"It is a given fact that war's worst offense is it's hurting those that were not originally involved; whether they be businessman or student, farmer or artist, mother or child, war will take from them what cannot be replaced while inflicting unimaginable pain and suffering. That being said, I believe this offense only truly transpires when, through war's sheer sadism, those innocents are turned into vengeful killers who go on to repeat the process."
- Abraham Revil

Chapter II: Escape from Antillia

Federation Research Facility White Base
Antillia, Durga System
June 18, GC 379

Sleggar Law felt his face fold into a grim sneer as he maneuvered his custom blue Guncannon Commander over what may have been ground zero in the distance. Even as his mobile suit's sensors continued to relay data to his monitor, Sleggar only needed his eyes to find the inevitable truth: White Base had been completely wiped out.

The entire area was a disaster zone as if the Hand of God had reached out from the depths of the universe and swept across this area of the colony. Burning buildings, charred remains of mobile suits, vehicles, and human bodies were littered across the compound, seemingly as far as the eye could see, even from the relative altitude the seven Guncannons were over the area. Flames continued to burn unheeded, smoke poured out into the recycled air, and the unmistakable scent of death could be felt even from within the metal confines of a mobile suit. The latter was even more punctuated as Sleggar's sensors continued to detect no apparent life signs near the base.

Those highborn shits... Sleggar thought, resisting the urge to slam his fist into his control console. No matter how many times he had beheld such a scene, and he had beheld many similar throughout the war, he could not adjust to it. No matter how many Federals and comrades in arms perished under the power of the Zeon, the veteran pilot could not take such deaths lightly, even when it had all but become normality for human beings to die whenever a Zaku reared its mono-eyed head. After all, such scenes were only nagging reminders of the current state of affairs: Zeon and its allies were running rampant and unchecked across the galaxy, and there was nothing the Federation, for all the power it had granted to its vaunted military, could do about it.

If there was any solace at this point, it was that Sleggar's sensors were not picking up any of the Zakus, which meant they had either been destroyed or, far more likely, they had retreated for the time being. Of course, there was always the possibility that the Zakus were lying in wait for more Feddies to show up before ambushing them. Sleggar didn't see any point when the Zaku's superiority over the Guncannon was well established. And what logic was there in a more powerful fighter hiding in the shadows when it could slay its enemies in the open without fear or hindrance?

Suddenly, as the task force drew closer to the site, Sleggar's sensors beeped, informing the pilot that they had picked up a signal: that of a mobile suit with a Federation IFF. Sleggar's eyebrow raised a fraction. A survivor?

"Lead?" Sayla's voice spoke up over Shrike Squadron's "push" frequency as her own Guncannon Trooper, which, like her commander's, was painted in a custom color, only red instead of blue, angled its head toward the direction of the signal.

"I got it, Two," Sleggar confirmed, feeling a small ray of hope shine through the darkness. At the very least, the Zeeks had failed to kill everyone. He switched his comm system to broadband. "This is Shrike Leader to the unit on the ground. Do you read us?"

There was no answer, so Sleggar sent the message again: "Repeat, this is Shrike Leader to the mobile suit on the ground. Do you read us? We are approaching your position. Please respond."

"It could be a trap Lead." Ensign Hayato Kobayashi, one of the newer pilots to the 105th, offered as his Guncannon Trooper raised its beam rifle. "The enemy may have fabricated an IFF to draw us into an ambush."

"And why would the Zeeks go through that amount of trouble after kicking our asses, Eleven?" Sleggar retorted skeptically, glancing back at his subordinate's mobile suit momentarily before looking back to his sensor screen. "Regardless, we're going to check on it. All units descend over signal!"

With that order sent out, the seven Federation mobile suits unanimously adjusted their flight paths. They dropped in altitude, lowering themselves so they would soon touch down on the burning compound. As they did, Sleggar couldn't help but notice that the closer he got to ground level, the more detailed the devastation appeared through his main monitor, right down to the fact he could now see the human remains, both whole and severed, that were scattered across the basin more clearly. Again, he resisted the urge to smash his fist into the console and drown out his growing rage with the idea that he would pay the Zeeks back for this someday.

His thoughts were interrupted when his eyes scanned over something in his main monitor, a silhouette several meters away from his landing position. Realizing it was the source of the signal, Sleggar magnified his main camera, and once he gained a clear frame, he felt his heart suddenly race. The other pilots shared this reaction as one quickly spoke up. "Wha...What the hell is that?"

The object in question was a mobile suit, but it wasn't any type that Sleggar or the rest of his team had seen before, being of humanoid shape like a Guncannon or a Zaku, yet being more evenly structured and far less bulky than either of those units. The mobile suit was turned away from the oncoming Guncannons as if it were staring off into the distance, though it would have obviously detected their approach by now. At its feet, much to the great astonishment of everyone else present was the remains of a Zaku, which had a noticeably large hole punctured through its center, a somewhat different wound from what would have been inflicted by a beam rifle or cannon.

So that's the Gundam I've been hearing about... Sleggar thought, feeling a grin creep onto his face as he looked it over more. I guess Project V wasn't a waste of taxpayer credits after all.

Once the mobile suits touched down, their enlarged feet slamming onto the compound with metallic booms, Sleggar marched his Guncannon up a few more meters to be directly behind the Gundam. He reached the Guncannon's left arm, the one not holding its beam rifle, out and placed it on the Gundam's right shoulder, initiating skin-to-skin communication. "Hey, is there anyone alive in there?"

As if physically responding to the contact, the Gundam's head turned to look back at the Guncannon's, its yellow camera eye staring directly into the Guncannon's visor. "Ah...yeah...I'm still alive."

Sleggar felt relieved at that answer, but he still needed to know more. "Establish a video link and identify yourself."

Soon enough, a vidwindow opened at the corner of Sleggar's monitor, revealing the inside of the Gundam's cockpit, as well as the young man, dressed in a smudged uniform bearing Lieutenant Junior Grade pips, who was sitting in the pilot chair. "Lieutenant Amuro Ray, Serial Number 7843079... I'm the test pilot for Gundam Unit Alpha."

At that, Sleggar felt himself look back into the Lieutenant's shell-shocked eyes with peculiarity. This kid seems too young to shave. How did he get involved with Project V? "What happened to the other two Zakus, Lieutenant? Did they escape?"

"...No." Amuro barely managed to murmur from his breath. "I...killed them too..."

"I see," Sleggar replied, nodding in understanding and sympathy. It was obvious this had been Lieutenant Ray's first battle experience, as well as the first time he had taken lives, and Sleggar knew both of those first times were always hard to swallow. Still, he did not dismiss that this kid, even if he was just a test pilot in a super advanced mobile suit, managed to take down three Zakus singlehandedly and with barely a scratch for his troubles. That would come in handy shortly, but he stuck to the business at hand for the time being. "And what about the other two prototypes?"

Amuro managed to will himself enough to answer the question. "Somehow, they missed them." he had the Gundam's head shift toward the two remaining mobile suit transports, which, despite the surrounding ruin, had remained unscathed. "We were getting ready to transport them to the Ark Royal when the attack started."

"Roger," Sleggar confirmed before returning to his unit's channel. "Shrikes Eleven and Twelve, get those transports moving and follow them back to the ship."

Quickly carrying out those orders, the Guncannon Troopers belonging to Hayato and his wingman Ensign Kai Shiden moved over to their chosen transport trucks and had their mobile suits reach out with their hands and touch the cabs. Moments later, they inputted the activation commands on either, symbolized by the engines of either coming online with distinctive hums and the transports lifting off the ground a fair margin before the two pilots continued to transmit guidance orders to the vehicles' computer systems.

Soon enough, the transports began to move, taking off into the colony's sky on their journey to Antillia's harbor while the respective Guncannons joined alongside them to provide escort. As he watched them move into the distance, Sleggar turned his attention back to the Gundam. "You better get to the ship too, Lieutenant, before any more Zeeks show up for an encore."

Suddenly, Amuro's eyes lit up as if noticing something gravely important. "I'm sorry, Commander, but I've got something to take care of first." The Gundam then reached up, pushed the Guncannon's hand off its shoulder, and began to march some distance away. "I won't be long."

"Wait!" Sleggar started but was immediately cut off when the Gundam, after a few more footsteps, blasted off into the air at such speed that his monitor blurred. The action caught both Sleggar and his other pilots off guard, and the Commander had to blink a few times before returning to the present.

Sighing with frustration, he switched channels to the Ark Royal's frequency. "Shrike Leader to Ark Royal." he began. "We've reached White Base, or what's left, and secured two prototypes. They're heading your way. The last one will be en route soon." Sleggar felt his eyes drift downward as he added on the next sentence. "Aside from one test pilot, there were no survivors."

