Orb. Yet during the time, a growing portion of the OMNI personnel was starting to wonder what was going on. There hadn't been an official explanation for the "tactical retreat" that had been called for before. The gossip going around was it had something to do with the Gundam-types which had been fighting with the fleet. And that reason was also why calls to continue the assault hadn't come to the soldiers yet. However, the leaders of the Second Fleet kept the rumors from getting out of hand while they waited for orders.

Azrael didn't pay attention to the frustrations of the OMNI personnel that were waiting for the assault on Orb to start again. He couldn't care less what the soldiers were thinking, and it wasn't his business to know that kind of thing. Soldiers were to follow orders and do what they were told, while Azrael was the one to help direct the big picture. That was the difference between the pawns and the more valuable pieces on the board of war. Pawns were to be used to advance their side even if it meant sacrificing them to achieve it. And in this, the valuable or at least powerful pieces were Mina's candidates and their GAT series machines. He had told the Powell's captain to have his personnel stay away from their "guests" and leave them alone for the time being.

It was as twilight was falling after the day after Azrael called Mina when the Lawdon came into range of the Second Fleet. The Powell's captain told the Lawdon to come alongside the Second Fleet's flagship. Shortly after the Lawdon came alongside the Powell, Mina made herself ready to go over to the Powell to get things in order. She would have an assistant going with her, mostly to record things for her to look over later if it was needed in the future. And the journey here had soured Mina's mood as the mounting evidence pointed to candidates' mishandling. She had given specific instructions to the handling team to adhere to set protocols and not neglect them, even under threat from others. Those who didn't follow instructions didn't last long on Mina's project, and she made sure of that.

Before leaving the Lawdon, Mina did stop by her girls' quarters and told them to be ready to sortie out if it might be needed. Lafter scoffed at the mention of the male trio had to have some problems in their tasks. Rossweisse shook her head as the boys had proven to her that they got sporadic results and so were hit or miss with tasks. Deborah knew that their mother had been hesitant to send out the male trio. Their performance had been okay but not at the same level as Deborah, and her sisters were. Thus if their mother determined that the boys could not do what was needed, Deborah and her sisters would have to pick up the slack. The three acknowledged the suggestion and started getting ready to sortie if needed.

Mina headed to the upper deck of the Lawdon to where the helicopter was waiting to take her to the Powell. Her assistant was following behind Mina with a briefcase containing supplies that Mina had required to gather. Mina had gotten her foul mood under control and now just wore a flat expression with cold eyes. Her assistant didn't say anything as she knew better than to prod Dr. Moss when she was in the type of mood she was. When Dr. Moss was unhappy, all who worked on the project knew you avoided her and hoped whatever caused her bad mood wasn't something you did. To not endure the woman's wrath, you did what she said without questioning her or hesitation.

The helicopter lifted off after the two women were on board and flew the short distance to the other Spengler-class ship. Once the aircraft landed on the Powell's pad, Mina stepped out and didn't wait for the soldiers there, offering her a hand on getting down. Instead, she ignored the soldiers and headed into the ship's interior with her assistant right behind her. Any of the ship's crew the pair came across got out of their way with the air that surrounded Mina. It was almost natural for most of the OMNI personnel to draw back from the two as they came. Mina paid no mind to the reactions others had as she and her assistant passed. She had long ago gotten used to the apprehension and fear she causes with others. Mina didn't care enough to change how others saw her or how they felt about her presence.

The moment the helicopter touched down, Azrael rose and began heading toward the flight deck. Azrael hoped that Mina would get right to work as he really wanted to back to the business he'd been attending. The sooner Mina got things with her candidates in order, the quicker the operation against Orb could resume. And while Azrael felt Mina would handle whatever was causing the issue, he was tired of waiting for things to happen. He normally managed to keep in his irritation from the public, but the last two days had been trying his patience. So when he reached the same level as the flight deck, Azrael gained a smile when he spotted Mina. She had an unreadable expression which Azrael took as she was ready to get down to business. Mina saw Azrael approaching her, "Director Azrael," Mina greeted flatly.

The tone just enforced to Azrael that Mina was focused on the task she was here to do, and he was pleased that was the case. One of the qualities that Azrael appreciated with Mina that others didn't was she could get business done. The woman had an incredible focus and drive, which he respected and liked for what one could do. "Mina, happy to have you here," Azrael returned, "I hope you can settle things efficiently." Mina said nothing in reply, so Azrael continued, "With that in mind, do you have any idea how long identifying and taking care of the issue will require? There's work to be done, and I'm not the fondest of waiting for long periods."

Mina gazed at Azrael, wondering a few things as she stared at the man after asking the question. She had seen Azrael didn't let his impatience show to those around him that he saw as "pawns" or something similar. And it certainly seemed like the man wanted another go at Orb, or rather Orb's leader was Mina to guess. Why Azrael wanted to put down Orb's Athha, Mina couldn't say, nor did she really care for the reason. "Want another go against Athha that badly, do you, director," Mina posed emotionless. "Well, barring any unwelcome interference, I believe I will have an answer for you concerning whether any of the three can perform properly in around an hour or less. If you prevent those on board this ship from sticking their noses into my business, then I can settle things efficiently. As I stated before, I prefer to handle internal issues personally, if indeed that's the problem as I suspect it is."

The answer Mina gave was better than Azrael was worried it could be. Mina was as "reasonable" as she could be in her own way, which he appreciated. An hour wait or less was fine, much better than the day and a half he'd already waited. And if all Mina wanted was others not to interfere, Azrael was more than happy to make sure the ship's crew paid no mind to Mina's activities. Thus, Azrael smiled, "Is preventing others interfering all you ask for, that's quite reasonable, and I'll be more than willing to make sure the crew minds their own business. I'd imagined it would take longer with what you said before," Azrael paused and exhaled, "It is good to hear that I can still count on you to get results reasonably, Mina. Lately, there has been a shortage of that type of thing, and it is getting a tad frustrating."

Mina nodded before going past the man, her assistant silent following her, heading for the infirmary. Azrael turned around and headed back to the bridge to tell the captain to inform his crew to stay out of Mina's way. He'd seen Mina work when visiting Lodonia and certainly appreciated that she didn't mess around. Mina didn't care to make something look nice or pleasant, and she did what it took to get things going the way she wanted, even when others suffered for it.

The Powell's captain had been catching up with the Lawdon's captain with events like the Victoria operation and what had happened with the Republic. The news with Victoria had been good as the base was still mostly intact, and losses had been less than predicted. On the other hand, the assault on the Republic was the opposite and had been much like the attack on Orb. However, what concerned the Powell's captain was what his colleague said about the woman, Mina Moss, he'd been playing host to. Granted, having Director Azrael had been no picnic, but it hadn't been as bad as what the First Fleet's guest. And now, that "devil woman" was on the Powell, which didn't sit well at all with the captain. Azrael's meddling had already been annoying enough to deal with, and the captain didn't want more of a mess created. Then Azrael had come back to the bridge and told the captain to leave the woman alone and let her work with those that had been with the "special pilots." The Powell's captain had no issue with that and told the crew to keep to their preparations.

Upon reaching the ship's infirmary, Mina heard the sound of some in pain, which was normal for her to hear. When Mina came into the room, one glance around confirmed Mina's suspicions of the handling team was not following procedure. The signs of the candidates were not just suffering, which Mina didn't care about, but that they had not gotten regular medication doses. Mina had made it clear that doses of the two main medications the candidates received regularly were not to be missed. It mattered not if another said to withhold such, the doses were to be administered without fail. Missed doses tended to cause candidates' performance to fall, and then they needed maintenance to get them back to where they were before. Seeing the clear neglect, the handling team ticked Mina off, especially as she had given them instructions about following procedure. She had said that Azrael could threaten or screech about punishing the trio, but they were not to withhold doses.

Mina knew that those who worked at any of the three labs feared her and what consequences she would give out for violations of instructions. And there were enough working at the labs that reported to her for Mina to find out about those that tried to sneak around procedures and protocol. It was a part of the disciplinary system she had created, and one faced the consequences if they went against rules and instructions. That was a consistency Mina made sure was observed every time an incident occurred, which enforced the system. So, this situation's direction was clear, and Mina would waste no more time observing. The trio had likely been denied multiple doses and would take work to get back to where they should be.

The normal medication regiment was a mix of different drugs named Gamma Glipheptin and Miliana Serotonin. Gamma Glipheptin was, in simple terms, a performance-enhancing drug and was effective at raising awareness and reaction time. It had been an invention of Mina's which was better than any current drugs made for the same purpose. Glipheptin was even better than past substances in increasing human response speed and/or time. The synthetic substance drug had the desired result yet had some side effects. The most problematic effect of the substance Mina had made was it happened to be extremely addictive. The symptoms of addiction observed were worse than any previous natural or synthetic drug or substances recorded. The withdrawal episodes that had been allowed had shown the candidate would be hindered a bit more than eight times out of ten. It was why the dose regiment had been put in place and enforced. Long-term effects of the drug were still undocumented, but preliminary estimations suggested that it would have consequences. There had been suggestions that Gamma Gliphenptin could cause an early death of the recipients.

