Chapter 32

The Disquieting One- We may see that.

Austin- I think it ended good. Would have liked it to be longer, mind you, but I'm satisfied with what we got. As for the war, I think it'll most likely end sooner depending on how much I want the Banished to be the primary antagonist and how quickly.

Twylaken- That's correct. Not the most dignified end, I admit.

.goh- We may not go that far. I think we'll go as far as Char's Counterattack, but who knows.

Ramba Ral

"Stetch! Ghien! Keep a tight formation!" Ordered Ramba Ral as he led his Mobile Suit Team out into the vast desert wasteland they were in, keeping an eye out for the Trojan Horse as well as any potential ambushes. Either by the Trojan Horse itself or by guerillas. "This territory is perfect for ambushes by smaller opponents. So stay alert at all times. Understood?"

"Yes Sir!" Yelled both Ghien and Stetch as they followed their commander's Gouf Mobile Suit with their Zaku II Mobile Suits. Pleased to hear them respond so quickly, Ramba Ral began moving in earnest as they began their search for the Trojan Horse in this area. Hamon was taking the Gallop to another area while several men were taking unmarked motorcycles and searching in areas that were either difficult for the Gallop and Mobile Suits to navigate or were dangerous for any Zeon personnel to travel to for a variety of reasons. With such a wide search pattern, they should be able to find the Trojan Horse without much issue and in short order as well. That is, if the ship was still here. As the Zeon piloted their Mobile Suits around their targeted area, Ramba Ral found his thoughts going to the Trojan Horse and its deadly weapons. And he wasn't thinking about their Mobile Suits.

The Trojan Horse's laser weapons. That was on Ramba Ral's mind at the moment. He couldn't shake the feeling about them that something was off about them. That he didn't have the full picture regarding them. Some people would think that he was being paranoid and ridiculous, but Ramba Ral's gut has never failed him before and it was telling him that there was more information about those laser weapons than he thought there was. And he had a feeling that he wouldn't like that answer at all.

Meanwhile

Trojan Horse

"Have you finished the repairs?" Asked Bright as he looked at the engineers responsible for the repairs on the White Base's engines. Much to their misfortune, the White Base suffered damages to their engines during their last encounter with the Zeons. A result of them being forced to make a hasty retreat to avoid taking on the Blue Giant without Amuro again. They managed to avoid any other serious damage, but the damage to the engines was enough that they had to touch down in order to conduct repairs on them. Something that Bright was reluctant to do, given they were deep in Zeon territory, but it had to be done, otherwise they're just asking for engine troubles later on and that would be a guaranteed death sentence for them out here.

"No." Said Fernando as he looked at Bright from his work. "We still need a full hour to make even the minimalist of repairs to the engines." Bright frowned at that, not liking that report.

"If we need to, can we take off if the situation calls for it?" Asked Bright, knowing that Fernando wouldn't like to answer that question. As he expected, Fernando sighed.

"Technically, yes we can, but it can't be for long." Warned Fernando. "Otherwise we'll end up causing such strain on the engines that they may actually implode on us."

"Understood." Said Bright upon hearing all that. "Keep repairing our engines so it won't come to that." With that, Bright left Fernando and the other engineers to continue the repairs on the engines. As he walked, he looked at the trio of Mobile Suits that comprised most of the White Base's fighting strength, standing guard for any sign of Zeon forces. Specifically, he was looking at the Gundam and its pilot.

Lilith had explained to him that, even though Amuro's memory of what happened on that island was gone, there remains a very real possibility that a relapse can occur if he's exposed to certain elements that could trigger relapses of that event. When asked what exactly those elements could be, Lilith said that she didn't know. She further explained that relapse triggers can be anything relating to the memory. It could be something significant like the aliens that were responsible for the trauma or even something as insignificant as a sound similar to what Amuro encountered on that island can trigger a relapse. It all depends on the individual as well as the severity of the trauma they endured. While she can redo the memory removal again, she advised doing what they can to avoid making such a thing necessary to do again. After all, it would be irresponsible of them to constantly remove memories of Amuro over and over again, even more so if it's the same memory. Though Bright understood very little, if anything, about magic, he could understand her point about this. He wouldn't want someone constantly removing bad memories from his head, even if it was for his benefit. Thus, he was making sure Amuro was given constant support from the rest of the crew and that people were checking on him constantly, seeing if he was suffering any sort of relapse regarding his time on that island. It may be a bit much to some people, but Bright wasn't taking any chances. Amuro was their best pilot and the only one that had any actual experience piloting the Gundam, their ace in the hole. To have him incapacitated even a brief time can spell disaster for them.