"Understood, Shrike Leader," Kikka confirmed, her voice sounding far more oppressed than her usual cheery, upbeat self. Somehow, Sleggar found that almost as depressing as his current surroundings. "Continue to..."

Something cut her off before she could finish her sentence, and after a few moments of distant-sounding chatter, Kikka's voice returned to the radio, this time sounding more hurriedly. "Red Alert, Shrike Leader! A Zeon fleet has just decloaked at the system's edge and is advancing! Recover the last prototype and return immediately!"

Goddammit, Sleggar felt himself cringe. Just what they needed now: more Zeeks. "Acknowledged," he said, signing off and switching back the 105th's frequency in little more than a second. "Shrikes, we've got incoming. Two, go after Unit Alpha. Everyone else, RTS. Now."

With that, the Guncannons lifted off as one and returned to the direction they came, while Sayla's lone unit took off deeper into the colony, beginning its search for the wayward Gundam.

Federation Lexington-class fleetcarrier Ark Royal
Antillia, Durga System

"How many?" Bright inquired as he sat back down on his command chair, once again willing himself on the inside to prepare for the worst.

Replying from the Ark Royal's Combat Direction Center, Lieutenant Noel Anderson answered with an even tone but still retained a certain desperation. "Three Musaka-class cruisers and a Rewloola-class battlecruiser. They're moving toward Antillia at attack speed but haven't launched mobile suits yet."

Upon hearing this, Bright tapped the touch panel on his right chair arm and watched as a holographic display appeared in front of him, showing the sensor data that Job just described. Sure enough, there were four green grid-lined images of Zeon ships in the distance from the blue grid-lined image of the colony, and the data boxes on the sides of those images indicated the enemy ships were heading toward their position. Bright suppressed the urge to scowl at the images in turn. "Kikka, get Commander Perrault on the line."

No sooner did Bright mutter that sentence did the image of a pale and pudgy face with dark brown hair emerge on the bridge's main monitor, its beady eyes widened and its mouth already open bellowing. By the time of the face's emergence, Bright knew that the owner had moved to establish a commlink with the Ark Royal well before he had given the command. "Commander Noa, it's terrible! We've already lost over two squadrons worth of mobile suits during their initial attack! My garrison alone won't be able to hold off their advance! Do something!"

"I'm afraid our options are limited as well, Commander," Bright replied as he deactivated his holodisplay, trying to keep his voice measured even when it looked like the man on the screen was about to come apart at the seams. "Most of my pilots and crew had gone into the colony before the attack, and we're only now recalling them. It will take some time for them to return to the ship and prepare for battle."

"I don't care! We need the Ark Royal's mobile suits out there now! You're our only real defense against them!" Perrault cried out again, his voice echoing through the bridge's speaker system like a shrill whistle in a cavern.

Bright reached up and covered his right ear out of reflex, as did several other crew members. For a large, wide-girthed man, Commander Orson Perrault, commandant of Antillia's garrison, had a wail that just reverberated against one's skin, even through a communications system. The irony wasn't lost on him either; when the Ark Royal had first arrived into the Durga System, the good Commander had let Bright know firsthand what he thought of him, his earlier promotion, and his performance during the Battle of Arcturus. Only when Bright reminded Perrault that he reported directly to Fleet Admiral Revil for the present operation did Perrault back down and keep any further opinions to himself.

Still, as much delight as Bright would have taken inside at the sight of the same pompous bastard now begging for his help in fighting off the big, bad Zeon, he had other things to deal with. Just as he said, they were only now recovering their pilots and crew along with the Gundam prototypes, so contrary to Perrault's plight, he could not just send Guncannons out to fight in the next split second. And even if he could, the odds were not in their favor, not when the enemy's combined Zaku force was just about even with Antillia and the Ark Royal's forces. If all it took to wipe out two squadrons of Guncannons and Guntanks were three Zakus, then Bright had doubted his numbers would be able to hold the line against a force of approximately thirty, minus any that had been destroyed in the earlier skirmish of course.

"Commander, we will do everything in our power to defend Antillia if it comes down to it. But for now, I must prepare my ship for immediate departure." Bright continued, tone remaining measured. "Once preparations are complete, we will depart Antillia at best speed; that will likely draw the Zeon away from the colony."

"What makes you believe they'll pursue you and not continue attacking us?" Perrault inquired, his worried expression holding like a storm cloud.

"Because they're after the Gundams," Bright answered. "That much is obvious. Otherwise, what would they care about a strategically worthless mining colony like this?"

Perrault visibly cringed at that last part, obviously recalling what exactly he was in command of and, more than likely, the reasons why he had been assigned here in the first place. It took some effort, but Bright managed to keep a smirk from forming on his face just as the Commander recovered and began again. "And what about the Gundams? Can't you use them?"

At that, Bright allowed himself to narrow his gaze. "Two of the test pilots had been killed in the attack, which leaves only one unit operable. But even so, we would be revealing the results of Project V right to the Zeon."

"There's no point in that if the Zeeks already know about them!" Perrault countered in a bellow. "As colony administrator, I'm ordering you to send out that last unit! Call it a live combat evaluation, but send it out before we're overwhelmed!"

At that, Bright scowled as he felt his patience finally give way. "Need I remind you, Commander Perrault, that neither I nor Project V is under your direct command and that even with your position as Antillia's administrator, you do not have the authority to give orders such as that?" Bright continued as his eyes bore into Perrault's ever-widening ones. "And may I also remind you that you are an Earth Federation Space Force officer and that your current manner is completely disgraceful. Now calm yourself. The situation is bad enough without you coming apart in front of my crew."

Perrault's face quickly turned bright red, and his teeth gritted together as it dawned on him that he had just been completely talked down to by an "upstart." Though he was tempted to retort, he kept himself from doing so when he remembered that other people were watching him on both sides of the screen; as such, he coughed into his fist as part of an ancient gesture of some kind, then nodded toward Bright as if continuing business at hand. "Alright, Noa, may I recommend using the Gundam in our defensive effort, as our Guncannons and Balls will clearly be outmatched, and the Zeon already knows its existence? At the very least, it will buy you additional time to prepare for the launch."

"I would rather not reveal the Gundam's capabilities," Bright replied before closing his eyes to hold back a sigh. "But I guess there's no choice now. I'll give the deployment order for the Gundam; in the meantime, start mounting your forces." he then considered for a moment. "The Zeon will likely attempt to infiltrate the colony with their mobile suits while their ships barrage it from the outside... our best chance is to draw the enemy suits into Antillia's AA network and dwindle their numbers long enough to give us an opening."

"And what if their ships just happen to be carrying nuclear missiles?" Perrault replied skeptically.

"If the enemy commander wanted to use nukes, he would have done so already." Bright countered. "This one doesn't want to commit genocide just yet, or he simply can't. Either way, there's enough already to worry about. Start your deployments when ready. Ark Royal out."

Soon enough, the chubby image of Commander Perrault's face vanished from the main bridge monitor, allowing for a collective sigh of relief to be breathed by the bridge crew. But Bright wasn't relaxed yet, which was evident when he looked at his wrist chronometer impatiently. Just where is Mirai? I ordered her to the bridge more than five minutes ago...

As if on cue, the rear doors opened, revealing Mirai and another individual, one with black hair, a boyish face, and the rank pips of an Ensign, slung over her shoulders, his right leg held in a brace. Bright and some of the other present crew turned to see them. "Sorry, but the Ensign insisted on coming to the bridge himself," Mirai explained as she walked onto the bridge with her "passenger" in tow.

"What happened?" Bright insisted.

"It's nothing, Captain." Ensign Katz Hawin stated as he hopped his way onto the bridge. "Random fire struck a building near where I was standing, and the explosion threw shrapnel into my leg and some other places..."

"You should be in sickbay, Ensign," Bright stated before turning to Mirai. "Where's Doctor Coast?"

"Dead." Mirai shook her head. "He was in the bar Katz described, along with a fair portion of the nursing staff. Sickbay's filling up fast as a result."

"I know I'm wounded, but the Zeek bastards didn't get me that badly." Katz tried to sound reassuring despite the trace remnants of pain that Bright could detect in his voice. "I can still fly her out at your command."

Bright closed his eyes momentarily, then nodded. If Katz said he could fly the ship, then Bright was not in a position to deny him. "Very well, take the helm. We may need a fast exit in the next few minutes."

"Aye, sir," Katz replied before making his way toward his post at the front of the bridge, Mirai helping him along the way.

