EPISODE 47: FIAT LUX

December 11, U.C. 0100

Hydrosuits deploy by the hundreds from Baldur Bay and dozens of other space colonies that comprise the Riah Republic of Side 6, industriously putting back in place what was upended by the Archduchy of Zeon Forces during their four-month occupation of the colony. Damaged solar panels are replaced…nuclear fusion facilities are restored to civilian use, and wrecked infrastructure is repaired.

Within the space colonies, construction crews are similarly engaged in restoring the cosmic communities of the Riah Republic to prewar conditions. The recovery process will take years to complete, but the people of Side 6 approach the monumental challenge with a new sense of energy because, for the first time in decades, they have reason to believe that the future will be brighter instead of darker.

Fiat lux.

Prime Minister Cameron Bloom of the Riah Republic, General Bright Noah of the Earth Federation Forces, and Bright’s wife Senator Mirai Yashima-Noah of the Earth Federation Government are sharing coffee at a sidewalk café on the newly liberated streets of the Baldur Bay Colony of Side 6. Scarcely a week earlier, the colony had been occupied by the Archduchy of Zeon Forces, but the United Forces have driven the Zeon from Side 6.

Cameron offers friendly waves to passersby as he sips his coffee. Of his fellow Riah citizens’ resiliency he is not surprised; Side 6 Spacenoids have always been a tough breed, but he finds himself marveling at how quickly the people have taken to putting back in place what the Zeon ruined during the four dark months of their occupation. Public transportation is already back in service, schools began operating again three days earlier, and most businesses have returned to the transaction of commerce. Damaged infrastructure is replaced or repaired as needed, all with remarkable efficiency and swiftness.

“It’s good to see the people of Baldur Bay getting their lives in order again,” Mirai remarks, as if reading Cameron’s thoughts.

Mirai’s husband, the supreme commander of the Earth Federation Forces, nods in agreement, “The people here cherish their freedom…something that those of us who grew up under the Earth Federation lost sight of. It’s ironic to think that to preserve their freedom, the people of Riah have willingly chosen to forfeit their sovereignty to the Shambala Republic.”

“The irony isn’t lost on me,” Cameron says with a wry smile, “If you asked me six months ago whether something like this would ever happen, I would’ve had you committed to an asylum. It’s happening, though, because many of our people have decided that becoming a part of the Shambala Republic movement is a step that will make our freedoms safer.”

“Do you really believe that, Cameron?” Bright ventures.

Cameron nods, “I do. Artasia Daikun and Minerva Zabi have more than just a vision; they have a plan: Riah will retain its independence, but become a member of a partnership led by Shambala, a partnership that already also includes the Zarn Province of Side 1 and that Dr. Daikun and Miss Zabi hope will also include Sides 2 and 4 and the Lunar cities. Effective at the beginning of the new year, the Riah Republic will be called the Riah Province, and my title will change from ‘Prime Minister’ to ‘Governor.’ Other than that, however, little will change except that the Riah Province will provide whatever support we choose to give to the Shambala Republic movement and in return, Shambala gives Riah its protection. We’ve chosen to become part of an alliance of popular consent, Bright. We’re not being coerced by military force to join a totalitarian empire or a paternalistic overseer.”

“A Daikun and a Zabi,” Bright muses aloud, “We’ve been down this road before…”

“I think it’s the ‘Zabi’ side of that consideration that you’re uncomfortable with,” Cameron remarks, spooning powdered creamer into a fresh cup of coffee, “that’s what you’re getting at, isn’t it, Bright? You don’t trust Minerva Zabi.”

Bright and Mirai exchange a knowing smile, and Mirai finally says with a twinkle in her eye, “You’re wrong about that, Cameron. Both of us trust Minerva Zabi without reservation. If we didn’t, we couldn’t have accepted her as our future daughter-in-law.”

Cameron stares blankly at the couple for a minute until finally, Bright and Mirai let out the laughs that they can no longer contain.

“Minerva Zabi…she’s Hathaway’s fiancée?” Cameron asks, needing to hear confirmation from Bright and Mirai before he can believe it.

Mirai says, “That’s right.”

Cameron’s expression twists into an amused grin, “Bright and Mirai, I’ve got to say it: you two have raised yourselves one hell of a son! Not only has he become an incredible espionage man, but he’s somehow lucked into marrying a former duchess!”