Although there hadn't been any deaths of candidates from the effects of Gamma Glipheptin, the second drug was to help mitigate the chance. Mina didn't much care if some candidates died from the long-term effects of Gamma Gliphenptin, she could always get more candidates. However, she didn't want the project's work to be wasted and then take longer to make up for failed work. That was why another had created the drug Miliana Seritonine which had helped with some of the side effects. Miliana Seritonine was to help stabilize the body overall and balance out the work done on candidates. It also prevented the bodily rejection from coming into play that the other surgeries sometimes brought on with the candidates. With the range and variance of implants installed in candidates, it was necessary to stop the human body from rejecting and attacking the implants. It also had the added effect of extending the time that the Gamma Glipheptin acted on the body and diluted the negative effects of the drug somewhat, but not getting rid of them.

Mina wasted no more time visually signaling her assistant to bring the briefcase to her. Mina's assistant did what she was silently being told to as Dr. Moss looked even more irritated by the scene in front of them. It was clear at least some on the handling team were about to be punished. And a punishment from Dr. Moss was always horrible and could have long-lasting effects if the woman wanted it to be. Mina's assistant didn't want to be a receiver of any of that, so she stayed silent and set the case down for Dr. Moss. Mina opened the case to reveal various medical tools, liquid-filled bottles, and even a datapad. She took out the syringe and studied the bottles considering which to use for the consequences she would hand out. Each bottle contained a mixture that Mina had whipped up personally, none of which was meant to be nice. Mina intentionally made the liquids to cause pain and suffering in different ways.

Within a moment, Mina chose the "poison" she would use to teach the needed lesson of obedience. She filled the syringe with the liquid and put down the bottle before moving forward toward the team lead. None noticed her moving forward further into the room, and they were too focused on the candidates to see her. Mina didn't hesitate as she got close to the handling team leader, she grabbed the man's shoulder with one hand and plunged the syringe's needle into the back of the man's neck. She then pushed the syringe's plunger down, injecting the substance into the man. The man dropped to the floor, holding the back of his neck as a burning sensation quickly began spreading through his body. Mina just glared down at the man who was a troublemaker that she had been tolerating till now. "I see you've not learned your lesson from the consequences of not following instructions, Dr. Mull," Mina stated coldly. "And you have not been giving the doses out as procedure requires to the candidates. Thus, you have earned the consequences you are experiencing right now, Mull."

All in the room drew back in fear of the woman with the things she would administer to those that went against her instructions. All the staff at Lodonia knew should Dr. Moss find out one went against her instructions, and they would suffer. And by suffering, it meant that Dr. Moss gave you something that would force the recipient to experience pain of some sort. The real question that one had to ask with punishment from Mina Moss was how much you would suffer from her punishment. The woman wasn't known for being understanding or merciful to those who incurred her wrath. It was quite the opposite, she was cold and didn't show mercy, and punished those that didn't follow her instructions. To prove the point, those in the infirmary watched as their team lead thrashed around on the floor in clear pain. It was expected that whatever Dr. Moss injected the man with was one of her own mixes, which always made the recipients suffer.

Mina only gazed at the man that was suffering for a moment to make sure the cocktail she gave him was doing as intended. She turned and took one of the available chairs in the room, still with a cold expression on her face. Mina was still very displeased that things with this trio had degraded to the point they had. "None of you are to do anything to help him," Mina stated clearly to the rest in the room. They all knew Mina Moss wasn't one to cross, and suffering was all that came from doing that. Mina continued, "This is what he receives for not following the instructions given him in favor of his own methods." Mina swept her gaze around the room, to which all shivered, "Should any of you feel inclined to do so, understand that you'll receive the same treatment."

Those in the room didn't move at the threat from Mina, and they turned away from the one they had been taking orders from. They did their possible to close out the grunts of pain from their colleague on the floor. On the other hand, Mina shifted to what needed to be done to get things in order. "One of you make yourselves useful by going and fetch three standard doses of medication right now. They are to take them before any more damage is incurred with the three," Mina commanded imperiously. One of the doctors rushed off to do as they had been told, so they didn't join the man on the floor. While that one rushed off, Mina continued, "While that is being done, Someone fetch a status report on what has been happening for these three since leaving the lab, A.S.A. Damn P." Mina expected at least one of those on the handling team to have been doing the expected job. Mina would expect more than one to be observing proper procedure even if others weren't. "One of you, I expect has been documenting what's been happening with this trio as should be common practice for all of you by now."

Within a minute, the woman that had gone to get the medication returned, and the doses were given to the three males. Another had come back with a datapad with the documentation which had been recorded while on the ship. Even when the team lead hadn't instructed to do so, that had been done. Once the medication was administered, Mina then had a test started on the three boys to see if there were still up to going out in mobile suits. During that time, she looked over the documents and learned four dose regimens had been missed thus far since leaving the lab. Missing one time of doses was not horrible but still, hurt candidates' performance for a short period. Should more than two times be missed, then there were noticeable and problematic issues came up. The maintenance that was required to repair the damage done by multiple-dose regiments missed was normally extensive.

After reading the fact of the mishandling, Mina got up and went back to the man still writhing on the floor. She kicked the man in the gut for his incompetence, and Mina had worn firm heels today. Mina didn't stop with one good kick, and she struck the man two more times before she ceased for a moment. Should the answer to the question she would ask be something she didn't like, she would continue the blows. And she wouldn't just kick with her shoe's toe, and she would start using the long heel regardless if it would cause more serious injury. "Tell me, Mull," Mina growled, "did you at least record data for improving and adjusting the mobile suits? You bungled handling the candidates by ignoring set procedures which shouldn't be argued or questioned. Did you at least make the efforts made worth the time you wasted with your arrogant mistakes? If you didn't at least do that much, today will be the last of the few free days you will have going forward."

There was silence from Dr. Mull other than the grunting and other sounds of pain he was letting out. But that told Mina he hadn't recorded any data from the three going out in the mobile suits as he should have. The man who was a foolish troublemaker had wasted time and opportunity by doing damage to the project with his actions. Mina was about to use her right shoe's heel to jab the man to get his attention and get him to use his tongue when she was stopped by one of the other women. "Excuse me, Dr. Moss," the female said, "Dr. Mull might not have taken data for the mobile suits, but another and myself did. It was more due to the habit of documentation you've drilled most of us on, ma'am."

At hearing that, Mina lowered her heel back to the floor and slowly returned to the chair, she had sat in before. While she had expected some to do what they were supposed to and had been trained to do, it was good to hear confirmation of that. It meant that not all the effort and time spent here was wasted, and Mina detested wastefulness. Those who were wasteful frustrated Mina as it was a pet peeve of hers that she had little tolerance for. So, Mina waved a hand to the other lab staff, "Well, at least some of you listen to what you're told, even if a greater portion doesn't see the logic of the instructions." Mina exhaled, "Then take the data collected and make the needed adjustments to the three machines on this ship as quickly as possible without making mistakes. There have already been enough serious mistakes on this outing, do work on preventing more from happening." More than half of those in the infirmary left to do what Mina told them to without another word. They were so eager to leave to get away from Mina than anything else, including the tedious work they would be doing.

After five minutes, Mina ordered another pair to take Mull out of the infirmary and throw him into a room where she wouldn't have to see him. Once what Mina saw as distractions were eliminated from the space she was working in, she observed the tests being done on the boys. Thirty minutes later, the test results were finally returned and given to Mina. She looked over the datapad she had been handed, skimming the information on the candidate's condition. It was mostly what she'd expected with medication regiments missed. The three had after-effects of not being on consistent medication as they were supposed to be. There would need to be follow-up work done with them when they returned to the lab to reverse the damage, which frustrated Mina.

Clotho, Orga, and Shani were silent, waiting for whatever verdict would be handed out by Dr. Moss. The moment the three had understood Dr. Moss was in the same room they were in, they had said nothing other than answering questions posed to them. It was normal behavior for candidates when Dr. Moss was around, don't speak unless spoken to, don't make eye contact unless required. The woman had ultimate authority at the lab, and she had the last word, no one argued with her. The candidates knew that arguing with Dr. Moss was one of the quickest ways to receive punishment, and the bad sort at that. Mina drew the attention of the three boys by gazing in their direction, and they could feel her looking at them. "The results are in for you three on whether you're fit to keep performing for the time being. First, Candidate Clotho Buer," Mina began. Clotho stood up, "Yes, ma'am," he replied evenly, not letting his voice say how scared he was.

The results for the first of the trio were as Mina had thought, the damage was bad enough his performance would be below acceptable. It wasn't entirely the candidate's fault, his handler had been an idiot and messed up. However, Mina knew these three would need a reminder about focusing on a task. The records had shown the three had gotten distracted while they had been out and lost sight of the goal they had been assigned. And if not for the data on the mobile suits, they would be heading for remedial lessons. Thus, Mina looked at him with expressionless eyes, "You are deemed unfit to perform at this time," Mina stated flatly. "You are to return to your quarters to wait for further instructions. While you are there, go over lessons on focusing on your given tasks rather than becoming distracted by other things."