"Captain, I have Commander Law's team on approach and two transport trucks," Kikka said again. He's asking for permission to land."

"Two?" Bright looked up in confusion. "Put him on Kikka."

Soon enough, Sleggar's visage appeared on the main monitor where Perrault had been moments earlier, looking back from the cockpit of his Guncannon. Bright went straight to the point. "You're down by one Shrike Leader."

"You noticed." Sleggar retorted sarcastically. "That unit's the one with the test pilot I mentioned; he took off before you gave the recall order and claimed he had something to 'take care of.' I sent Shrike Two after him for whatever good that does."

Even when he felt a headache coming on, Bright resisted the urge to rub his forehead. "Did you encounter enemy suits?"

"What was left of them," Sleggar replied, his expression turning to full seriousness. "Bright, that thing took down the Zaku team before we arrived."

At that, one could hear the Ark Royal's bridge grow silent as, except for Bright, every present crew member looked up in disbelief. While it was not out of the ordinary for a single Zaku to take down entire teams of Guncannons and Guntanks, this was the first time anyone had heard of a single Federation mobile suit take down three Zakus at once, at least not without an ace pilot at the controls. As such, a certain collective feeling of hope grew amongst the bridge crew as they realized exactly what the Federation had been doing out there all this time and why they had been sent there themselves.

Bright retained his professional outlook, although he began to wonder how effective the Gundam would be against the Zeon task force outside. He also reconsidered the late Lieutenant Commander Bouchard's claims as factual when he had initially been disbelieving. Just what kind of a monster did the Federation create out here?

Then something else occurred to him. "What's the current state of the pilot?"

Sleggar considered that for a moment. "The encounter with the Zakus seemed to be his first live combat experience. That said, he's pretty shook up."

"I see," Bright replied with a grim nod. "Then I guess you'll be piloting a Gundam sooner than expected, Shrike One."

"I don't know about that, Bright," Sleggar stated, in turn, that his tone had a certain force. "While I can't say why, I get the strangest feeling this kid's not out of the fight just yet..."

Residential Block S03
Antillia, Durga System

No sooner had the Gundam landed than Amuro gazed out and realized that the worst of his fears had been true.

Whether by chance of fate or through the guidance of some unseen hand, that one Zaku, the one piloted by that obnoxious, mongering Zeek, had indeed struck a target with its seemingly random beam machine gun burst before its comrade had tackled and cornered it, and as he looked at the area where the beams had landed, Amuro truly hoped that bastard was roasting in the hottest portion of Hell now. For whatever it had once represented, the Bow family clinic was no more; what remained was a pile of smoking ruin, complimented by a fire or two, while bits and pieces of it lay all around the surrounding neighborhood. The concussion wave also damaged the surrounding buildings. Looking at the crater where the clinic had once been, it was pretty obvious that the beams had struck dead center into the building, rendering its destruction along with those who had occupied it.

The test pilot shook his head at the latter thought while gritting his teeth together almost painfully; there was no way he would dismiss her for dead like that, not when he had been talking to her just over an hour ago. For whatever Fraw had meant to him, which even now he could not determine, she deserved better than to die like this as a random casualty of a war she had held no part of. She had to still be there in that wreckage, somewhere, and Amuro would find her and bring her out. It was the least he could do for her, as long as she was still alive to be rescued.

Sure enough, a familiar image appeared on his main monitor as he scanned the blast zone, which he quickly magnified.

"Fraw!" he let out, eyes widening in worry. She was lying amidst some debris in the clinic ruins, and though Unit Alpha's scanners indicated that she was still alive, the life sign was quite weak. As well several cuts and bruises were detected across her form, as well as indications of further injuries from the resulting explosion.

As he fought to remain composed, Amuro reached out and opened Unit Alpha's cockpit before moving toward the ground with the zip line. No sooner than when his foot touched the street did he rush to her side and bring her head to face him. Hearing the sounds of her taking in breath lightly, Amuro called out her name again and started lightly tapping her hand against her face, hoping the sensation would snap her back to consciousness. "Come on, Fraw, don't die on me!" Amuro kept going as he kept up the effort.

"...Amuro...?" the word escaped from her lips in a murmur right before her eyes opened marginally. Amuro visibly breathed a sigh of relief as this happened, just as Fraw began to come back entirely.

And then Fraw dared to look at her surroundings, and her face turned to despair. "What happened?" she let out, dazed but still able to take in the surrounding devastation.

"Zeon found us," Amuro explained hurriedly, getting Fraw to her feet. "They attacked the base, and a stray shot struck the clinic. Come on, we have to get out of here!"

"Not without my mom and dad!" Fraw replied in equal fashion. At that, she exited Amuro's hold and began walking dazedly toward the ruin. "Mom! Dad!" she called out in desperation over and over, wandering through the debris. Tears began to well up in her eyes with each moment of silence. "Come on! Answer me!"

After several moments of moving around and calling out in dwindling hope and growing anxiety, Fraw's eyes caught something in the debris: her mother's form laid out with a medical cabinet collapsed over her lower torso. "Mom!" Fraw yelled as she rushed to her side, grabbed hold of the cabinet, and began to push up.

At first, Amuro moved to help her, but when he moved closer, he unconsciously took in the angle of the cabinet and realized. "Fraw, don't...!"

His warning came too late. As soon as Fraw had pushed the cabinet onto its side, she came to see the horrid truth: all that remained of her mother was the waist and up, her lower body having been vaporized from the explosion. Only a combination of charred flesh, a puddle of blood, and a burned spinal cord ending existed where her stomach, pelvic area, and legs had been. Fraw gaped in horror as she felt her tears flow out increasingly while she remained still as if her brain was unable to process a response. In her grief, she felt her legs give out from under her, causing her to fall to her knees, her eyes never leaving her mother's face.

"Fraw! Fraw!" Amuro called out to her repeatedly, rushing over to her side and kneeling next to her. He didn't need to look at her face to see the frozen horror and desperation strung across it. Her amber eyes welled with tears, and her mouth hung open, unable to mutter a single sound. Even so, he reached out to her and shook her. "Fraw, we have to get out of here! There's no time...!"

"They... no... it can't be..." Fraw murmured under breath, her eyes flushed as tears fell upon her mother's cheek. "...this...this...Amuro...they..."

And then, much akin to an antique glass or ceramic vase falling onto a titanium floor, the world around Fraw Bow shattered with a crash. Reaching back and clutching onto his grey and black tunic, Fraw let out a pain-filled scream as she buried her face into Amuro's chest. Moving on an accord of their own, her arms reached around Amuro's body and to his back, where they gripped into his uniform and pushed him forward against her; all the while, Fraw cried in anguish into the fabric against her face.

At first, Amuro was caught off guard by the sudden contact, and he had to fight back from pushing her away. He hated being touched to the point that he became quite violent if anyone broke into his territory. This became even more difficult when he felt her fingers embed themselves deeper into his back as if they were trying to puncture his skin. For her sake, however, Amuro ignored his pain, and instead, with some hesitance, he wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on top of hers in a rare display of empathy on his part, allowing his friend to weep for several moments longer.

In that instance, through his special "awareness" combined with the physical contact, Amuro "saw" the chaos of emotions that had overcast Fraw's form like an Earth thunderstorm. Pain, sadness, anguish, confusion... all in their unique colors and shapes, all shifting and churning over one another, similarly to stirred ingredients in a chef's prized soup. They moved and weaved without control, feeding upon Fraw's loss and the overflowing memories of her parents that flashed in and out of her consciousness, growing with each passing moment to the point that they were almost overwhelming.

To Amuro Ray, it was a total change within his friend that he thought he would never have believed would occur. Whenever his "awareness" reached out over Fraw, he always found a brightness inside her, something warm and open to her surroundings, much like a star at the center of a great universe. Though he never admitted it to her, he always found relative comfort in that warmth, as it would never have existed inside of him, and in a way, he had envied her for it. But now that warmth was gone, snuffed out for the first time in its existence as harsh and unmerciful reality had reached the end of the universe, forcing Fraw Bow to experience the pain and suffering of war for the first time. Inside himself, Amuro could feel his wrath grow as his friend's overbearing emotions continued to wash over him.

Then he felt yet another image enter his mind's eye, this one in the form of Zeon ships, one crimson-hulled battle cruiser, and three standardized green-hulled cruisers, moving toward the colony from the outside at flank speed. His eyes flickered open at that; it would not be long before the follow-up attack began, and he would be damned if he let the Zeeks get away with anymore.