The trio laughs, but then the laughter fades into a more serious tone.

“We’ve had some difficult times, though,” Mirai confesses.

Bright nods and sighs, “You remember the incident with Quess Parayana and 1Lt. Chien Agi.”

Cameron mirrors Bright’s body language, “As if I could forget…you were hard on the boy in the aftermath of that.”

“Hathaway took an innocent life in a moment of blind rage,” Bright said, “and in my own rage, I wanted to end his. But I’ve seen enough war to understand the madness that drives men to do things they would otherwise never do. That does not excuse them, and I do not excuse what my son did that day. But I’ve come to see what a waste it would be to exact a death for a death. Hathaway is doing now what he must do: he’s atoning for his past mistakes by dedicating his life towards building a better world, and he has my support in doing that.”

Cameron smiles, saying, “Hathaway stayed with me briefly after you kicked him out of the house. He figured Side 6 was the one place he could stay out of the way of both the Federation and the Zeon, but it was only a couple of months later that he hooked up with the ISRLA movement, which was just getting started at that time…”

Not particularly keen on revisiting those dark days, Mirai turns the discussion in a more forward- (or at least present-) looking, positive direction, “The reconstruction work is going much faster than I would have expected. Just two weeks ago, this place was a ruin. Now, it’s quickly becoming very livable again.”

“Credit that to your daughter-in-law to be,” Cameron replies.

That response draws surprised looks from Mirai and Bright, the latter of which asks, “Minerva? She’s involved in this?”

Cameron nods, “Minerva mobilized the resources of Anaheim, Kuromizu, Luo, and the Buch Concern towards the reconstruction effort. She wants Side 6 up and running again as soon as possible, and she wants it to be better than it was before the Zeon occupation.”

Bright nods, “Last time we saw Hathaway, he did mention that Minerva had gotten herself onto the boards of directors on each of those corporate bigs. Still, this comes as a surprise…”

Bright’s hand wanders worriedly to his lips.

“Where are the kids now?” Cameron asks, “They were around for a day or two after the liberation…to coordinate and oversee the beginning of the reconstruction effort, but they seemed to just vanish after that.”

“Moving on to Side 4, to liberate it and Side 5 from Zeon occupation to use as a beachhead to take the Lunar Cities and Side 3,” Bright replies, “And there’s something going on at Side 3…something ominous. Hathaway and Minerva have gone to check it out.”

Mirai turns her eyes out the mammoth glass solar panels to gaze beyond the Baldur Bay Colony of Side 6 towards the endless cosmos. Somewhere out there is her son, placing himself in peril again, bringing anxiety once more into the heart of a mother…

When Anaheim Enterprises developed the Aslan series of mobile suits, its goal was to provide the fledgling ISRLA movement (now known as the Shambala Republic Movement's) mobile suit forces with a mecha that could contend with the Earth Federation Forces’ powerful Gundam-series mobile suits.

For that purpose, Dr. Camille Vidan, Chief of Anaheim’s Mobile Suit R&D Division, looked long and hard at two of his earlier creations: the MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam that he himself had piloted into battle against the Titans and the Axis Zeons during the late U.C. 0080s, and the RMS-100S Cour de Leon, attempting to improve upon their hallmark speed and maneuverability, and adding a new stealth element that would be required by the often clandestine nature of the Shambala Defense Guard’s operations.

What Camille ultimately came up with was a modular system of interchangeable units that could be attached or removed from the Aslans’ core systems with relative convenience and ease to suit the particular needs of specific missions. If either the Kizi or the Oglu Aslan prototypes were to be deployed into a heavy combat situation, they could be quickly outfitted with extra weaponry and armor. If, on the other hand, the mobile suits were to be dispatched on an espionage mission, the weaponry and armor could be replaced by suites of sensors and detection-suppression devices.

It is the latter that have been incorporated onto Hathaway Noah’s blue-tinted Oglu Aslan today, as the mobile suit drifts undetected within the shadow of the asteroid to which it is attached…its cameras and scanning devices fixed upon a number of apparently abandoned space colonies in the Side 3 Zone. For months, now, there has been an extraordinary amount of activity there…activity that cannot be explained away as construction projects, no matter how ambitious.