Clotho bowed his head to accept the judgment and quietly did as he was told, not wanting to anger Dr. Moss. He wasn't being punished for the failure, and like any candidate, he didn't question such instead of being grateful. Clotho was getting off with being told to consider him fighting with his fellow trio members rather than focusing on the assigned task. He would remember not to do that again any time soon, if only to stay off Dr. Moss's bad side. Clotho just hoped he'd get a second chance at those two machines from the last battle and take them down. After Clotho left, Mina shifted her gaze back to the datapad again, "Next, Candidate Orga Sabnak," Mina stated, to which Orga stood up. "You are deemed unfit and are to also return to quarters and await further instructions while going over the importance of not getting distracted from doing an assigned task."

Orga felt a bit of panic mixed with the desire to go back out there and fight again. He wanted to prove he could perform so Dr. Moss wouldn't punish him or, worse, dispose of him. "Please, Dr. Moss, I can perform, just give me a chance, ma'am," Orga pled. For the candidates from Lodonia Labs, to be unable to perform could be classified as being a failure, and if such happened consistently, that was extremely bad. Continued underperformance was treated in one of two ways, neither of which was "good" for candidates. The first was "remedial lessons" under a higher-up to promptly get said candidate back on track. If that didn't work, the second possibility was disposal which every candidate avoided the best they were able. "Disposal" was the final punishment any candidate received, and it was a permanent thing. Candidates sentenced to that went into a room that was marked "Arbitrio," and not a single one came out again. Not even screams came from that room, and it was a void to all candidates didn't want to be led to. There were whispers that the room was where candidates were killed, but none could confirm it, and the lab staff wouldn't say anything about it.

Mina stopped as she had been about to move on to the last candidate and give them their results. Candidates rarely questioned her decisions, the vast majority knew better, and it tended to take one time for the rest to learn not to. She made sure there was a memorable punishment to help the lesson of not arguing with her sink in. Mina knew better whether candidates were up to performing, not them. Thus, she looked at the boy, "Do I need to remind you, Orga Sabnak, it isn't up to a candidate to decide if they are fit or not," Mina pointed to herself, "that's the job of those like me." She paused for a moment to give Orga one chance to correct himself as his handler had been foolish. "If you are unsatisfied with my diagnosis, then I can have your accommodations changed to assist in understanding. One of the brig cells on this ship would do just fine for the point. Rest assured, the cell will be made to be exactly as one of the 'time out' rooms back at the lab." Mina took a breath, "With that in mind, do you still think my fitness assessment is flawed?"

Orga shivered at the mention of the "time out" room and snapped his gaze away from Dr. Moss. Shani hugged himself in fear at the mention of the place since they both knew exactly what Dr. Moss was referring to. It was a set of specific rooms at Lodonia Lab that every candidate knew about, and they weren't rooms that any of them liked or wanted to go into. In fact, it was one of the select few things all who lived at the lab agreed upon. Such was true whether they were a Natural type or a Coordinator, as both types were at the Lab. The set of rooms was the worst punishment that could be given other than disposal. All the candidates had either seen someone go to them or been in one of the 'time out' rooms themselves. The stories from those that had experienced the rooms and what the staff said left no question of how horrible they were. One would go in resisting and/or fighting those escorting them as they were dragged there. But when they came out, they were all the same, and there were no exceptions. Every single person would be broken down, in tears, promising to be good and do what they're told no matter what.

Orga had been sent to one of those rooms once, and he would never forget how awful it had been to be put in there. He couldn't put what had happened in the room into words without breaking into tears at the memory. The experience was one he never ever wanted to repeat again as he, too, had been a mental mess and had broken down into tears, promising to be good and do what he was told like the rest when he came out. So, Orga quickly shook his head, tears coming to the corners of his eyes with the memory flooding back to him. "No, Dr. Moss, you're right, I won't question you again. I'll go back to my quarters as you told me to," he replied quickly and then made his plea. "So please, don't put me in one of those rooms another time, I'll be good, I promise!"

The response was the normal one Mina got when she suggested a candidate would be going to one of the "time out" rooms. The fear of the punishment motivated them and dissuaded the vast majority of the candidates. So, Mina gazed at Orga for a moment, "Very well, I'll let it slide this time since I'm feeling generous right now, and it's your handler's fault you've been having a number of the issues," Mina stated then waved a hand toward the door, "Now off to your room you go then." Orga said no more, instead just leaving to the quarters he'd been assigned.

That left Shani in the infirmary to await his judgment of whether he could go out or be sent to his quarters like the other two. Shani was trembling as he waited since he didn't have much hope that his verdict would be any different than Clotho's or Orga's. The chances he would be fit to perform were slim to none. And the reminder of the second-worst punishment a candidate could receive had shaken him. Shani's roommate back at the lab had been to a "time out" room and had told him about it. The things Shani had been told had scared him badly, so he didn't want to face such himself. Thus, unlike Orga, Shani would accept what Dr. Moss told him without question so he wouldn't be punished.

Mina brought up the final results for the last candidate in this different trio. Interestingly, the damage to Shani was less than his fellow trio members. The boy seemed to have some quality that allowed him not to suffer as much damage as other candidates did when deprived of medication. There were a few candidates like that, and it was noted on Shani's file which made him a tad more valuable than others. So, Mina glanced up at Shani, "Finally, Candidate Shani Andras," she announced. Shani stood up, ready as he could be to be told that he wouldn't be able to perform and to go to his quarters. Mina continued, "You are fit to perform, unlike your fellow trio members."

Shani's head snapped up since he thought he had heard wrong. He thought Dr. Moss had just told him he was fit to perform, but he questioned that. Clotho and Orga were judged unfit, so why would he be any different from them? So, while he rarely questioned what he was told since he did his best to listen, he had to make sure he'd heard correctly. "Uh, you said I was fit to perform, Dr. Moss, right," Shani asked with slight disbelief, "Meaning I can go out again?"

Mina didn't see an issue with candidates sometimes asking for clarification on instructions. It showed they wanted to get things right and do so well, which Mina would applaud as long as it wasn't an unnecessary habit. And Shani's record stated he didn't tend to ask for clarification often so that Mina would let this instance slide. Thus, Mina nodded, "That's corrected, Shani," she stated evenly, "so that being said, I expect you to do acceptably. Your past performance has shown you can do consistently, and I expect that to continue. You've proven to be the most consistent out of your trio, so make yourself ready to launch in the X252, off you go."

Shani nodded, not wanting to question this good fortune he was receiving from Dr. Moss. He bowed and left the infirmary heading toward the cargo hold to ready himself for sortie. Shani was in a much better mood with the prospect of being able to prove he was useful. Plus, Shani would have another chance to go against the two different machines he and the other two had failed to take down. And this time, Shani wouldn't have to compete against Clotho or Orga to take down the enemy.

With the problem now in hand, Mina put down the datapad and let out a frustrated sigh. The issue shouldn't have happened, following procedure should've prevented this from getting to the point it had. The fool Mull had dismissed protocol and caused damage and put two candidates down for a time. Mina would make sure the man would be kicked out of the lab when she got the time to do that. Mull had failed too many times to be given another chance, so he would be "let go," and then he wouldn't be Mina's issue to deal with. After a moment, Mina went over to the communications console and dialed up the bridge. "Azrael," Mina began, "I've finished solving the problem that had cropped up, and it was, as I thought, an internal issue. Thankfully, it was fixable enough that little extra work will be needed."

It hadn't been an hour yet, and Mina had already solved whatever had been going wrong. Azrael was again impressed at Mina's proficiency and getting things going in the direction she wanted. He hoped that meant the assault against Orb could resume shortly as that had been interrupted. "I see, it is good to see you can deliver on what you say, Mina," Azrael replied. "I will not ask how you got things in order as that is your prerogative, but to business, what is the verdict on your candidates?"

Mina sighed, being reminded of Mull's screw-up and encouraged by his disregard of instructions. The mess had been annoying to clean up, but she still preferred to handle such herself. "Clotho Buer and Orga Sabnak are unfit at this time to perform due to the bungling done," Mina said dryly. "However, Shani Andras is up to go out and do the assigned task. Yet, since two out of the three are not going to be able to pilot, I'll also send out my girls with him. I would rather he not go out alone and potentially get needlessly killed and waste the work that's gone into him."

Azrael had been concerned that Mina would see the three boys as not up to doing the job. Yet, having one was better than none, and Mina sending out her girls would certainly be an agreeable compromise. Azrael wanted to see Mina's "star girls" in action if possible, so it worked out better in the end. "Your offer is perfectly fine with me," he returned, "And I look forward to seeing your girls in action with what you say about them." Mina disappeared from the vid-screen, and Azrael turned to the ship's captain. "Well, captain," Azrael began, "It sounds like things are ready enough to resume the operation, our patience will be rewarded."

Less than ten minutes later, OMNI forces started moving forward toward Orb again. With all the preparations "done," as the fleet officers said, aircraft lifted off ships, and Strike Daggers came out of Spengler-class ships' cargo holds. Mina had returned to the Lawdon just before the advancement started to get away from Azrael and watch her girls work in peace. In Mina's opinion, the man had an ego far too large for one person to need or should have.