"Listen to me... Listen to me!" Amuro stated, getting Fraw to stop sobbing, at least for a moment. "I'm not going to leave you here! You understand?"

Upon that proclamation, Fraw looked up at him with pain-filled eyes, causing Amuro to nearly wince before continuing. "The Ark Royal is still in the harbor! I can get you aboard, but we must go now!"

"But..." Fraw murmured, looking away a little.

"No buts! I'm not about to leave you in a war zone!" Amuro stated with finality, getting Fraw back to her feet again. "I know you lost much just now, but you still have me, and I promise I won't abandon you! I'll get you to Earth, just like you wanted! Do you understand?"

Though Fraw didn't respond with words, she looked back at him with tear-shimmered eyes. All the while, deep inside her, Amuro could feel certainty beginning to emerge within the sadness. It was not much, but still enough for what Amuro needed at the moment. "That's it..." he said, getting her to move. Just walk to the suit, and I'll take care of the rest."

Suddenly, both felt the wind kick up around them, and a red-colored Guncannon Trooper descended from the sky and touched down next to Unit Alpha. Amuro quickly noticed an emblem on its left shoulder: a silver hawk perched upon an enlarged 'A.'

"Zeon are about to attack the colony again!" a female voice spoke out over the Guncannon's external speaker. "Unit Alpha's been ordered to aid in the defense immediately!"

Once again, Amuro felt an image appear within his consciousness, this time depicting the pilot inside the massive mobile suit: a blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman clad in a blood-red pilot suit that matched the color scheme on her unit, looking down at him through her suit's main camera. For some reason, he felt as though the woman was emanating a strange pressure.

However, Amuro shook his head before the image could develop further, instead looking back up at the Guncannon's visor camera. "Alright, I'll head out there!" he called out to the behemoth. "In exchange, I want you to return her to the Ark Royal! Promise me you'll do that and see that she's allowed aboard!"

At first, Amuro expected the pilot to respond by describing how such a request violated some regulation, but instead, the Guncannon pilot only seemed to consider that while taking in the scene behind them. After a moment passed, the pilot made her suit's head nod in acknowledgment. "I promise."

With that, the Guncannon knelt and reached out with its left hand, awaiting its passenger. Amuro turned to Fraw and gave her a reassuring look. "It's alright. She'll keep to her word."

Fraw, though hesitant to leave Amuro's side, knew there wasn't time for argument. However, even when she was on top of the Guncannon's metal palm, she didn't let go of his hand just yet, instead looking back at him with strained and pain-filled eyes. It was only when Amuro looked back into those eyes for a moment before nodding to her unspoken question that Fraw finally released him, even when it was apparent that she didn't want to, was afraid to.

At that point, the Guncannon rose to its full height, drawing more power from its thrusters and taking off into the air, leaving a stream of exhaust in its wake. Amuro then turned back to his own mobile suit, but not before looking back at the ruined clinic one last time.

The fury in his heart only grew from that action.

Zeon Rewloola-class battlecruiser Ralmel
Antillia, Durga System

As the colony continued to grow closer in the bridge's main monitor, Char, who was now sitting in his command chair, couldn't help but rest his chin on top of the knuckles of his clasped white-gloved hands, which in turn were supported by his elbows against the chair arms. It was a position humans were known to take when in deep thought or fascination, which was exactly the case for Char as he studied the still-distant Antillia more, evidenced by the eyes of his mask never moving away from the digitized depiction of the cylinder.

Through his extrasensory perception, he could feel that the colony was alive with activity, from the civilian population scrambling in fear to the local shelters and the Federals reacting to his fleet's approach while preparing for a counterattack. While he was somewhat irritated about Denim's team jumping the gun in the first place only to wind up destroyed, thus taking three Zakus out of the battle that was about to commence, Char was grateful for the fact that they had succeeded in sewing confusion into their enemies, as well as taken down a fair number of mobile suits before they eventually died out. Sure, the gambit had cost him his plans for a surprise attack, but the situation was still far from unsalvageable; if anything, odds still valued his side by a great margin, even if he was about to attack in the open.

However, what bothered Char was not the knowledge that the Feddies were scrambling to intercept his force but rather the mysterious pressure he had felt only moments before and was again feeling within the walls of the colony as he continued to reach out further. Despite its past briefness in his mind's eye, Char could not shake the memory it had imprinted on him, more so because of its familiarity; throughout his service to Zeon's military and well before it, Char had been all over the galaxy and had "felt" many presences, each one holding a unique, for lack better description, "texture" to them that distinguished one from the other. Each one had its individual effects on him, whether positive or negative, causing him to react in acceptance or repulsion while in their proximity. Having said that, though, this was the first time he had felt a presence out there that felt so familiar, such that he knew he had encountered it at least once before yet could not quite place it where or when. Not only that, but this creature seemed to react to his presence, much like when two magnets were placed beside one another. All of this combined into an especially strong pressure that emanated through his psyche like light from a star, enough to verify to Char that not only did this woman have power just like him, but she had great power that set her apart from the majority he had come into contact with before.

And then there was the feeling of yet another strong pressure emanating from the colony, one that he had been feeling off and on since Denim's team had made their attack. Unlike the other one that he was sensing, which remained on a stable, continuous stream of energy yet held power and effect akin to a nova's glow, this pressure came and went at various times, almost completely at random. Sometimes, it would reach out to Char with minor pressure, one relatively dismissible and unreadable, while other times, it came onto him with the force of a beam shot, all the while transmitting various emotions, namely confusion and growing anger, into Char's conscious mind. Only Char's mental discipline kept the pressure or the accompanying emotions from influencing his own state of mind, but even so, he could not keep the strain off his face. Fortunately, his mask did well to shield his face and his internal turmoil from the rest of the Ralmel's bridge, one of its many advantages.

But even so, just what is it that I'm sensing out there? Char thought, continuing his gaze toward the colony while his alternate sense dwelled over its confines. Even as he increased the reach of his senses, Char could not find an answer to his inquiry; he just felt those same two pressures and the same feelings of confusion from the general populace repeatedly.

"Commander," Nanai said, rising from beside him. His subordinate's voice snapping him out of his thoughts, Char nodded for her to continue. "All ships have reached optimal firing range. Bow beam cannons are fully charged and ready to fire at your command. Mobile suits are on standby as well."

"Good," Char replied, looking back at the colony again, his eyes once more focusing on the spinning cylinder. Soon enough, his trademark smirk reformed upon his lips. "Begin barrage and mobile suit deployments immediately."

Nodding in turn at the orders, Nanai turned back to the rest of the crewmen on the Ralmel's bridge and snapped her fingers, passing "the word" along to every one of them. Moments later, the space displayed on the bridge's main monitor lit up as the Ralmel's six bow-mounted beam cannons opened fire, sending twelve yellow streams of energy shooting directly at the colony, which in turn was complimented by the beam shots of the other ships. The beams found their target near immediately, and though they ended up doing moderate damage to the colony's outer walls, the effect Char had wanted had been accomplished all the same, as his special senses picked up on the newly increased anxiety and panic from within the cylinder.

The barrage continued from there as more beam fire and long-range missiles were fired almost continuously to hammer away at the colony. As such, it wasn't long before the colony began to return fire, but by that point, the Zeon ships had been most prepared and could evade the Feddie-oriented beam shots without losing their current momentum. In the end, they would matter little, if at all, as the Zeon ships soon followed up their barrage with mobile suit launches, symbolized by the sight of Zakus shooting off the catapult decks of the Imperial warships.

Char felt his grin deepen even further as he watched one such Zaku take off from the Ralmel's dorsal deck. "You might have been able to take down three of our mobile suits before," he murmured in the darkest tone possible. "But I wonder if you can just as easily hold out against our full force..."

Federation Lexington-class fleetcarrier Ark Royal
Antillia, Durga System

The phones rang off the hook to borrow an anachronistic cliché that had somehow survived the transition from Earth's Anno Domini to the Galactic Century. The bridge of the Ark Royal was throbbing with activity as the crew listened to the battle happening just outside the colony while preparing to launch their ship at a moment's notice. By now, the crew members on shore leave in the colony had been recalled, including the wayward mobile suit pilots of the shipboard 13th Carrier Assault Group, while the ship herself was in full functioning order. But even so, if the tide of battle didn't change soon, the Ark Royal would launch into a proverbial maelstrom of Zakus, one headed off by the contingent of Zeon ships that were currently bombarding the colony. Panic was abundant, even as the bridge crew went about their jobs. The entire colony shaking from the fire of the enemy warships didn't help either.