Hathaway’s partner on this reconnaissance sortie is Dory Ischinda, outfitted with an Eyezack-II type mobile suit also heavily decked with surveillance instrumentation.

The scanning equipment that Anaheim’s engineers installed into both the Oglu Aslan and the Eyezack-II for this reconnaissance mission are as multifarious as they are sensitive: the various monitoring systems include radiation scans at all wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum as well as vibrational scans and chemical scans.

What interests and horrifies Hathaway and Dory the most, however, are the readings they are getting off the thermal scans; the internal temperatures that their mechas’ sensors are detecting from the Side 3 Zone…thermal readings that far, far surpass the normal heat output from the operation of a space colony’s life-support and industrial systems.

“This isn’t a good sign,” Hathaway mutters, as much as himself as to Dory, “you just don’t see readings like these on the thermographs like this unless you’ve got a nuclear weapon on the verge of reaching critical mass. We’re looking at Giren Zabi’s ‘Zeon’s Light’ project all over again…or the colony laser that the Titans had at Grypps!”

“This one might one up even those monstrosities,” Dory says grimly, “Giren Zabi and the Titans’ cannon utilized a concentrated and hyper-amplified solar beam…so does this one, but that sort of thermal reading indicates that it also uses a nuclear core to supplement and perhaps boost the power.”

“I see construction crews at around at least a half dozen colonies,” Hathaway says, “We’re not just dealing with one of these. My God…if the Zeon get all of these things online…”

“We’ve got to get our data back to Minerva and Artasia…” Dory begins.

“Let’s get some more data first,” Hathaway replies, “We don’t have enough hard information on this new weapon.”

Without waiting for Dory’s concurrence, Hathaway maneuvers the Oglu Aslan farther into the Side 3 Zone.

Against her better judgment, Dory follows him.

On the bridge of the flagship Cassius, Dr. Lenape Timberland, nuclear physicist tenured at Zum University for three decades, explains to Archduke Alexander Miguel the underlying physical principles behind the phenomenon that the Archduke will momentarily witness.

“In principle, this weapon system is fundamentally not unlike the Solar Ray Cannon used during the One Year War, or the Gryps Colony Laser used by the Titans,” Dr. Timberland explains, “but the state of engineering technology has improved since those times to the point that we have a much more efficient and sustainable power source for the weapon, meaning that not only can we build a superior weapon to those of the past, but we can build more of them with the resources available to us.”

“Twelve will suffice…” says the Archduke, now well on his way to full recovery from wounds sustained in combat, with Lt. Col. Kyoko Yamaguchi, as ever, by his side, “…to draw, as the expression goes, the moths to the flame. I do not wish to place any additional burden on our populace. We have already demanded great sacrifices from them, and though as loyal citizens, they make these sacrifices gladly, I would be remiss in my responsibilities to them as their leader to ask them to bear more sacrifices then necessary for victory.”

Timberland nods, then advises the Archduke, “This would be a good time to put on your flash goggles, Your Majesty. The Celestial Light System, at this range, does produce a flash of sufficient intensity to cause permanent damage to the optic nerves.”

The Archduke does not need a second admonition from the engineer and scientist, pulling down dark protective goggles around his eyes. At his side, Lt. Col. Yamaguchi and General Ross Davenport do likewise, as does the bridge crew of the Cassius.

“CLS Projector Cannon Unit 1: shot test energy buildup at 85%,” announces one of the bridge techs, “T-minus forty-eight seconds to critical mass.”

“Target acquired: derelict colony Bunch 77-8,” another tech intones, “Locking onto target.”

“T-minus thirty-five seconds and counting,” the first tech notes.

Alexander takes Kyoko’s hand as they prepare to witness the first firing of the Celestial Light.

“Five, four, three, two, one…zero!”

The blackness of space silently becomes brighter than whiteness, rendering the universe momentarily invisible.

A beam of concentrated solar energy, boosted by the power produced within the nuclear fusion reactor of an O’Neill Island Three-type space colony, bursts forth from the massive metallic cylinder’s gaping, kilometer-wide maw…with an intensity of light and heat that mimics the moment of cosmic creation.

The beam reaches out silently, devoid of mass, but instantly causing the entire mass of a second colony cylinder, identical in structure to the first, to disappear in its wake.