It was one of the main reasons Mina didn't deal with the financial backers regularly. Most of them were narcissistic fools and were a pain to be around, and Lori dealt with that sort far better than Mina. Mina tolerated Azrael more since Blue Cosmos gave Lodonia Lab a LARGE amount of money to work with for research funds. Once on the bridge of the Lawdon, Mina sunk into her chair and exhaled heavily at the whole situation that was happening. War wasn't Mina's thing at all, even if her work was well suited for the idea. Her interest was always in finding where human beings' limits were and seeing what it took for them to surpass them. The drive for that had her so cold and strict in how her project was run. Mina focused on the battle looming rather than on the man that was being a frustration lately to her. Perhaps today, Azrael would see enough to be impressed with her project and pass that on to the other funders. Mina could hope for that since such a result would have a good chance of getting her back to the lab. Lori and the others that were the face of the Enhanced Human Project for the funders could have the job back. This trip reinforced Mina's position of doing work on the project and not doing the selling it was how it should be.

Mina connected a com-channel down to the three mobile suits in the cargo hold and the Forbidden. The instructions she would be giving the four would be much as they had been in the previous encounters with the Federation. Mina's expectations weren't the highest, with the Federation clearly being prepared for OMNI. However, even when Mina didn't expect the best results, she still would have an acceptable performance from all four candidates. "Listen up, all of you," Mina began, and all the girls and Shani stopped what they were doing to listen to Dr. Moss for their instructions. It was a habit for them all candidates to stop what you were doing and give her your full attention when Dr. Moss spoke to you. Mina continued after a moment, "Your goal is to get as far as you can in this fight toward OMNI's aim of taking Orb. I can guarantee it won't be a simple task and harder than any of the simulations you've done. You're not going against ZAFT forces like you have been trained to face back at the lab."

Deborah had glanced over the records on the recent attempt to fight Orb to get a sense of what she and her sisters would be going against. The resistance from the nation had been much the same as it had been around the Republic. And then, the male trio had started fine in working toward the task they had been assigned, but that hadn't lasted long. The three had quickly gone from working loosely together to fighting against one another. It progressed from working toward the goal to competing between them to the three fighting. Deborah had heard things about the male trio, and most had been they were sporadic at getting results together. With two of the trio not going out, there was a chance the remaining male would do better, but Deborah had mentioned to her sisters to be careful around the boy. Mina kept going, "That should be clear to each of you by this point, having at least one experience against Federation military forces. They are an amount better than ZAFT is and underestimating them will not end well for any of you. With that being said, using your brains will be the best thing for you to do in this outing." Mina paused for a moment, "Like before, and the desired results are for the mass driver to be intact and usable and Morgenroete being like that as well. Quite honestly, I don't find it likely that even with the four of you working together, be able to do that without a lot of effort and luck. Do the four of you understand your instructions?"

The instructions were clear enough for all four, and there were really no questions. For Deborah and her sisters, this was a chance to make their mother proud, and none of them missed an opportunity for that. In Shani's case, this was the chance for him to prove he was useful and could perform acceptably. Thus, all four replied in unison, "Yes, mother/mama/mom/ma'am, we understand our instructions."

Once in range, OMNI began firing their weapons off, starting with missiles at Orb, focusing on Onogoro Island this time. Before, OMNI had been attacking Orb's mainland's western coast along with Onogoro, which hadn't made much progress. So, this attack focused on Onogoro as it had the points of interest OMNI was here to take from Orb. The goal OMNI was working for hadn't changed, they were still to seize the mass driver and, if possible, Morgenroete too. While Victoria's mass driver solved the supply line issue, a second mass driver would move plans along.

Those on duty in Orb's military command center hadn't missed OMNI's advance. As the enemy fleet had only backed a distance away and not left the general area, tight watches were mounted to alert for the slightest hint of another attack. OMNI had thrown too much at their attempt to take Orb to cease with just one assault on it. There had been a slim hope that OMNI would give up and leave the nation alone, but it had been a fool's hope. It was why repairs and other preparations had been worked on while the enemy had not been attacking. Of course, orders were given for defending forces to head back out to protect the nation from the assault. The evacuations had been completed by this time, so the mainland was almost empty of people. And with the apparent focus of OMNI on Onogoro, Orb forces concentrated on defending the smaller island.

The Strike Daggers lept off from the ships and headed toward Onogoro when the ships got close enough. OMNI aircraft had already engaged the Valkyries that were in the air by the time the mobile suits surged forward. A few of the Orb's operators in their command center noticed some odd signals with the Daggers. They reported the signals to Kisaka and Cagalli, and when Kisaka came over to a console and glanced at what the operators were talking about, he was somewhat concerned. There were four unique signals among OMNI's mobile suits, and one was a match from the Gundam types in the previous attack. However, the other three didn't have data matching them, but they seemed similar, suggesting they could be Gundam-types too. The three Gundams that had been with OMNI before had caused more trouble than the mass-production models. Having three new ones to replace two of the previous was extremely troubling for those defending Orb.

As the four Gundams launched from their respective Spengler classes, they came together into formation. Deborah shifted the Bandit into its mobile armor mode before the Raptor jumped on top of it. Lafter took up position on the right of the Bandit while the Forbidden did the same on the left. Deborah scanned over the battlefield ahead, taking in the enemy's positions and formations. It was clear to her that the enemy had multiple defensive lines which would have to be breached to achieve their task's goal. And Deborah didn't feel the Daggers would make decent progress in a reasonable period. However, according to the previous battle record, there were "unique" mobile suits that would need to be their focus first. The fight around the Republic had proven with this Federation that their custom machines were too powerful to ignore. Thus, they needed to be handled first before moving on to the other part of the assigned task.

Orb's defenders quickly found OMNI's attack was heavy as it had been two days ago. Nonetheless, the Astrays and the Valkyries held their ground and didn't give an inch to the Strike Daggers. The Archangel exited its dock while the five Gundams left Morgenroete's complex and when to the battlefield. The Strike, the Shadow, and the Buster headed to the forward defensive line Orb had formed. On the other hand, the Freedom and the Justice took to the air and were scanning over the field. OMNI still had a sizable number of their mass-production Strike Daggers left to fight from the last battle. However, both Kira and Athrun quickly spotted the four incoming custom models from OMNI's side. Kira recognized one out of the four, which was the white one that had the green backpack and shields on either side of the shoulders. It had been one of the three who had been in the attack two days ago, along with the black one and the artillery wielder. Yet, the three with the white one were new to Kira as he hadn't ever seen them before. One appeared similar to the black and red one but had different coloration than the other.

As Kira was studying the approaching enemy Gundams, so too was Athrun. And while seeing one of the three from the last battle was not nice, it wasn't the real issue he saw. No, Athrun's heart dropped at seeing all three mobile suits that Tyler, he, and others had dealt with around the Republic. The three had proven to be dangerous both as individual units and as a team working together. Unlike the other three they had faced in the last battle, three out of the four coming their way were more competent with their skills. And not only that, they had a better focus and didn't get distracted by other things in the skirmish. Athrun also saw that the tools he and Tyler had destroyed before had been replaced in the interim. He specifically recalled Tyler slicing up the blue one's anti-ship sword, but it had it back now.

With those three here, the fight would be more complicated than the last, Athrun did not doubt that. The other three had made things easier as they fought against each other instead of focusing on their opponents. And if he and Kira didn't keep the three Gundams from the Republic's battle occupied, they would cause trouble for the other defenders. Athrun feared if they helped OMNI's Strike Daggers break through Orb's defensive lines and advance forward. And with OMNI focusing on Onogoro Island instead of dividing between both it and the mainland, it would make the fight harder. Athrun bit his lip, "Them again," he cursed, "I guess it shouldn't be surprising they would call for them to come here."

He opened a com-channel to the Freedom so that he could warn Kira about their opponents. "Kira," Athrun began, "the four Gundams approaching us, the three you don't recognize, were with OMNI's forces that assaulted the Republic." Kira had a double-take at Athrun's statement about the four Gundam-types that were coming toward them. If he had faced them while helping the Republic's defenders, he had more knowledge than Kira had on them. And the tone in which Athrun was talking implied the three new machines were more dangerous than the three in the previous battle. Still, Kira said nothing as Athrun continued, "Don't underestimate them, or else you may not live to regret the action. They are dangerous, as individuals and as a team, they proved that in a way that left no doubt."

At the same time, Lafter spotted the two "different-looking" machines in the air above the island they were traveling toward. One was white and black, it wasn't one she'd seen before, but she would cut it down like any other. Yet, Lafter stopped on the other enemy since it was a second after looking at it that Lafter recognized it. The crimson suit was the same one she and Deborah had fought back around the Republic. It had been helping the red meanie that had so irritated Lafter since they hadn't let her cut them into pieces. Seeing one of the two irritating machines got Lafter to grit her teeth in frustration. "It's the crimson one that was helping the red meanie two fights ago," Lafter growled.

Deborah heard Lafter's tone, and she had also noticed the crimson unit, which was, as her youngest sister said, the same one from the first assault they had participated in. It was clear that Lafter wanted payback, and where Deborah could sympathize with that, the task took priority. "While I understand you want another go, Lafter," Deborah started, "We can't lose sight of the assigned task." Deborah paused for a moment, "Lafter, Andras, keep those two in the air busy for a bit. I'm going to drop off Rossweisse so she can get to work and then come back, and then together we can take them down."