Again, even so, the communications chatter that impacted everyone the most at that time, Bright Noa included, felt his hands clench around the armrests of his chair. Most of the chatter came in the form of Guncannon pilots calling out their attacks and requesting support, but all too often, the death cry of a pilot sounded, followed by the telltale noise of static, and each time that occurred, a renewed chill ran across the bridge. Bright felt his teeth ground from behind his lips as another scream sounded out, the helplessness threatening to overwhelm him from inside. Sure, he knew he could easily order out the Ark Royal's four mobile suit squadrons into battle to aid Antillia's garrison, and he knew if push came to shove, he could order the Ark Royal herself to deploy and add its massive firepower into the mix, all of which would give his side a greater chance. But by doing so, the cold, logical side of himself knew he would also be endangering his ship and crew needlessly, as well as jeopardizing his mission here, and Bright, of all people, knew the Federation could not afford to lose a vessel like the Ark Royal nor the Gundam prototypes she was meant to carry.

As such, Bright remained silent and resilient, forcing himself to drown out the screaming voice in the back of his head telling him to do so; he waited until the one ace in the hole that he had at this point appeared.

"I have Shrike Two and what I'm assuming is the Gundam on approach," Kikka reported as she continued watching over her display, her voice somehow managing to overcome the chatter.

Bright nodded at that. "Good, then we can finally..."

A single, giant humanoid shape appeared directly in front of the Ark Royal's bridge no more than a second after Bright uttered that sentence. Right after, every head on the bridge snapped around, a few letting out gasps of surprise and awe as they found themselves gazing over the form of Gundam Unit Alpha, whose yellow camera eyes looked back toward the bridge. Bright, in turn, found himself rising from his chair just as a face appeared on the bridge's main monitor.

"Unit Alpha to Ark Royal. Sorry I'm late, but I had to pick some things up." spoke a young brown-haired boy dressed in a white pilot suit with Lieutenant Junior Grade markings, just as the mobile suit reached up and displayed a rather exotic-looking beam rifle. "Requesting sitrep."

Bright visibly blinked as he looked back at that face. A kid? He realized, completely disbelieving of what his eyes told him. The pilot of the Federation's latest wonder weapon is a kid?

Nonetheless, he was quick enough to recover and respond in kind. "This is Commander Bright Noa of the Ark Royal. The colony is currently being attacked by four Zeon warships and multiple mobile suits. We can launch anytime, but we need you to clear a path through the war zone."

"Can I count on support from Beta and Gamma?" the pilot inquired, a certain edge becoming noticeable in his voice.

Bright shook his head, trying to ignore the sting in his gut. "Negative. Their pilots were among those killed at White Base, and none of my pilots are qualified to operate them. You'll have to make due Alpha."

The pilot seemed to take that in for a moment before confirming with a nod. "Roger."

That done, the Gundam turned around and launched toward the end of the harbor, leaving a bright thrust trail from its four back thrusters. As he watched it depart, Bright allowed himself to sit back on his chair again. The mobile suit seems impressive enough, but the pilot...

Again, he shook his head and concentrated on the business at hand. "Begin pre-launch procedures," he ordered as he returned to his seat.

With a loud metallic thump, the red-coated Guncannon Trooper touched down in the Ark Royal's recovery bay, where it switched from its thrusters to its legs for movement. Fraw watched with reddened eyes as the great Federation mobile suit marched further until it came across an equally massive hatch, which immediately opened upon the suit's approach. Beyond the hatch, the young girl could behold a hangar filled with more Guncannons, all colored in grey and standing in lined racks along the hangar walls, while mechanics dressed in orange jumpsuits swarmed over them.

"Hang on, I'll put you down in a second." the Guncannon pilot informed her from her suit's loudspeaker just as she made her suit walk forward again, this time moving toward an empty rack that was next to a noticeably dark blue Guncannon, one that seemed somewhat bulkier than the others as well as possessing a curious symbol on its left shoulder: a great eagle, wings spread overhead and talons grasping onto an equally golden 'S.' An ace's mark alongside the custom colors, similar to the red coating and the hawk emblem on the Guncannon that she was riding, but Fraw wouldn't have recognized them even if she was of clear mind at that time.

However, her mind wasn't obscured enough that she noticed two other additions that stood out in the hangar: twin mobile suits, neither of which were a Guncannon, painted grey like all the others but looking overall more humanoid than the rest of the lot. Unlike the other mobile suits in the hangar, no techs surrounded these two, and they both seemed perfectly secure in their respective holding racks. Taking all these details in, Fraw soon realized that both were the same as the mobile suit she had seen with Amuro earlier and, as such, were more than likely the Federation's new prototypes. As well as the possible reasons the Zeon attacked the colony in the first place.

That thought again brought to light the image of Fraw's bifurcated mother in her memories, and the young girl had to squeeze her eyes tight to keep the tears from flowing again. Fortunately, the sudden movement was enough to drown the image out as Fraw opened her eyes again and realized the Guncannon had lowered its now open hand to ground level. Not wanting to hold the pilot up any more than she already had, Fraw slipped off of the metal palm and took a second to float to the ground; it was then she realized, much to her apparent surprise and despite the floating mechanics around her, that there was no gravity in the hangar.

"Standard protocol." a voice spoke from some distance away, causing Fraw to turn and see a man dressed in a blue pilot suit slowly float down to her. "We tend to keep the hangar grav-plating inactive. Greater ease of movement and all that."

The man then dropped in front of Fraw and nodded toward her just as the Guncannon nestled into its rack and deactivated. "I'm Commander Law, and the pilot of that Guncannon is my subordinate, Lieutenant Mass. Don't worry, she explained everything."

He and Fraw looked back as the said mobile suit's cockpit hatch opened, and a woman dressed in a red pilot suit floated out. Midway down to ground level, the woman removed her helmet to reveal her long golden blond hair, which flowed and wavered around her in the null gravity, and sapphire blue eyes to her surroundings.

Once she touched down right next to Fraw, the Commander continued, looking sympathetically at the still-dazed woman. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry about what happened," he said simply. I promise you, however, I'll take it back to the Zeeks the next chance I get."

Fraw looked back up at him, and upon seeing that his words were legitimate, she nodded. "Thank you, Commander." She said in a solemn, broken tone, one befitting someone who had just lost everything in the blink of an eye.

Sleggar felt his heart tighten at the tone of her reply, which was not unfamiliar to him. He had heard it before in others who had lost everything to the Zeon, and it was always a heartrending experience for him whenever he picked it up again, especially from a person he had just met. He was going to fulfill that promise later on. "It won't be long before we depart." he continued purposely. "I've already ringed the quartermaster, and he's set aside a place for you on Deck Six. Lieutenant Mass will show you the way."

Sayla nodded in acknowledgment and took hold of the girl, gesturing toward a nearby elevator. Slowly, Fraw took her hand, and the two floated off toward their destination. Both women soon entered the elevator and disappeared. From that point forward, no more words were exchanged as two distinct images continued to flicker in and out of Fraw's mind: the image of her mother's corpse and the image of Amuro reaching out to her.

Fraw felt her eyes close on that as she forced herself to focus on the latter image. Slowly but surely, the prevailing image of her dead mother was pushed away, becoming replaced with the memories of Amuro reaching for her, holding her, and telling her that he was not going to leave her behind. "Amuro..." she murmured under her breath, some strength returning to her voice.

So concentrated was she on those memories that Fraw didn't notice Sayla turning a corner glance toward her. Nor did she see the apparent interest behind the pilot's own eyes.

There was a sickly feeling in Amuro's stomach as the Gundam shot like Terran lightning out of the colony and into the void of space. Things were much worse than he had expected, even after Commander Noa had explained it to him; the flashes of light before him, each symbolizing the destruction of a mobile suit and the vanishing of a life, were many and number. It also didn't help that according to his sixth sense, most of those flashes were Federation suits; Amuro could literally "feel" the Earth pilots dropping out of existence, one after the other, while the Zeon prodded on.

Amuro could see the resulting combat in more detail as he closed the distance to the battlefield. He could see the Guncannons and Zakus weaving around in space on bright flares from their backpack thrusters, exchanging beam fire with one another in a grand display of dogfighting. Though the Guncannons were easily driven out by the Zakus, the bulky cannon-laden mobile suits fought on and continued to hold the line, even as their numbers dwindled with each passing second. From that, Amuro could also see the beam shots exchanged from Antillia's built-in defense weapons and the Zeon ships in the distance, with the warships managing to evade the incoming fire while the larger and immobile colony held up against the onslaught. The Gundam's sensors did well to detect and project all of these things before Amuro's eyes, and there was not a second where he missed even a small portion of the battle, much less the sight of a mobile suit exploding and the sickening feeling of death that followed.