“Target destroyed,” a tech announces, “now acquiring new target at 230 degrees starboard. Lateral maneuvering thruster system engaged at 100% output.”

“The moon?” the Archduke inquires.

“Yes,” Timberland replies, “so that Your Majesty may see the system’s mobility as well as its firepower.”

The intense light fades to blackness for two minutes as the colony laser weapon momentarily powers down. The massive cylinder swivels 230 degrees towards the right as it builds up energy for a second salvo.

“Target acquired,” the tech says tersely, “T-minus sixty seconds to firing.”

In those sixty seconds, Archduke Miguel asks Dr. Timberland, “Doctor, are you a follower of sports?”

Timberland, taken aback by the seemingly non-sequitor nature of the question, replies, “I played soccer and basketball during my high school years, but not so much since my college days.”

“Ever take an interest in boxing?” the Archduke continues.

“No, Your Majesty,” the scientist replies, wondering how the discussion turned in this direction.

“I’ve been a boxer since my boyhood days,” the Archduke says, “Truly the most exciting of all sports. A few nights ago, I viewed some old footage of a great match from the 20th Century: Muhammad Ali vs. George Foreman in 1974. Do you know of it?”

“I can’t say that I do, Your Majesty,” Timberland says, “My area of expertise is nuclear physics, not sports history.”

“Ali was considered the greatest sportsman of his time,” the Archduke explains, “but he was a champion not because of superior physique or brawn, but because of superior willpower and superior application of the mind. I named this flagship that we’re aboard after Ali, who was called Cassius Clay before he converted to Islam.”

The references are lost on the scientist, as the universe once again attains lightness beyond whiteness, and a concentrated beam of energy as hot as the core of the sun rips forward, cutting into the Lunar surface.

The beam burns a gash onto the face of the moon, erasing craters and leveling mountains…carving a trench a kilometer wide, sixteen kilometers long, and seven kilometers deep onto Earth’s largest natural satellite.

The light fades, leaving behind blackness, as the powerful weapon momentarily expends its charge.

Fiat lux.

The Archduke and other personnel on the bridge of the Cassius remove their flash goggles, their vision momentarily obscured by the aftereffect of the hellacious light despite the protection provided by the goggles.

One of the hotline phones on the Cassius trills, and General Ross Davenport takes the call. His face becomes ashen as he receives the news.

“Your Majesty,” Davenport says, “We’ve just received word that our forces have withdrawn from Side 2 and Side 4. The United Forces are now occupying the Side 2 and Side 4 Zones.”

The Archduke acknowledges with a nod, “So noted.”

Davenport raises a curious eyebrow, “Your Majesty, shouldn’t we send reinforcements?”

“No.” Miguel replies, twirling the flash goggles on his fingers absently.

“Your Majesty,” one of the techs pipes up, “We’re picking up some irregularities at bearing eight-four-zero, approximately two-hundred kilometers from our current location.”

“Kyoko,” the Archduke says, “Go check it out.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Kyoko replies, sprinting towards the mobile suit hangar.

Miguel turns gain to Gen. Ross Davenport, noting the man’s confused look, and offers a reassuring pat on the shoulder along with a smile, “Another Muhammad once observed that if he could not go to the mountain, the mountain would come to him. War is chess, Ross, and it’s also poker. You don’t show your real hand early in the game…”

In the cockpits of their mobile suits, Hathaway Noah and Dory Ischinda sit slack-jawed, eyes wide in silent horror at the display of power they have just witnessed.

Several long, breathless moments ensue before Hathaway can find his voice, a dry croak that can only stammer, “W-we’d…let’s…get the hell out of here.”

The Oglu Aslan reconfigures itself into Wavediver configuration, and Dory’s Eyezack-II magnetizes itself onto the hull.

Hathaway opens the throttle wide on the thruster and the Wavediver accelerates rapidly towards Mach 3, tearing towards the perimeter of the Side 3 Zone.

After a grim minute, Dory finally says, “This…changes everything.”

“That’s an understatement,” Hathaway mutters through their helmet communications link, “Minerva has been suspecting that our victories from Side 7 onward have been too easy. Now we’ve got an idea why…Miguel wants to lure us to Side 3 so he can wipe us out with that new colony laser weapon!”