Sighing at the situation he was finding himself in, Bright couldn't help but wonder what he did in his life for the universe to go and put him in the situation he was in now. Not only was he in charge of an experimental warship manned by nothing but forcibly conscripted kids and teenagers, but he was also the host of several figures that come from completely different universes, one where magic was real and another had such advanced technology that it makes anything on the White Base look primitive in comparison. Oh, and that there were actual aliens as well that were not only hostile but caused his best pilot to suffer combat fatigue. And he had no idea if there were more out there and if they'd be hostile to his crew or not. Just peachy. Life really has it out for him apparently.

Sighing again, Bright resumed his walking to the White Base bridge, intending on talking to Mirai about the forming migraine that was coming to him right now.

Meanwhile

Master Chief

"Lilith, inform the White Base that there's nothing on my sector at the moment." Said Master Chief as he surveyed the harsh desert land that laid before him. He was speaking to the Witch via his suit's communication systems as those systems weren't compatible with the White Base's own communication devices. So, Lilith was serving as his liaison at the moment, relaying all he reported to the bridge crew via a portable UNSC radio system from the Pelican.

Hidden from plain sight by the harsh desert climate, some rocks, sand, and a cloak that blended into the environment, the Spartan II was hard to spot by everyone unless they knew where to look. This, of course, was the whole point as the Spartan was out guarding the White Base against any potential Zeon spies or scouts that were on the lookout for the White Base. Though he wasn't alone in that endeavor, the Mobile Suit pilots and their mechs were assisting along with the White Base's bridge crew, the Spartan was undertaking the riskiest part of the whole guarding mission. Being a thousand or so meters away from the White Base to serve as an early warning messenger should any Zeons or suspected Zeon sympathizers come near their location. Distant enough from the White Base and its Mobile Suits that he couldn't rely on them for assistance should he need it, the Master Chief would be forced to rely only on himself and Joy to fend off any Zeon forces that spot him. Not that it bothered him or Joy in the slightest.

Lilith, when she heard what Chief intended to do, protested at his actions. She tried to persuade him to not do such a dangerous and reckless action, but the Spartan wouldn't be dissuaded from what he believed was the wisest course of action for him while the White Base was repairing the damages it suffered before. Seeing that she wasn't convincing him not to go out alone, so far away from help, she tried to convince him to let her come along with him, but Master Chief declined that as well. He told her that it would not only be too dangerous for her to come along with him for a variety of reasons, many of which he listed to her when they talked, but he also told her that she may be needed at the White Base should the Zeons find them. As a voice of reason and compassion to the children. Lilith, upon hearing all that, reluctantly agreed to let the Master Chief go alone on forward observation duties as he called it. though Joy did promise her that she'll do whatever she can to keep Chief alive. Not that the Spartan would need the assistance of his A.I. partner that much.

"Understood." Said Lilith as she spoke to Master Chief while on the White Base's bridge it was easier for her to communicate with everyone there than going back and forth from the Pelican and to the bridge. Not to mention more practical as well. Thank god they had that portable radio system. "I'll tell Bright right now. Be careful out there, John. We don't want to lose you. No one does."

"Maintain radio professionalism. We're in a precarious situation right now." Said Master Chief simply as he kept looking around for any potential threats to the White Base.

"Oh. Of course." Said Lilith, a bit embarrassed, before ending the comm link. With that done, Chief resumed his own monitoring. So far, nothing but sand and rocks were in the Spartan's sights. And that has been the same thing for over several hours. Some would have gotten bored at the mundaneness of their task and taken a break, but Chief was not that type of person. He'll keep monitoring this area as long as it takes until the White Base has finished its repairs. Once that's done, he'll head back to the White Base and they'll take off to wherever they needed to go.

As he continued monitoring the area, Chief's thoughts went to Amuro and the rest of the crew of the White Base. What happened to Amuro at that island and how it bothered him. How a teenager was exposed to things that no one should ever be exposed to at his age. He shouldn't have acquired PTSD at such a young age. He and the rest of the White Base crew shouldn't experience combat and war at all at their ages. It disappointed and even angered the Spartan that they did. He was going to do what he can to help them get through this war alive and the war between this Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon be brought to a swift end. Though he had no loyalty to this Earth Federation, he was still a defender of humanity, and if defending humanity means bringing a war between itself to a swift end, despite him having no real loyalty to either side of said war, then so be it.

Overlooking his area, Chief was keeping a sharp eye out when he spotted something approaching his line of sight. That alerted the Spartan and made him focus on the anomaly coming towards him. Looking through the scope of his sniper rifle, Chief could see that a person on a motorcycle was approaching his position. However it appeared that the driver didn't know about the Spartan's location at all. However, it seemed they were looking for something based on how they were constantly looking around their surroundings as they drove.