Amuro cringed at the sight of it all; it was almost completely overwhelming, with or without his acute awareness. His breathing was now coming out in quick pants as a result, much like it had been just after he destroyed that third Zaku. Even so, Amuro fought against it, focusing on the task at hand, ignoring the feeling of sweat pouring down his forehead and the near shaking of his hands against the Gundam's control sticks. Even the inner wrath he continued to feel towards the attacking Zeon, fueled further by the memories of the ruined White Base and the destroyed Bow family clinic, could not overcome his apprehensiveness.

Tapping a nearby switch, a targeting visor soon folded from the back of the chair and over the right side of Amuro's face, giving him a firsthand look through the targeting sensor on the Gundam's beam rifle, which in turn automatically raised into firing position. Amuro sighted the nearest Zaku through the melee and immediately targeted it for a beam shot. Yet even as the indicator showed that he was right on target, he could not pull the trigger back; instead, his finger twitched as his breathing heightened even further. At that, he tried to will himself to open fire, over and over, as his mobile suit flew closer and closer to the target. No matter how many times he attempted to force himself into the fight, he couldn't pull that trigger.

And he knew why, too: once he opened fire, he would take a human life again and would be committed to this battlefield. And it wasn't like how it was in the colony, where the Zeon were attacking his base and slaughtering helpless people; out here, the Zeon pilots were just doing their jobs and were fighting against those who had just as much opportunity to kill them, even if they were handicapped by obsolete machinery. Amuro could not shake that knowledge and feeling away no matter how hard he tried, nor could he shake his past words to Fraw from his memory. He was only a test pilot. This wasn't his war to fight.

But even so, he narrowed his eye into the visor, focusing as the crosshairs again aligned with the Zaku, which was unaware of his presence and instead exchanged fire with another Guncannon. He was only a trigger pull away from destroying it, but he knew it wouldn't last long. He had to kill it now.

I'll fire...! I'll fire...! Amuro's mind called out in a mantra over and over again, even as his finger continued to twitch over the trigger. The mantra only increased as he watched the Zaku's mono-eye shift toward his direction, signaling that his enemy was aware of him.

And then the memory of the ruined Bow clinic hit him again, with the sight of Fraw uncovering her mother's remains followed by the feeling of her crying into him. Along with that memory, his incentive returned. I'LL FIRE!

He pressed the trigger and single neon streak of energy shot from the Gundam's hyper beam rifle into the targeted Zaku just as it had turned toward him. The beam had no trouble drilling through the Zaku's cockpit and out the other side, and at that moment, Amuro felt the pilot disappear in a flash of light before the green machine of war exploded in a great and drastic fashion. All that remained was debris, which flew aimlessly in all possible vectors.

Amuro's indicators went off immediately, and his sixth sense spiked from the detected enemy activity. The other Zakus had now noticed him, evidenced by the shifting of their mono-eyes toward his position, which flared with hatred. Two of them were already flying at him, letting loose their machine guns in near-synchronized fashion as they attempted to box him in. Adrenaline was now pumping into the system, making him focus while dulling his thoughts. Amuro responded by launching his Gundam behind the Zakus, then turning around and lancing another beam that shot through one of the attackers. The other Zaku, however, managed to evade his second shot as its pilot quickly recovered from the shock of seeing a mobile suit blur in front of him and move behind him. Amuro's further shots were no more successful, and the Zaku managed to streak away, at least until Amuro had the Gundam shoot directly into its flight path, where he promptly finished it off with a near point-blank rifle shot.

With his sixth kill established, Amuro twisted the Gundam around and targeted the next nearby Zaku, attacking a Guncannon before having his mobile suit jet after it. This time, the Zaku pilot detected his advance beforehand, as he turned his mobile suit away from its earlier target and fired all six of its hip-mounted missiles directly at the Gundam. Amuro streaked after the missiles and let loose his vulcans, spraying beam fire into the guided warheads and causing them to explode in great, premature detonations. The Gundam then shot through the flames, barely hampered, before coming upon the now panicked Zaku and slamming its left hand onto its torso, where Amuro fired off a beam gauntlet shot that tore through the entire frame, cockpit, and all. He then blasted away as the Zaku exploded along with the others.

Another warning from his sixth sense shot through Amuro's system right before the Gundam's sensors detected yet three more Zakus coming at him from his left, firing their beam machine guns at once. With barely a moment to spare, he activated his beam shield and deflected the raining beam shots. He then attempted to move away, but the Zakus only increased the ferocity of their attack, forcing him to remain and hold the beam shield in place. They tried to pin him down while another one of their number moved in close. Amuro gritted his teeth under the fire before having the Gundam fly directly in between the formation of the three. Once he was that close, he fired his hyper beam rifle through one Zaku, before turning around and blasting a second Zaku. The third quickly abandoned its machine gun in favor of its beam axe and then moved to strike at the Gundam's back, but Amuro was quick enough to twist it around and, not having time to raise the Gundam's rifle, open fired with his vulcans. The spray of beam fire quickly shot the Zaku's armor apart before the entire mobile suit detonated along with its comrades.

But even so, Amuro knew he was far from done. Zakus and Guncannons continued to duel around him while the four Zeon warships attacked the colony not far behind him. As such, he had the Gundam launch toward his next selected target, his hyper beam rifle again raised to strike, and his earlier panic was all but forgotten.

Zeon Rewloola-class battlecruiser Ralmel
Antillia, Durga System

"Commander, you might want to take a look at this!" Ralmel's sensor operator urgently called from his station.

A moment later, Char moved from his command chair to the sensor station with Nanai beside him. The sensor operator did his best not to shiver under the impassive gaze of the commander's mask, especially when his velvet-smooth voice spoke up. "What do you have?"

"I'm not sure. It looks like a mobile suit, but it's not in the database." the operator replied while gesturing over his display. "And I can't get a fix on it."

Just as Nanai was about to question that, the answer came when one of the red blips, meant to describe hostile units, descended into the melee at a rate far faster than any Guncannon or Zaku. At the same time, several green blips, meant to denote Zeon units, blinked out of existence before the red blip flitted away to another area.

Nanai visibly blinked at the display. "That's impossible..." she muttered before looking back at the operator. "Your display is malfunctioning."

"No." Char suddenly spoke up before looking away from the display and back toward the main screen, where the battle continued to be displayed. "The sensors are working perfectly. This isn't a standard Federation mobile suit we're dealing with here."

Both Nanai and the operator looked up in minute shock at that. "Could it be the Project V prototype?"

"I'm not sure," Char replied before focusing his senses. He reached his special powers outward, past the Ralmel's hull and into the distant mobile suit battle, where he could "see" the Guncannons and Zakus battling each other and "feel" the mixture of emotions their respective pilots were giving off. Amidst their number, he felt that familiar presence again, not the one he had sensed when the task force had first arrived but the second one. The one that had was wild and unstable, full of power one moment and diminished the next.

Just as it had been on the sensor display, Char felt the presence flit around from one area of the battlefield to another, such that even with his advanced powers, he couldn't fix it. Yes, he could feel the pilot and his emotional state, which was just as unstable as it had been minutes ago, but because it didn't stay in one place for too long, he wasn't able to get a direct line of sight, for lack of better phrase, on it. For the same reason, he also couldn't get a view of the mobile suit in question either; all Char was able to behold was little more than a shadow with twin neon yellow eyes and the feeling of great power emanating from it, far beyond what he would find in a Guncannon or a Ball. In contrast, he easily picked up on the fear and dread any of his pilots held when they laid eyes on such a monster, at least until they disappeared from existence in the next few moments.

Intriguing... Char thought with a small, barely noticeable smirk as he felt the mobile suit continue to weave havoc across the battlefield. He couldn't let that go on, but his pilots were also, just as obviously, no match for it. As such, Char decided that it was time for his intervention. "I'll go out there as well. Have my Zaku prepared at once."

Nanai nodded in response, knowing better than to question her commander's skill in a mobile suit despite whatever it was he would face out there. "I'll hold the ship here in case you need fire support. But regardless, be careful, sir. This enemy isn't something you've faced before."

This time, Char flashed a more visible smirk. "I'll keep that in mind, Nanai," he replied before turning and heading toward the nearest elevator.

Minutes later, Char emerged into the Ralmel's primary hangar deck, now dressed in his customized red and grey normal suit. As the normal suit came with its own helmet, he had to remove his ornate silver one, which left his full head of blonde hair uncovered; he still retained his mask. With a gentle push off the deck, Char immediately began to float toward his intended destination, standing some distance on the left side of the hangar.