Dory exhales, “That thing was MOBILE, Hathaway! You saw how easily the Zeon were able to swing that thing around and blast the moon after zapping one of their own colonies! The data we’ve collected has to give us something useful we can use to…”

“Hang on,” Hathaway interjects, worry-to-fear in his voice, “We’ve got a bogey incoming fast at our seven.”

In another aspect of his life and career as a Spacenoid independence activist, Hathaway Noah is a journalist and a writer. His skill with the spoken and written word is not inferior to his skill in the cockpit of a mobile suit.

Even so, “fast” is the best he can do in describing the object now approaching his and Dory’s mobile suits, and even as Hathaway winces at how pitiably inadequate that word is in describing what he sees on his MS’s scopes right now, there is arguably no word that would be up to the task…

What the hell could be faster than an Aslan or Leon series mobile armor in Wavediver configuration? Hathaway marvels.

Marveling becomes disbelief before settling on utter terror as the approaching bogey disgorges a dozen even faster objects, all of which bear down towards the Oglu Aslan and the Eyezack-II mounted on its back.

Reflexively, Hathaway attempts to push the throttle on the Aslan’s thrusters, only to realize in dismay that the thruster is already at its maximum capacity.

The missiles close in. The Aslan’s onboard computer has calculated forty-four seconds to fatal impact…

“Hang on, Dory,” Hathaway says breathlessly.

Calling upon all his piloting skill and the maneuverability of the Oglu Aslan, Hathaway twists and jukes his mobile armor, corkscrewing and zigzagging while at the same time laying a trail of heat emission flares and assorted ECM jamming waves…all to no avail. Something else is guiding those missiles inexorably towards the Oglu Aslan.

“Thirty seconds to impact,” the combat computer reports with eerie detachment.

Desperate, Hathaway unloads a torrent of his own missiles and a stream of beam fire behind his streaking mobile armor. A few of the antimissiles hit home, and the beam fire manages to take down an incoming missile or two. But of the original twelve missiles, seven are still bearing down upon the Oglu Aslan and the Eyezack-II.

“Hathaway!” Dory cries out, her voice filled with terror.

“Ten seconds to impact,” the combat computer announces ominously.

Hathaway has already begun a review of his life…his regrets, of which there are only two: he regrets having killed 1Lt. Chien Agi in a moment of blind rage years ago…a good woman who had done nothing wrong, but whose life Hathaway took in anger.

The other regret is that he will not be able to keep his promise to Minerva of spending the rest of his life with her.

Hathaway closes his eyes, waiting for the end.

In the cockpit of the Eyezack-II, Dory does likewise.

“Five seconds to imp…”

The computer goes silent.

Hathaway feels no impact. It’s been said that the passage from life to death is a serene experience, however violently it might arrive.

In no account of what the experience of death might be like that Hathaway has encountered, however, was there any mention of hearing electronic beeping noises, or the sound of mobile suit engine thrusters fully engaged.

Hathaway opens his eyes…he is still inside the cockpit of the Oglu Aslan, still alive…his mobile suit intact.

The incoming missiles have disappeared from his scopes.

Another incoming object, from in front this time…closing in at high speed.

“Hathaway!” a familiar young female voice comes through the communications net, “Get the hell out of here, now!”

Jolie! Hathaway realizes, smiling.

The White Phoenix Gundam, in Wavediver configuration, streaks past the Oglu Aslan.

Ahead, Hathaway’s scanners pick up a group of about two-dozen friendly-signatures…mobile suits from the Earth Federation Special Forces and the Shambala Defense Guard, headed by Minerva Zabi’s scarlet Kizi Aslan.

“’Bout time you showed up, lady,” Hathaway says, relief and affection in his voice.

Minerva’s response comes with an arch lilt, “I did some thinking, and decided I’d be miserable as a widow, so I had to come.”

All mirth is set aside as the United Forces find themselves up against an elite Zeon mobile suit squadron. A firefight is engaged, and casualties begin mounting on both sides.

The White Phoenix and the Black Raven face each other across an expanse of space that is farther than the edge of the universe, and at the same time, closer than skin upon muscle. A dozen volleys are exchanged in the blink of an eye…beam sabers are extracted, their blades twirling around each other like some elaborately choreographed dance.