To the average person, they were simply an innocent bystander who was on their motorcycle and thus, thus no actual harm to the White Base. To someone like Master Chief, however, the person on the motorcycle represented a serious security risk to the White Base. For all the Spartan knew, that motorcyclist could be a Zeon soldier disguised as a civilian out looking for them or any other Federation forces. Even if they weren't affiliated with Zeon, they were still a threat to the White Base. If they find the location of the White Base somehow, its only a matter of time before the Zeons find out where the White Base used to be and that may endanger everyone on the ship. Thus, Master Chief had to do something about that motorcyclist.

Unfortunately, since he had no proof that they were a Zeon soldier, he couldn't just shoot them and be done with it, not that he had planned on doing that in the first place, so all he could do was radio everyone about the motorcyclist.

"Everyone, be advised, there's a person on a motorcycle in my line of view." Said Master Chief as he continued monitoring said motorcyclist kept on driving in his line of view. From what Chief can see, they seem to be driving towards the ravine that the White base was in. Not a good sign. "They seem to be driving towards the White Base's location."

"Are you certain of that? Are they a Zeon soldier or spy?" Asked Bright as he stood besides Lilith as Master Chief relayed this information to them. That wasn't good news. If they were a Zeon soldier or spy and they relayed their location to any sort of Zeon military unit, or worse the Blue Giant's unit, then they're in big trouble. They were still repairing the ship's engines and, from the sounds of Fernando's report, they won't be fully repaired for another hour or so. Thus, if a fight happens they'll be in a tight situation. They can't afford to let more damage be done to the engines or else they'll be forced to stay here longer. And that was a death sentence for them, even more so now that the Zeons know where they were.

"Its possible they are." Said Master Chief as he continued monitoring the motorcyclist, still approaching the ravine. "I believe they are as they're moving purposefully towards the ravine, an environment they're vehicle is ill suited for. Thus, I believe they are indeed a Zeon soldier. It's your call on what to do, Bright. I won't be able to stop them myself, but the others can. They don't need to harm them. Just have them confront them and ask them to surrender. To stay with them until the White Base's engines are fully repaired. That should be sufficient for our needs. There's also the option of termination, but that's likely a short-term solution and one that is shortsighted for several reasons. Thus, I recommend to just detain them." Bright just nodded at that as he thought about their options. Eventually, he spoke up.

"I'll have Ryu, Kai, or Amuro deal with the motorcyclist." Said Bright, deciding on what to do. "They'll detain the individual and keep an eye on them until the repairs are complete. Hopefully, that won't affect our ability to defend ourselves too much."

"Agreed." Said Chief simply as he continued to monitor the motorcyclist. "I'll relay their coordinates to you now. Stand by."

"Understood." Said Bright as Chief started relaying the coordinates to Lilith. As he did so, Bright prayed that he made the right choice on this matter or else they'll all suffer for his mistake.

Later

Ramba Ral

"Hmm, nothing on our end, Haman. How is your search?" Asked Ramba Ral as he finished his patrol. To his frustration, he couldn't find anything regarding the Trojan Horse during his search. Granted, he didn't expect to find them out in the vast desert with wide open areas, but he would have liked to have a clue at their whereabouts. Hopefully, Haman or the others have had better luck than him.

"The same as you, my dear." Said Haman as she looked over a holographic board containing all the areas the Gallop was in. "We found nothing regarding the Trojan Horse. I just checked in with three of the five scouts we sent. They also found nothing, I'm afraid." Ramba Ral hummed at that. Disappointed, but he wasn't going to give up yet. The Trojan Horse was in the region. He can feel it in his gut. They just needed to keep looking.

"I'll radio the other two scouts." Said Ramba Ral before proceeding to do so. "Clark! Stark! Have you two found the Trojan Horse, yet!?"

"Negative on my end." Said one scout as he radioed in. "I'm sorry, sir."

"I'm still patrolling my area, Lieutenant Ral." Said another scout. "Give me some time and I'll give you a report on…wait. What's that." Ramba Ral raised an eyebrow at that. Before he could say anything, he suddenly heard yelling from the comms. "Sir, it's the enemy Mobile Suits! I need help! I need…ahh!" With that, the comms ended in static.

"Clark!" Yelled Ramba Ral upon hearing all that. Though he worried about the fate of his soldier, what he just told him was perhaps the single greatest news that Ramba Ral could receive at the moment. "All units! Converge on Clark's coordinates! We found the Trojan Horse!"