Bearing the stylized antennae fin of a commander unit and painted from head to toe in scarlet and holding its pilot's signature marking, a golden clef, on its left torso, Char's personalized Zaku stood boldly as an object of admiration and fear. This was the very mobile suit Char had used to demolish the EFF in so many battles and the very unit that he had earned his feared alias from. If a standard Zaku couldn't do the job, then Char had no doubts that his mobile suit, which had already been customized and upgraded beyond normal standards, could hold its own against the Federation's newest toy.

Attaching his normal suit helmet, Char quickly slipped into the Zaku's open cockpit and closed it behind him. As he expected, the mechanic in charge of his suit had already started it up for him; all he needed do was activate the suit's main camera, which he did, causing the red mono-eye to flash on and shift left and right before centering. With that, Char had his suit step out and make its way to the now-open and ready catapult deck, where he planted his suit's feet onto the assembly. The operator later notified him that he was prepared to launch.

Char had his special senses reach out to the battlefield for one final time, where he saw the enemy mobile suit continuing to battle Zaku after Zaku. Despite his mission being a setback, he let a grin appear on his face at the challenge. Now, let's truly test the performance of your brand-new mobile suit.

"Char Aznable, Zaku, launch!"

Federation Lexington-class fleetcarrier Ark Royal
Antillia, Durga System

Yet again, the colony rumbled as a group of missiles struck its hull, and with it, the Ark Royal also rumbled from within that same hull. And yet again, Bright found himself gripping the arm of his chair to hold himself stable from the resulting quake; if anything, he was starting to feel more annoyed from the constant attacks than actually worried. All the same, it just made him more concentrated on getting his ship out into space.

As the shaking diminished, Bright saw from the corner of his eye, and Kikka visibly winced from the apparent yelling into her headset just before she turned to face him. "I have Commander Perrault on the line, sir."

Bright glowered at that and felt Mirai do the same beside him. This would be the fourth time since the battle began. Unfortunately, before he could tell Kikka to ignore the message, the main screen flickered to reveal Perrault's fat, panicked face. "Commander Noa, we're being overrun up here!" that high-pitched voice sounded off again.

"We're just about ready to launch Commander. Unit Alpha has almost..." Bright began to speak but wasn't able to finish his sentence before another wave of cannon and missile fire struck the colony. The next thing he saw was an explosion sound from Perrault's side, followed by an agonized scream from the man. Only static filled the screen after that, before Kikka deactivated it.

Bright grits his teeth and forces himself back on the task, tapping a button on his chair. "Bridge to Combat! How many Zakus are remaining out there!?"

"At least thirteen, Captain, maybe more!" Noel replied from the CDC. Suddenly, she paused as something caught her attention. "Wait a second, I'm detecting another object approaching from the lead Zeon ship! It looks like another mobile suit!"

"Just one?" Mirai questioned with clear confusion. "What good will one more Zaku do out there?"

"There's something different about this one!" Noel spoke up again, dread now entering her voice. "I've never seen anything like it! It's moving at three times normal speed!"

Immediately after those words came a sudden burst through Bright's memory, as he quickly recalled that very same sentence being spoken to him one time before, so long ago at Arcturus. He remembered the voice of the panicked operator sounding off as a video image appeared on the bridge's main monitor, displaying a single Zaku, painted in blood red, streaking at the Ark Royal and easily evading or destroying any mobile suit that stood in its way. He remembered how fear ran through his body like molten lava as he and every other member of the bridge crew realized that the bridge was about to get hit, as the Zaku had easily evaded the Ark Royal's anti-air fire and was about to make its way toward the bridge tower for a point blank beam bazooka shot.

And he also remembered the sight of Captain Cassius leaping out of the command chair, assisted by the zero gravity resulting from the bridge's long disabled grav-plating, before flying up to him and shoving the bewildered XO back through the bridge door, throwing him back into the turbolift and sealing the door. "Sorry, Bright, but you've got to live and get the ship out of this!" he had stated in the process, silencing all of Bright's protests. Above all else, he remembered the distinct rumbling he felt when the bridge tower exploded, the lift barely escaping the destruction and delivering him safely, but greatly shaken, to a lower deck.

All at once, it came crashing back into Bright's memories alongside Noel's announcement, along with the same panic he had felt back then, only now accompanied by cold recognition. This time, he knew exactly what that enemy was. Every man and woman piloted a mobile suit or manned a ship knew what that enemy was, and they all did well to fear its name.

"Aznable," Bright murmured under his breath, disbelief suddenly appearing on his face even when he managed to keep his emotions in check.

Mirai, however, was unable to do the same. "Char Aznable?" she called out, shock appearing in her expression. The rest of the bridge quickly matched her expression. "The Red Comet?"

"That guy sank five of our battlecruisers at Arcturus!" someone on the bridge muttered out loud, fear now coming in waves over the rest.

Fortunately, Noel's blaring voice was enough to cause everyone to shift back to business. "The Zaku's heading right toward Unit Alpha!" the chief CDC officer announced over the comlink. "Doesn't seem to be paying attention to anything else!"

Bright quickly followed up on that. "Have Unit Alpha move to intercept immediately! If anyone has a chance against the Red Comet, it's him!" he called out to Kikka, who scrambled to carry out her new orders. "And then patch me through to Commander Law!"

Amuro didn't need the Ark Royal's operator yelling in his ear to warn him of the new incoming mobile suit; he had already detected it, once more by his special senses, by the time she called him. He immediately turned the Gundam around and magnified the image on his monitor, through the mishmash of combating Zakus and Guncannons to the point in space between the Zeon warships and the battlefield he was currently on. And instantly, he felt himself nearly freeze up when he looked at the lone crimson-red Zaku in the distance, one that was streaking directly at him, its mono-eye aimed squarely at his mobile suit.

No sooner than he had first seen the Zaku did Amuro feel a massive wave of "pressure," for lack of a better word, coming from the incoming machine; enough in fact that he felt as though his body were telling him to disengage and retreat as this was not opponent he was ready to face. As his extra sense concentrated, Amuro could have sworn he saw a red aura encompass the entire Zaku, one of deeper vibrance and power than the mobile suit's armor. As the mobile suit continued to shoot through space, that aura seemed to "morph" the entire machine until it became a red comet, streaking directly at him. And as that very same comet drew close, a vague outline of a masked man dressed in a Zeon pilot suit and bearing a determined smirk across his face flashed through Amuro's consciousness...

The sound of his threat indicators quickly snapped Amuro out of his trance, and he immediately put the Gundam into a dodge as the Zaku, having closed the distance far faster than he had anticipated, opened fire with its machine gun. Amuro, in turn, fired back with his rifle, but whereas any other Zaku would have quickly been taken out with those crack beam shots, the Zaku banked to its right and evaded them with awe-inspiring finesse; in fact, it seemed to do so without too much effort. As such, Amuro quickly realized how much trouble he was in as the Zaku continued to maneuver gracefully. This guy's good! How am I supposed to fight him!?

He followed this up by firing more blasts from his beam rifle while either evading or deflecting with his beam shields, but no matter how many beam shots he launched at the red Zaku, the Zeon machine would dodge with seemingly minimal effort. The Zaku, in turn, flitted around, firing one machine gun burst after another at the Gundam while continuing its evasions; it wasn't long before Amuro realized his opponent was only toying with him, likely as an attempt to flesh out the Gundam's capabilities.

Hmph, at the very least, it looks impressive. Char thought as he looked over the unknown enemy mobile suit as he continued his offensive. He easily took in the details: exceedingly slim humanoid design, standard grey armor, twin yellow camera eyes instead of the standard visor, V-shaped communications fin on the forehead, standard head vulcans, two strange cylinders on its back, a beam shield on each arm instead of just one and a beam rifle that seemed more powerful than average. Aside from those things, it was more reactive than a Guncannon, yet Char couldn't help but wonder if there was more to this machine than what was being presented to him thus far.

However, what perplexed Char the most was who was controlling the mobile suit. From how it was fighting back, the pilot was a rookie at best, barely above trainee level, in his opinion. This presented two issues: the first was obviously how the pilot had been able to survive, let alone fight off multiple Zakus with far more experienced pilots, up to this point, and the second was how or why exactly this pilot had gotten their hands on the machine in the first place. Usually, traditional test pilots, whether they be Zeon or Federal, were experienced veterans who had fought in enough battles to know a mobile suit completely in and out, to the point that their evaluations on the machines they were testing mattered more to the suit's design than virtually anything else. Regarding this pilot, however, Char didn't sense any strength or hardness he would have picked up in a veteran, but rather the fear and uncertainty he picked up from a rookie who was only now experiencing war and death for the first time.