The Gamma Azieru, in its mobile suit configuration, uses an elegant sweeping, dancing motion to nearly decapitate the White Phoenix Gundam, which manages to avoid the blade by microseconds and millimeters.

When Jolie has brought the WPG up to counterattack, she finds the Gamma Azieru in mobile armor mode, streaking towards an abandoned satellite fortress…Solomon.

Jolie switches to Wavediver configuration and pursues, chopping at the Azieru with the White Phoenix Gundam’s beam cannon, but unable to score a hit upon her foe.

The Gamma Azieru leads the White Phoenix Gundam into the bowels of Solomon Fortress, through its dozens of winding tunnels and bays. Several times, the two mecha nearly barrel to their destruction against the narrow confines of fortress’ innards, obliteration averted only through deft maneuvering and blasting through barriers when there is no space in which to operate.

The Gamma Azieru finally enters a large docking bay, once used to service large battleships for the Archduchy of Zeon Forces.

The Gamma Azieru comes to a halt, as does the pursuing White Phoenix Gundam. The lights of the enormous docking bay partly illuminate, throwing the mammoth space into shadows. Airlocks seal, and oxygen begins to fill the space, as does limited gravity.

Aboard the White Phoenix Gundam, Jolie pants as she awaits her foe’s next move.

…which is something that Jolie completely did not expect.

The cockpit of the Gamma Azieru opens, and a small, helmeted figure floats out, signaling with her hand for Jolie to do likewise.

Jolie checks her sidearm and cautiously exits the cockpit of the White Phoenix Gundam.

They float in the low-gravity environment, the hissing sound of pressurized oxygen audible through their helmet audio pickups. Steam from automated hydraulics mechanisms slowly begins to fill the space, and the sounds of distant machinery at work echoes throughout the bay.

Lt. Col. Kyoko Yamaguchi doffs her helmet, letting her long, black hair flow down the length of her back.

No way…Jolie thinks, her eyes widening in disbelief.

Jolie removes her own helmet, letting her own river of jet black hair flow downward.

The two young women stare at each other, mesmerized, for a long moment, the same thought running through both of their minds.

She looks exactly like me!

“Jolie…Minh?” Kyoko says tentatively.

“Kyoko…Yamaguchi,” Jolie says, by way of affirmation.

Kyoko stares at Jolie silently for another long moment, and then lets out a laugh, “It’s unbelievable, but it’s also fitting…a mirror image!”

Jolie says, “I don’t think we can coexist.”

“You’re right,” Kyoko says, “Because you hate Alexander…hate him with such passion that you’ve committed your life to destroying him. I warn you, Jolie Minh, that my love for him, however, is greater than your hatred: as long as I live, you won’t ever harm Alexander.”

Jolie points an accusing finger at Kyoko, “It's not just Miguel! There’s also you! You murdered my daughter, Zeon bitch!”

Kyoko's expression, on a beautiful, silky-smooth face so much like Jolie's, becomes remorseful, “On Earth…in China’s Kunlun Mountains?”

A tear rolls down Jolie’s cheek as her eyes flash with fiery rage, “Her name was Joannie…she never…never even had a chance to live…because of you and that pig of an Archduke you call Alexander Miguel!”

Kyoko hangs her head and bites her lip before whispering, “I’m sorry.”

Jolie cannot believe what she has heard; did Kyoko just apologize to her for killing her unborn daughter?

“You are my enemy,” Kyoko says with a hint of warmth through the coldness, “I have no reason to be merciful to you, especially as you intend to murder Alexander, but I…regret your loss of your child. Had I a choice, I would not choose to inflict that upon you.”

For a moment, Jolie experiences a feeling of…respect…maybe even admiration for her enemy, but then remembers that this woman, her own mirror image, stands in the way of her vengeance.

Jolie reaches for her sidearm.

“Not now,” Kyoko says, leaving her own sidearm in its holster at her hip, “We’ve fought indecisively on a half-dozen occasions now. Each time, our combat was interrupted by the greater struggle going on between our forces. At any moment now, your comrades and mine will enter this fortress and interfere with our battle again. You and I are too closely matched: we will resolve nothing in a short, quick battle. Only without interference can we truly learn which of us is superior.”