"Fine by me, Deborah," Lafter responded.

Shani didn't much like taking orders from another, it was how his trio had worked, and it did fine. But as he was out and his fellow trio members were not, and Dr. Moss had given him a chance, Shani would do as he was told. He had a chance to get payback on those that had embarrassed him and the others. So, Shani would do as the eldest Galiena sister and not snap back at her as he kind of wanted to. Arguing wouldn't help move forward, and Shani knew that, so he just acknowledged the order, "Roger."

The Sinister and the Forbidden surged forward toward the Freedom and the Justice racing at them. While they went off, Deborah descended down to avoid direct conflict and headed for the land ahead. "Rossweisse," Deborah began, "Do try this time not to get swarmed, you were starting to be overwhelmed around the Republic, don't make that mistake."

Rossweisse grunted, "I won't let the enemy get close enough to do that this time," she replied.

"Then," Deborah said, coming into range of the land, "Off to work you go, Rossweisse." The Bandit tilted to the right, and the Raptor jumped off the Bandit and headed toward the ground. Rossweisse used the Raptor's thrusters to have a fairly soft landing on the ground on Onogoro Island. She then worked using the Raptor's weapons to begin cutting down Orb's defenders. After dropping off and seeing Rossweisse getting down to work, Deborah swung the Bandit around and headed back to the other two.

Kira and Athrun met the Forbidden and the Sinister and brought them to a halt. That transition into the four fighting with two on two. The Sinister focused on the Justice, Lafter wanting to vent her frustration for what happened with the red meanie. That left the Forbidden going against the Freedom, and Shani had no issue with it as he wanted another chance against it. Athrun and Kira were slightly forced onto the defensive by their opponents as the two OMNI Gundams were aggressively attacking. The Freedom and the Justice were harder pressed when the Bandit joined the fight. The Bandit shifted into its suit form and took out both beam sabers, using the Justice's shield as a springboard and striking at the Freedom with its sabers. The move was unexpected and caught both Kira and Athrun off-guard slightly, but they recovered quickly. They brought out their cannons and employed them to force the Bandit to draw back a bit.

While the fight between the five Gundams was going on, the ground forces were still duking things out. Mu and Krystal had gone out to the front defense line with the second half of Orb's Astrays. OMNI's Strike Daggers pushed hard against the defenders, but their push was halted. Dearka was on the northwestern part of Onogoro, working with an Astray team to fight against OMNI's Daggers. Even with what Athrun said about helping the Federation likely being against orders, Dearka didn't care right now. He was here, and he had made a choice to assist in this fight with OMNI, that was his story, and he would stick to it.

However, only a short period after its landing, Mu and Krystal noticed the Raptor. Mu could see the unit's artillery, which was similar to the one he took on in the last battle. However, it appeared to be lighter and had slightly less armor but still had cannons it was using to mow down Orb's forces. Mu went straight for the Raptor, however, the difference in armor became apparent with the better mobility the suit had. The Raptor nimbly dodged Mu's attacks with the Agni cannon and anti-ship sword he tried. Rossweisse would use her shield's machine gun and the high-energy beam cannons against the enemy machine. Mu would have drawn back when his opponent would direct its weapons on him.

Krystal observed Mu's attempts at this new Gundam, and she didn't like what she saw from the fight. She moved over to where the Strike was dancing with the Raptor, planning to help Mu push this enemy Gundam back. The Shadow approached from behind, and Krystal raised the Shadow's shield's railgun. However, before she fired it, Krystal saw the enemy suit's right shoulder rack swing back to have a cannon pointing at her. She had just enough time to jump back and to the left as the enemy plasma cannon fired at where she had been. It showed that the Raptor's shoulder cannons have a hundred-eighty-degree spherical motion range. The enemy artillery wielder in the previous battle possessed blind spots, and this enemy unit didn't, by what Krystal could tell.

Back with Kira and Athrun, as time moved forward, they managed to divide their three opponents with the help of allies. Valkyrie jet fighters had begun assisting the Freedom and the Justice shortly after the three enemy Gundams had attacked them. Kira went after the Bandit once the three enemy suits were separated from each other. Athrun rushed forward at the Sinister, who retaliated against the Valkyries that had helped them. The Forbidden was being kept busy by a team of Valkyries.

Athrun stayed on the left and attacked the Sinister, remembering how Tyler had done that before. And he quickly found the reason Tyler found this enemy that way is they had a hard time attacking that side. The Sinister's anti-ship sword was swung so that the pilot would have to turn, which made it difficult to strike on the left with the large shield. And Athrun was probing his opponent's weakness to see where he may strike to gain even a slight advantage. Athrun knew the sooner the Gundam-types went down, the better Orb's defenders would do and the quicker they would force OMNI back.

At the same time, Kira was dancing with the Bandit and was finding it much different than the machine it appeared very similar to. Whoever the pilot Kira was facing now wasn't erratic or seemingly crazy. No, they were focused and, while aggressive, showed they weren't reckless with their fighting style. Kira was forced to keep on his toes as he learned how his opponent was fighting. The Bandit kept switching between using a beam saber and its beam rifle, which the machine in the previous battle didn't have. Kira definitely had to keep the Freedom's shield ready to be in front of the enemy he was fighting. Kira wondered where OMNI could have gotten the pilots they had for their Gundam types.

As the battle continued, those on the Powell taking in the combat were in shock at seeing the difference that the other custom mobile suits were making. It was completely different than the battle that had happened two days ago. On the other hand, Azrael was smiling at the display of Mina's work he was seeing. This was the type of performance he had hoped to see two days ago and had been disappointed when it hadn't occurred. However, even if he'd had to wait to see the real value of Mina's work, the wait was worth it with what he was seeing. Mina's girls were even keeping the two Gundam-types that had defeated the three in the last battle on their toes. Azrael would say to others that funded Mina's project that it wasn't a complete waste of money. If Mina's girls were anything to go by, her project had real potential to change not just the war but means to keep those that didn't obey in line. Azrael knew there was still an open com-channel between the Powell and the Lawdon, mostly for coordination. But he was impressed enough to comment for Mina to hear, "I must say, Mina, quite impressive performance from your candidates."

That was the closest thing Mina had heard to a compliment from Azrael during this whole time away from the lab. And while Mina did not live for compliments or worked for them, they were nice to receive every once in a while. Plus, Mina knew her girls would be able to do better than the male trio had. They were the "standard" the other candidates were to work toward to perform well. "There's a reason that I have confidence in my work and its results, Azrael," Mina replied, "And now that you see the reason with your own eyes, you would do well to remember the fact."

Things were going well for OMNI as their Gundam-types were bolstering the Strike Daggers and OMNI aircraft. OMNI used the momentum that the Gundams gained to surge forward and gain a marginal foothold on Onogoro. They were able to push Orb's defenders onto not just defensive but against a wall within less than thirty minutes. Those in Orb's military command center were seeing OMNI's push. Cagalli was frustrated that the forward defense line was being breached and collapsing in places. Orb wasn't on the brink of defeat yet, but OMNI's push was directing the battle in the general direction of Orb losing. If Orb's defenders didn't get away from the wall they were pressed against, and then there may be no tomorrow for the nation. Then an operator called that new contacts were showing up at the edge of Orb's sensor range. A moment later, Kisaka confirmed the new contacts were made up of allied reinforcement. Kisaka also mentioned to Cagalli that the ID codes were coming up as forces belonging to the Equatorial Union and the Republic.

Shortly after Orb's command groups noticed the allied reinforcement, they flew past the OMNI vessels. Azrael and those on the Powell's bridge followed the craft that shot past them toward the battle. Azrael didn't like the sight of Federation reinforcements, and it would only complicate things. Really, it would probably reverse the momentum that OMNI had gained in this battle. It was one of the frustrating things about the Federation's military, and they normally got reinforcements from seemingly out of nowhere given enough time. And if Azrael needed any more of a sign of the tables turning, it came with the report of ships at the back of OMNI's fleet being hit from underwater. Then, the extra Federation forces shifted the Daggers from the offensive to a more defensive posture.

OMNI nor Orb military command was the only one to notice the Federation reinforcement that had appeared. Orb's defenders quickly realized that there were more fighting the Strike Daggers and OMNI aircraft. As Mu was forced back a bit by the Raptor, he suddenly found the Gundam he'd been fighting was being swarmed but Federation Valkyrie jet-fighters. Their coloration on the wingtips and accents were different than Orb's, but Mu didn't complain about the extra help. On the other hand, Athrun saw some of the fighters had the colors the Republic forces possessed. Yet, the majority didn't have Republic colors, and Athrun was left to conclude they were from the Equatorial Union. It was the closest Federation member nation that could effectively send military forces to help Orb. However, the other thing that caught Athrun's attention was two signals that were heading for not OMNI's mobile suits but their ships. The ID codes meant nothing to him, so he couldn't say what the signals were but to go for the OMNI vessels while others helped ORB's defenders suggested they were different from the rest.