“Then when?” Jolie asks, reholstering her weapon.

“Forty-eight hours from now,” Kyoko says, “At a location of your choosing.”

Jolie looks around, “Right here.”

Kyoko smiles keenly at Jolie, “Ceding the home field advantage to me?”

“Because you remembered and recognized my daughter,” Jolie says.

Kyoko extends a hand to Jolie. Jolie takes it, sealing their pact to duel.

“To the death,” Kyoko rasps.

“Yours, not mine,” Jolie responds coldly.

Jolie and Kyoko release their gloved grips on each other’s hands, take a hard look into one another’s eyes, and then place their helmets back on their heads, hiding their beautiful visages behind dark visors.

The ace pilots of the Earth Federation Forces and the Archduchy of Zeon Forces activate their respective mecha, the White Phoenix Gundam and the Gamma Azieru, and separately depart from Solomon Fortress.

Nearby, the battle between the United Forces and the Archduchy of Zeon Forces has reached a stalemate when a large shadow looms ominously over the battle site.

“That’s the weapon,” Hathaway says, “the new colony laser.”

“Maneuvered by a nuclear pulse thruster system,” Minerva observes, “Everybody scatter!”

The United Forces mobile suits break battle formation, at great risk to themselves, and scatter as far as they can from the barrel of the colony laser, whose maw has begun to glow with hellfire.

“Anna,” Captain Jonah Michaels of the Centurion Team orders, “What’s their target objective?!”

“They’re targeted the 11th Bunch of Side 4,” Chief Warrant Officer Anna Horowitz says, “the Amsterdam Colony. Population: 918,472, including 11,228 Earth Federation Forces military personnel.”

“Warn them!” Jonah cries out.

“It’s too late,” Minerva Zabi observes sadly.

The universe turns white once again as a stream of superheated energy a kilometer wide and hundreds of kilometers long lances forth. The energy engulfs the Amsterdam Colony of Side 4 like an icicle in the path of a blowtorch.

Multiple voices scream expletives of shock and horror as hundreds of thousands perish.

Even before the harsh glare of the colony laser’s death beam fades, Minerva orders the United Forces, “Retreat! Fall back to the Side 6 Zone!”

Fiat lux.

Having also witnessed the firing of the colony laser, an enraged Jolie sends the White Phoenix Gundam in a headlong attack against the massive weapon.

She is unable to launch even a first fusillade, however, before being chased away by the Black Raven’s Gamma Azieru, Archduke Miguel’s Azrael mobile suit, and a squad of mobile suits from the Zeons’ elite Newtype Corps.

“Jolie,” comes Jonah’s orders through the White Phoenix’s helmet receivers, “Withdraw now.”

“Roger,” Jolie replies, knowing that not even she can hope to handle that much opposition by herself.

Four hours later, the situation is grim as Minerva consults with General Bright Noah, Lt. Col. Christina MacKenzie, and Dr. Artasia Daikun. Alexander Miguel has a powerful new weapon…possibly more than just one of them, and invading and liberating Side 3 will be an unattainable goal unless and until this weapon is dealt with.

“I had been suspecting that our recent victories had been coming a bit too easily,” Minerva confesses to her comrades, “Although we did manage, with a bit of luck, to severely weaken the Zeon Forces on Mars and on Earth, their resistance against our attacks since Side 7 has not matched their actual strength…and now, we’ve gained a better understanding of the reason behind that.”

“It’s a ‘rope a dope’ tactic,” General Noah agrees, “They want us to enter the Side 3 Zone…so that they can wipe us out in one decisive strike.”

Minerva nods, “Which is why for now, we need to stay as far from Side 3 as possible….at least until we can eliminate their colony laser weapons systems. Hathaway and Dory believe that there might be more than just that one cannon.”

“One of them is already being maneuvered towards our position here at Side 6,” Dr. Daikun says, “Minerva, do what you must do…stop them.”

Minerva nods, “Yes, ma’am,” even as she privately acknowledges that accomplishing this task will present a difficult challenge.

Celestial Light System Projector Unit 1 is already en rout to the Side 6 Zone, even as Units 2 and 3 are aligned to fire upon colonies in the Side 2 and Side 4 Zones. The remaining units remain on standby status at Side 3, awaiting their prey.

Fiat lux.