Mina also was studying the new Federation forces that had popped up on this battlefield. Specifically, she noted the coloration of the fighters had on their wings and other areas of the craft. She knew enough about the Federation to have heard that each nation had a different color scheme for defending forces. And while she may not know the coloration of the different nations, Mina could logically deduce where the new forces came from. Some had the same colors as the Republic's forces, but they didn't make up the majority. And the closest Federation territory was the Equatorial Union, so Mina assumed that was where the rest came from. The reinforcement from the Equatorial Union suggested that OMNI's Third Seaborne Fleet had failed in their task to take control of the nation. If this attack against Orb failed, and it was certainly looking like it would, then OMNI will have failed to take any Federation territory.

The issue Mina saw with the new Federation forces was twofold, and one was a more immediate problem while the other would be a more serious long-term issue. The long-term issue came from OMNI attacking the Federation's member nations. And that she felt would be the response of the Federation's military, which Mina believed would happen in space. The lack of communication down on Earth was bad, so Mina assumed it was the same with OMNI's space forces. Thus, if or rather when they were attacked, OMNI's Orbital and Lunar fleets would be fighting against the Federation and likely have no idea why. And should the battles be anything like they had been on Earth, OMNI's space fleets would be hard-pressed and probably would be mowed down. Mina saw what a mess that helping the Earth Alliance was becoming the longer that this time away from the lab went on. Technically, Lodonia Labs didn't belong to the Alliance, just more than half of its funders were a part of the Alliance. The thought of looking into taking her work to either ZAFT or the Federation came to mind once again.

Then, the second more immediate issue that Mina saw that she felt would be a real problem. The fresh Federation forces were indeed reinforcing Orb's defenders, but they were also exploiting the Gundam-types' weaknesses. Mina knew the Federation wasn't foolish or stupid, even if OMNI's actions implied they thought they were. The weakness exploitation was proof that the Federation learned from each encounter and applied the lessons learned. And then, the Republic forces brought back to mind the "sonar" issues that had occurred back in that battle. She had figured that the Federation had developed something to cause that and had equipped it with one of their new Gundam-type mobile suits. Should that be true, then there was the real possibility that one or more of those with that sonar weapon could be here now. So, Mina twisted herself in her chair, "Captain, it would be in our best interest if the frequency that sonar runs on." The captain was about to argue, but Mina cut over him, "Change it before your sonar becomes blind like it did back in the Republic. If nothing happens, then feel free to argue with me. But your sonar operator will thank you as then they won't have to have a headache from the sonar scream at him. This battle is already going badly, do not make it more difficult than it already is."

The Lawdon's captain wanted to argue with the woman, but with the skirmish going on, it wasn't worth it at the moment. So he ordered the sonar operator to change the sonar's frequency without snapping back at the woman. The sonar operator had barely done as ordered when reports came in from other ships of problems. The reports confirmed Mina's assumption as they said something had scrambled or blinded the sonar detection system. As the battle kept going, the Federation turned the tides and flipped the sides to have OMNI on the defensive and the Federation on the offensive.

The battle had been going on for nearly an hour by this point, and things were only getting worse by the minute. And the fact that the custom mobile suits for the OMNI would soon need resupply began registering in Mina's mind. Things were quickly looking grim for OMNI from Mina's perspective and with little possibility of improvement. The last point or capping idea that worried Mina about how this would end was Uzumi Athha's reputation. The man that led the Orb Union wasn't known for folding under pressure, quite the opposite really. And if one went by that, then Athha wouldn't let the Alliance have the mass driver or Morgenroete. Even if keeping the Alliance from getting what they wanted would end badly for Orb itself, Athha would likely do what he felt it would take to stop the Alliance. So, no matter how this finished, the Alliance would lose and not get what they were after. With that in mind, Mina got back on the com-channel to the Powell, "Azrael, don't take this the wrong way, but I would suggest that a tactical retreat be done," Mina said, "a personal opinion base upon observation."

Things were not going as he wanted, so the last thing he wanted to hear was another suggestion to pull back from this conflict. The Federation reinforcement had been a frustration that OMNI wasn't doing well to counter. Then, there was the sonar issue that none could explain, causing panic among the fleet. All in all, Azrael wasn't happy right now, and so Mina's suggestion was pushing him to the edge of his patience. "I have no interest in hearing your opinion right now, Mina," Azrael growled back. "This fight isn't over until Orb falls."

Mina thought about explaining to Azrael logically why he would not get the outcome he wanted, but the man would unlikely listen anyway. She would have said something to the effect of Azrael being welcome to eat his own words, but she never got the chance. That interruption came when two unknown craft burst out of the water. The two machines shifted over to mobile suits before landing on the closest ships. One was green, some of the larger sections were darker green while the rest were lighter green, and only the feet' center section was white. Before the suit appeared as a saucer for the upper section, the lower was, the lower half of the suit simply folded back and was likely the propulsion system. So, the head, shoulders, and arms folded in and combined with the back to form the saucer section. It possessed two long cannons, one on either arm mounted on the saucer section parts. From where it had come, it was clear that it was meant for fighting underwater and above it. The other machine was white overall, with the upper torso section and the feet being blue. Like the other had transformed from a submersible form with the long nose divided into two parts, one behind each shoulder. Then there was a powerful looking cannon on its back along the center, where there were two rifles on the outside of the shoulders. The suit was also carrying a lance of some kind on its back beside the cannon.

Both the Gundam-types wasted no time and started shooting the Alliance ships they were on and near. The licensed pilots used their skills to rip OMNI ships apart with their mobile suits' arsenals. Mina assumed that the two were carrying the equipment that had scrambled OMNI's sonar systems. It would make the most sense that underwater machines would have the equipment to give them quite the advantage. And with their arsenal, they specialized in hitting from underwater or taking on sea vessels. That also bumped up the Federation's Gundam types to seven in total. There were the two from the first generation of the GAT series and the black one that had been with that series. Then there were the two in the air, one being the crimson one from the Republic. Finally, there were the two underwater machines that had appeared, all vs. the four Gundams on OMNI's side.

Those seven were making a difference before one took into account Orb's mobile suits and the Federation's jet fighters. A person observing the skirmish would say while the custom models were doing a portion of the work, the rest of the Federation's forces weren't slacking. And there was a bit of difference in the fighting style between Orb's forces and those who were reinforcing them. The units from Mina guessed were from the Equatorial Union were using more aggressive and almost gorilla tactics. The Strike Daggers were certainly having a much harder time defending themselves now. Mina refocused and turned her attention back to Azrael, "Look around you, director," she stated, "and then tell me you still think it's such a bad idea to retreat." Mina paused to allow Azrael the time to take in the flow of the battle before she continued, "Plus, with the reputation that Athha has, take a moment to consider the situation. I would bet a substantial sum of currency the man has rigged something with the mass driver and Morgenroete. Should you overtake the defenders, I would doubt he'd hesitate to destroy both of them before you could do anything to stop it. If that happens, then it makes all the work done to get this far wasted."

Azrael didn't reply immediately, instead, glancing over the battlefield that was before him. Orb's defending forces, bolstered by their reinforcements, were slowly but surely pushing the Strike Daggers back. Even with the four Gundam-types, OMNI lost ground to their enemies as time kept moving forward. Just seeing the truth on display caused Azrael to frown in irritation at the turn of events. He was angry at how things had been going as they should at first, but now they were going the opposite way. And though he didn't want to admit it, Mina had a point about things going against them. Heck, she was likely right about Athha probably planning ahead to ensure that the Alliance wouldn't have victory if Orb lost. The man that led Orb had shown he was stubborn enough to do pretty much anything to deny the Alliance. OMNI had lost the battle essentially, and to continue it would only end in a worse fiasco that would stain the Alliance. Thus, Azrael sighed in slight defeat, "Fine, Mina," he remarked, "I admit you have a point in this but don't think this fight with the Federation is over."

Mina had heard Muata Azrael was a sore loser, and she'd seen evidence of the truth of the point. Azrael wouldn't let losses against the Federation, which OMNI had suffered, stop his vendetta. He wanted the Federation to bow down to him and become something akin to slaves to the Alliance. Mina didn't believe that the Federation would accept anything like what Azrael and those like him wanted of them. However, Mina knew that it would be better that she not call the man out on his foolishness. At least, she would have to keep quiet about any disagreement until she had a path that would take her and her project out of reach of men like Azrael. "I wouldn't doubt you'll make sure of that," Mina replied, "Regardless of what others may say to you."

The moment Mina was off the call to Azrael, she immediately gave orders to recall the Gundam-type suits. Mina didn't want to have them damaged too much by staying out longer when the battle was decided. Her girls quickly responded and did what they were ordered, and Shani soon followed. The order was echoed to the rest of the Alliance forces, and they pulled back from Orb, leaving the nation still standing. OMNI Vessels turned and began traveling away from Orb to signify full retreat.

Orb's mainland had been damaged, and the cities and surrounding area would take time and resources to rebuild. Onogoro Island had taken the worst beating of the islands in Orb's territory during the two battles to defend the nation. Many had given their lives to stop OMNI from achieving their goal of taking over Orb. Even with the assistance of their allies, calculating losses would take time to really know how many had lost their lives. However, in the end, Orb hadn't fallen to OMNI through the efforts of its defenders. That gave hope to those that made up the Federation since none of the Pacific member nations had been taken by OMNI.

Nonetheless, things quickly became busy since OMNI forces had pulled out and left Orb's territory. The work was prioritized for the jobs that would make Orb ready should another attack come from OMNI soon. That was balanced with soldiers getting downtime and helping the injured get their needed help. Orb's military command was buzzing with coordinating groups for the work needing to be done. The nation's admirals were quick to organize shifts and lay down routines to ensure no one fainted or dropped from the work.

Cagalli tried to help as she could, but she was pulled aside by Kisaka and was told she was to go to the Kaguya complex. She couldn't figure out why she would be called there and by her father. Cagalli could help around Orb's military command and managed the needed work to get Orb back on its feet. Still, as her father had asked her to come, she would go and see what he needed before getting back to what she could do to help. Cagalli was already stressed after having to watch Orb assaulted by OMNI. They had done horrible damage to the country, and it would likely take a year or more for Orb to be rebuilt back to what it had been. Then it would take just as long, if not longer, with the way for the citizens to return to Orb. Those were her thoughts as she traveled with Kisaka toward the Kaguya complex.

Once the message of OMNI having retreated was broadcasted to the defenders of Orb, Murrue had the crew stand down from battle stations. The battle was very similar to what the previous one had been two days ago. OMNI's push and efforts to take Orb were really only explainable by their wish to have the Federation under their control. She had accepted that OMNI had morphed into a monster they had said they would fight against. But seeing OMNI attacking neutral nations to take control of it and make it part of the Alliance by force. Murrue had never believed months ago that the Alliance would stoop so low as to intimidate and force others to fight for them. Yet, the last two months had changed so much of what Murrue had believed of the Alliance and OMNI.

The Archangel was heading to a dock when the ship got orders to make its way to the Kaguya mass driver complex. The complex was northeast of Onogoro Island on a smaller collection of islands that supported the mass driver. Murrue didn't know why the Archangel would be told to go to the complex. It implied the Archangel was expected to go up to space for some reason. However, the Archangel wasn't built for using a mass driver, though it could equip boosters to do the job. Yet, the boosters were not made as far as Murrue knew, OMNI hadn't gotten around to it. It was possible that the Federation could have made something similar, but again, Murrue hadn't heard anything about it. And besides that, what could the Archangel do in space it couldn't do down here?

Instead of questioning the order, Murrue had Arnold pilot the ship to the mass driver complex instead of any of Onogoro's docks. Arnold did as directed and moved the Archangel around the northern side of Onogoro, heading to the Kaguya complex. The Archangel's bridge crew viewed the buildings around the mass driver's control facility as they approached. The mass driver's track spanned around forty kilometers from the control center to the end of the catapult. Just south of the mass driver track was the complex's docking facilities, including dry docks for attaching ships with equipment. And it was to one of the dry docks that the Archangel was directed by those in charge at the complex.

The Archangel came down into the dry dock, and once, in it up from under the dock's sides, came scaffolding which moved over the ship. The dockworkers under the direction of some from Morgenroete got to work attaching the plasma boosters they had there. They looked much like the specs Murrue had glanced at during a briefing with the other members of the original bridge crew. The equipment gave credence to the Archangel heading into space very soon, but she still couldn't help but wonder why. Murrue did exit the ship leaving it under the command of Krystal while Mu accompanied her. They traveled to Orb's Kaguya control center and were met by a man that looked quite similar to Lord Uzumi.

Homura Athha bowed to the two officers from the Archangel as they got to him. Homura felt he was getting the easy job briefing the Archangel's officers. His brother Uzumi would have to tell his daughter Cagalli she would be leaving Orb and heading up to space. He felt Cagalli wouldn't go by choice to leave the nation at a time like the current one. But Homura agreed with Uzumi that Cagalli was needed where the war was going, which was space. Cagalli would carry seeds of hope for the next generation to have and use. It was time the current leaders of the Federation started letting the upcoming generation do their part. And while Homura didn't much like the young being in the war, they had the best chance of helping bring about a good end to it. "On behalf of Orb," Homura began, "I would like to thank you for your assistance in its protection. I am Homura Athha, a member of Orb's ruling council, and I personally am grateful for your efforts."

With the name of Athha, Mu figured the man was related to Lord Uzumi somehow. The resemblance suggested they could and very well may be brothers. The gratitude was appreciated especially since the Archangel had been going against former allies. Murrue returned the bow, "Thank you for the gratitude, and it is some of the few good things we have received lately," she replied.

Mu nodded his head in agreement, "Indeed, the thanks are nice," he remarked. "However, sorry if it seems presumptuous, but why is the Archangel being equipped with boosters? And why were we asked to come to your Kaguya?"

Homura faced Mu, "It is hoped that the Archangel will go into space and help end the war there." Homura paused for a moment, "The war is moving towards space, and nuclear weapons are coming, that is no longer a question." Murrue didn't want to believe Lord Homura was telling the truth about nuclear weapons. The Bloody Valentine had shown what could happen if nuclear weapons came into the war. But should Lord Homura be right, then that kind of event could occur once again, and the war was going in that direction. Homura continued, "Humanity needs those like yourselves to fight against those that screech a certain group has to die. This war encompasses all of the world, the moon, and the PLANTs, and none will be left out of this any longer."

Mu looked at the floor, "We're not heroes," Mu commented, "Just people that are doing the best we can."

Homura chuckled, "You may see yourselves that way, but others will see and call you heroes for what you have done." Homura paused, considering historically, those that were seen as heroes for their actions. Most hadn't asked to do what they had, and they had just done what they could do to make a difference. History's heroes were called upon to do what was needed at the time to save humanity from the darkness it was in. And in this war, it was much the same, the heroes that had come had been called upon, not made readied to do what they ended out doing. "History makes it clear that heroes are called upon not for their skills or appearance but upon their beliefs and determination. And Humanity needs that more now than ever with its path right now," Homura stated. "Would you not agree?" It was a question that neither Murrue nor Mu had a real answer to Lord Homura.

Meanwhile, the Buster was loaded onto the Archangel and put into a dock next to the Shadow. The three from OMNI's G-Project didn't have effective means of flight to help with watching for OMNI forces who might stop the ascent. The job would be left to the Justice and the Freedom, who would ride the Izumo's central module when it would use Kaguya to go to space. While OMNI had retreated, they still may try to mess things up as payback for losing the battle. Dearka didn't like being trapped on the Archangel with the Buster grounded. Granted, the Archangel was going to space which was a way for him to go in that direction. However, Dearka was leaning toward sticking with the ship for the time being. What they fought for, he wanted to fight for the same thing, the peace for all people, both Naturals and Coordinators.

At the same time, the final tasks required for the Izumo to be ready to ascend to space were being seen. Kisaka would be in charge and would act as the ship's captain with the military experience he had, and it seemed the best option. Erica Simmons would also go to make sure the Astray suits that were going onboard would be working as efficiently as possible. While Cagalli was kind of glad that she would get to see both Mrs. Simmons and Kisaka off for their mission, she wondered if that was the only reason her father called her here. There was still so much work to do to help Orb get back on its feet, and she would be assisting in that. So, taking a break to see off friends was nice, but also she dreaded them leaving. Cagalli was worried that she might never see them again, and that thought frightened her. She prepared herself to put on a brave face to send Kisaka and Mrs. Simmons off. However, when her father came up to her and put a hand on her shoulder, she straightened up and put on a good face.

Uzumi could see his daughter was forcing herself to put on a brave face for those she cared about. Cagalli had a big heart filled with care, passion, and love for others, and the world needed that more now than ever. Her duty would have her here to help Orb get back to its feet and stand against the encroaching darkness. But Uzumi was surer now that Cagalli could do more in space to assist in bringing the war to a good end. His daughter he had worked so hard to raise had grown up into a strong woman like his wife and Ellen. And knowing he was about to send her into the unknown future of possibility made him worry and proud of the woman she was becoming. Uzumi could now better understand what Ellen felt when Tyler went on missions for the Federation's military. Cagalli gazed at her father when he spoke, "Worry not, Cagalli," he said with a smile, "you will not see the Izumo leaving Orb as you are dreading."

Cagalli couldn't figure out what her father was talking about when he said she wouldn't see the Izumo leaving. That was why he'd called her here, so she could see her friends off, right? "What are you talking about, father," Cagalli asked, confused, "That's what you called me here for, isn't it?"

Uzumi spotted Kisaka coming up to where he and Cagalli were. He knew Kisaka was coming to get Cagalli and take her onto the Izumo. His presence was the signal that the ship was prepared to launch, and it was time for it to leave. Homura had volunteered to talk to the Archangel's officers before leaving for space. To be honest, Uzumi believed his brother was getting off with the easier job. The time had come for him to bid farewell to his daughter and send her off to carry the seeds of hope. So, Uzumi gently pushed Cagalli toward Kisaka, "You will be onboard the Izumo when it flies into the heavens."

Cagalli gaped at her father, saying that she would be going on the Izumo. She was needed here in Orb to help rebuild it for the time its citizens would return to it. Going into space was not where she was needed right now. That was where those like Kira and Athrun were to go, fighting to end the war in a good way. So, she was about to say no to her father, yet Kisaka grabbed one of her arms. Kisaka knew what Lord Uzumi intended for Lady Cagalli, and he agreed with the action. Lady Cagalli would carry seeds of hope to where they could do the most good for all. Thus, he nodded to her when she looked at him, "It's time to go, Lady Cagalli," he urged.

Cagalli gazed back at her father, tears coming to the corners of her eyes. She was supposed to help here with Orb and its reconstruction for the future. That was to be her part in this horrid war, not go to the battlefield. So, she shook her head at her father, "But Orb needs people like me here," she choked, "I can't go up into space right now." The tears were flowing down her face at this point, "You know there needs to be those that can manage the work here."

Uzumi smiled softly at the attempted excuse his daughter was trying to give to say she should stay. He knew it was best for Cagalli to leave Orb for the time being and go to where the war would be decided. She wouldn't do well waiting and worrying about those she cared about so much. He knew his daughter well enough to know how she would react, so he prepared a response. He shook his head at Cagalli, "No, your place is above this world," Uzumi assured. "Your voice may be able to help turn the tide and bring about a better tomorrow for not just Orb, but all humanity." Uzumi took her hand and rubbed it gently, "I will stay here and lead this nation, help it get back to its feet after the Alliance's attempts to bring it low came to not." Uzumi turned to Kisaka, "Fly Kisaka, my friend, watch over my daughter while she's under your care. She will help nourish the seeds of hope that will bring the future. And that will be necessary if the human race is to have any chance of surviving and having a future for itself." Uzumi decided to tell Cagalli something he hadn't yet, so he took a photo and gave it to Cagalli, "Worry not, you will not be alone, you will have your brother."

Kisaka bowed to Uzumi before he began pulling Cagalli towards the Izumo. Cagalli, however, was struggling against Kisaka, saying she couldn't leave Orb like this. A part of her wanted to go to space for that would have her with Kira and Athrun. But her duty was to Orb and its people first, as much as she wanted to be with friends, duty was important. She was forced to leave her father and uncle, whom she loved very much. Cagalli wouldn't accept this while she had a say, she would stay in Orb as she should. Yet, Kisaka kept firmly pulling Lady Cagalli to the gangway connected to the Izumo.

Uzumi could only smile at seeing the struggle his adopted daughter was putting up as Kisaka pulled her to the ship. It reminded him a bit of his late wife and very much of his friend and colleague, Ellen. Certainly, Cagalli had learned a few mannerisms from Ellen, how to be headstrong at the very least. He would have to remember to thank Ellen for the qualities she had instilled in his daughter. Homura had ented the control complex and had arrived in time to watch the interaction with his brother and his niece. The two were quite a pair, and Orb was lucky to have them. He approached Uzumi from behind and cleared his throat, "By what I saw, I assume my niece didn't much like the idea of leaving at this time?"

Uzumi faced his brother, smiling at the comment, "No, she most certainly didn't agree with the idea," he replied. Uzumi recalled some of the times Cagalli had been stubborn and would resist what he told her to do. But like the times before, Uzumi was doing what was best for his daughter even when she disagreed with his view. "But it is needed and is for the best, the seeds of hope that will bring about the future are in jeopardy. The war has put them in danger of being destroyed. Now more than ever, those who can protect and nurture them are necessary." Uzumi sighed, "Still, it is not easy for a parent to send their child off," Uzumi paused for a moment, not liking the fact, "and so it isn't for me either."

Homura could see his brother had a time sending his niece off to make her own path. The girl was a young woman now, and it was time for her to go out and forge her own way in life. And while it was a sign that his brother was being protective of his adopted daughter, Homura still found it amusing. "You are not the first parent to admit that, nor I believe you will be the last, brother. Still, there's plenty of work to do down here for both of us to focus on to last us for weeks. After convincing the Archangel officers, I spoke with our allies from the Equatorial Union. It seems that we aren't the only ones with serious issues with how the Alliance leadership is running things. Apparently, a growing number within the Alliance states are becoming dissatisfied with the leadership, mostly Atlantic Federation personnel, and their recent actions," stated Homura.

Uzumi hummed in thought at that piece of information, for it could infer quite a few different things. It first meant that the Equatorial Union had been attacked, and their defending forces had ousted OMNI. But the comment of some within the Alliance had misgivings about their current leaders was news. It meant there could be those who could be convinced to help defend humanity from destruction. Perhaps there were more seeds of hope than Uzumi had thought there were. If that was the case, then maybe Humanity wasn't as far down the dark path it was one as Uzumi feared. Uzumi hummed, "Then maybe Humanity has a better chance of a good future than I feared it was walking away from."

Outside, the Archangel lifted off from the dry dock it had been in and climbed into the air. Murrue ordered the positron cannons brought to active position and to wait until they got to the right altitude. Her bow was pointed towards the sky before the ship fired a volley from its positron cannons. The positron energy reacted with the boosters and helped the ship increase its speed as it climbed higher and higher. The energy created a stream that made an ascent vector to space for the Archangel. The white vessel used the vector and rapidly climbed upward in the sky to help in the ongoing war.

While the Archangel ascended, the control personnel announced all non-essential personnel to clear the mass driver track. Minutes later, energy arcs were visible along the track as the voltage for the mass driver charged up. Once the voltage level got to the needed levels, controllers told the Izumo they were good to launch. Under the direction of Mrs. Simmons, the Izumo's bridge crew had the helm to have the ship move forward. The Izumo moved down Kaguya picking up speed as it went, the voltage giving the ship power to the engines. The Justice and the Freedom latched onto the ship as it zoomed down the mass driver, constantly gaining speed. Halfway down the length of Kaguya, the Izumo's boosters' output increased to full, adding to the ship's speed. The Izumo rocketed of the linear catapult upward toward space and an unknown future.

A/n

And that's where I'll leave off with this Phase. I know this was a long Phase, but there was a lot to get out for where I wanted to transition, thus the extra length. So there is a bit to highlight and cover from this phase for you readers as there were changes from the original. The first most of you would bring up is the expansion of the Victoria event. I wanted to expand it to show how good the Galena sisters are compared to the boys from canon. It also displays the capabilities of the Boosted Man from the project, as canon doesn't go into much detail. The next part I want to point out comes after Victoria which comes with Mina Moss and Azrael. I want to state that Mina's personality is staying as cold as it was before if not being colder, that is her character. During the interaction between Mina and the three boys, I did go into more detail about the "disciplinary" system Mina created. While the details infer nasty things, I didn't want to do the gore as that's something I rarely write about, no offense, just not my forte.

On to the battle that took place after Mina got things with her stuff in order for Azrael, there are some things to cover. First, I want to highlight something, the Galiena sisters are Mina's project star performers. The other candidates are well aware of the fact the three girls are the best as they are reminded of that. The sisters are the bar the majority are judged by and most of the candidates resent and curse the fact when Mina and others like her aren't around. Thus, other project candidates aren't fond of any of the Galiena sisters, so working with them is almost a punishment. And the Galiena sisters aren't the fondest of the other candidates as they hear about them mostly from Mina who doesn't speak highly of them. Next, the battle on Orb's end was much the same as the original. I did go into some more detail with the two Gundam models that appeared. They are the Cancer and the Leviathan as mentioned before.

And finally, the things that came after the battle which some is new from the original version. Granted, do describe the boosters being equipped but that isn't that important, just more color to this story. First, the meeting between the Archangel's offcers and Representative Homura which is new. As stated before, Homura is seen as the "second-in-charge" of Orb's ruling council that Uzumi leads. Homura reinforces the point that nuclear weapons are coming and will change the war much as Tyler mentioned to Athrun. However, I want to point out the line which follows it about heroes as that is one I chose specifically. I'm defining the making of "war heroes" and what sets them apart from courageous soldiers or individuals that fight in a war. It will come up later and will set some apart like Tyler, Kira, and Athrun along with others.

Lastly, the conversation between Cagalli and her father as it is expanded and for good reason. While sending his daughter to space, Uzumi does explain better in this version than the original why he is sending her away. For the first time readers, I know Uzumi surviving is not canon, but like Siegel I have my reasons for not killing him other than being a good character, but I ain't telling what it is yet. Back to the conversation, Cagalli is unwilling to go as one would expect and tries excuses that don't fly. Uzumi counters with the important point that I want to highlight, which is that he recognizes she is one who will care hope for the war being ended peacefully. After Cagalli is dragged away there is an exchange between Uzumi and Homura which I put in for humor and the plight of a parent. I'm not a parent myself yet, but I've been around enough of them to know sending off one's child is never easy whether shown outward or not. However, the parent is trying to do what they believe is best for their child which is what I wanted to portray. You can laugh or roll your eyes at the point, but I will have it stand as it is.

That's all I have to highlight in this Phase as the rest is as I see it self-explanatory. As always, if some of you could take the time to write a review and tell me what you think of this phase. If you have a question about this phase then put it in a review, or if it is a more in-depth question you can PM me and I'll answer it the best I can. I appreciate the feedback I get good and bad, I take it to heart and apply the criticism as I can. Anyway, the writing process is moving along consistently so I expect it to be two weeks or so for the next Phase. It is titled, "Fruits of War," and I warn/inform that changes/additions in the story will be happening more often going forward. I say that as the next Phase has a whole new section to give an example without spoiling the story. Peace out until the next Phase readers!