However, that didn't matter to Char in the least. It just makes it easier to capture or destroy. He thought as he twisted around the enemy mobile suit's shots still. In one of his flashier maneuvers, he barrel rolled to the left and put more energy into his thrusters, allowing him to move directly behind the mobile suit and bring his machine gun to bear on its backpack assembly. A single spray later would cause it to lose its main means of propulsion. "It's over," he said with a smirk before pulling the trigger...

...only for his target to blur away as the beams exited the machine gun barrel. "What...?" he exclaimed in clear confusion.

A warning shot through his body as Char instinctively gunned his thrusters again, barely evading another beam shot. Swinging the mono-eye to the right, Char saw the mobile suit again, now a fair distance away, and continued to gun for him.

"Impossible!" he called out as he evaded shot after shot once more. He immediately twisted around again and fired another burst, only for the Federation mobile suit to avoid again, moving to his left and lining up for another beam rifle shot. Yet another snap maneuver kept Char from ending up like several of his unfortunate subordinates. That certainly explains the sensor readings before!

Instantly capitalizing on the situation, Char twisted around and returned fire with his machine gun. Unfortunately, the mobile suit kicked on its back thrusters and ascended over the burst, firing two more shots before bursting away again, only to reposition itself just behind Char's Zaku. Char grimaced at that as he maneuvered yet again; that Feddie mobile suit was so fast it was sickening.

But once more, despite how advanced the mobile suit was, its pilot was still a novice; Char planned to take advantage of that. As such, he kicked his Zaku into a flip and flew straight up to the enemy mobile suit, where it flashed its mono-eye directly into the yellow-eye cameras before landing a jarring kick to the torso that sent it flying back.

Amuro cried out as his mobile suit was sent barreling back, barely managing to maintain control. But even so, he wasn't out of it yet; amidst the rumbling and sudden urge to vomit, he was just able to "detect" the red Zaku switch out its machine gun for its beam axe before charging at him again. That split-second window allowed Amuro to activate his left beam shield and deflect the initial axe blow, even though the Zaku delivered it with more power than normal. Despite the shield, the Zaku continued to attack with its axe, slashing and hacking away at the transparent magenta-colored energy field. At the same time, Amuro felt his entire mobile suit continue to shake from the vicious attacks.

With another split-second window, Amuro threw back his beam shield and opened fire with his vulcans. His opponent had seemingly anticipated the attack as the Zaku suddenly vaulted upward and over the Gundam, allowing the rapid-fire beam shots to hit nothing but void. It then delivered another kick into the Gundam's back, causing it to fly forward and Amuro to slam into the back of his cockpit chair. And when he twisted around to fire off a near point-blank beam rifle shot, the Zaku dodged once more and made yet another kick into the Gundam's side. Amuro wondered what was up with his opponent and the latter's obsession with kicking mobile suits around.

The Zaku only kept attacking from there, mono-eye flashing with intensity throughout. And as the fight continued, Amuro realized he was quickly beaten back.

Federation Lexington-class fleetcarrier Ark Royal
Antillia, Durga System

"The Red Comet!? Here!?" Sleggar let out in astonishment and alarm. Beside him, Sayla's eyes lit up with a similar expression.

"That's right," Bright replied from the other end of the vidlink. Though his facial expression remained impassive, Sleggar could tell that his friend and superior officer were just as shaken by the recent event. "He's battling with Unit Alpha as we speak. You and Lieutenant Mass will go out there and support him."

That caused further alarm with Sleggar. "Bright, this is the Red Comet we're talking about! We wouldn't last a minute out there!"

The captain looked back skeptically. "That doesn't sound like something the Eagle of Arcturus would claim."

"And I know you remember that battle, especially the Comet's impact!" Sleggar shot back, memories flashing through his own eyes. "Besides, it's not about our skills but our hardware. As good as Sayla and I are, there's no way we can take on Char Aznable in Guncannons!"

"Commander." Sayla interrupted with that single word, causing Sleggar to glance toward her from the corner of his eye. Seeing this, she turned her head toward a certain direction, which Sleggar followed. He soon found himself staring up toward the two currently inactive Gundams. It didn't take much effort to realize his subordinate's unspoken suggestion.

"What about those two?" Sleggar asked back to the vidlink, eyes still looking up at the twin mobile suits.

Bright's eyes narrowed into a glare. "They're not an option. We're already risking one prototype as it is."

This caused Sleggar to look back with determination. "That won't matter when Aznable takes out Unit Alpha and infiltrates the colony!" Sleggar shot back. "Bright, we already know that these things can kill Zakus! I'd say they're our best bet right now!"

"And if they're all destroyed?" Bright inquired rhetorically, considering the consequences of Project V's failure.

"Allow me to clarify," Sleggar returned fire with just as much force. "We've already seen what one of these things can do with a novice pilot..." he flashed a grin with that. "Imagine what two more could do with Earth's best."

The point was made as signified when Bright took a moment to close his eyes and consider. After a moment, he finally opened them again. "Can you even operate them? These are entirely different units from what you're used to."

"They're still Federation mobile suits." Sleggar retorted hurriedly. "The controls shouldn't be that far removed from a Guncannon's. And as for everything else, we'll have to learn as we go."

"Fine." Bright acknowledged. "Get them activated and get out there. We'll launch soon after."

"Will do," Sleggar replied before saluting and deactivating the vidscreen. He then turned toward the Gundams. "Sayla!"

"Right," Sayla responded as she floated up alongside her CO, heading right toward Unit Gamma while Sleggar aimed for Unit Beta. Once they were up to their respective units, both opened the cockpit hatches and slipped in, wasting no time sealing the hatch behind them.

Once the hatches were closed and settled into their respective cockpit chair, the pitch-black panoramic monitors activated and displayed a line of text while a computerized feminine voice spoke out. "IDENTIFY FOR PILOT AUTHENTICATION."

"Commander Sleggar Law, Serial Number 6342421," Sleggar sounded off.

"Lieutenant Junior Grade Sayla Mass, Serial Number 9539823," Sayla answered simultaneously.

After receiving their replies, the Gundams' computers each accessed GalacNet, the central information processing system of the Earth Federation. Then, they followed up by accessing the Federal Forces database at lightning speed. In milliseconds, both computers could bring up the records of either pilot, which were displayed on the main monitors of either unit. "AUTHENTICATION CONFIRMED. BEGINNING GUNDAM START-UP SEQUENCE."

One after another, Unit Beta and Unit Gamma's systems came online, signified by a display panel in the cockpit flashing active, then leading up to the main cameras of either Gundam activating, causing their yellow eyes to glow online. In contrast, the panoramic monitors flashed to show the surrounding hangar bay to their pilots. Soon after, Unit Beta stepped out of its hold and marched forward, while Unit Gamma did the same a few moments later, following close behind.

Once that was done, he turned Unit Beta's head so it would "stare" back toward its partner from the corner of its right-eye camera. "I've got no problems on my end," Sleggar said into the comm system. You?"

"No problems here," Sayla confirmed, subconsciously increasing her grip on her control sticks, readying herself for the battle ahead.

Sleggar's smirk increased. "Then let's go," he replied before turning Unit Beta's head around again, yellow eyes flashing brighter. "We've got a comet to chase."

Char let loose another burst of machine gun fire that drove the enemy mobile suit back, forcing it to utilize its beam shield rather than its mobility. The Federation mobile suit naturally fired back with its beam rifle, but Char had no trouble evading its fire now; in fact, the pilot was so panicked and his aim so wild by this point that Char probably didn't have to dodge. Even so, he moved in and, in yet another move to intimidate more than damage, slammed the butt of his machine gun against the Federation mobile suit's chest, causing the entire suit to tremor. Char didn't need his extra senses to feel the drastic rise in anxiety from the enemy pilot; it was obvious when the mobile suit attempted again to strike the Zaku with its vulcans, only for Char to evade, then shoot back into space.

For a brief moment, the Zeon couldn't help but admire how well the enemy pilot was performing. Sure, his skills were quite raw, and he had very little control over his emotional state, but for all it was worth, he was holding his own against a far more experienced veteran. Granted, his advanced machine was enough to compensate for his lackluster skills and experience. It was the main reason he had been able to fight back against the Red Comet, but from both his extra sense and his observations during the battle, Char could see that this Feddie had potential as a combat pilot. And then there was that odd pressure he continued to feel from him, which was just as raw as he had first thought it but certainly held power to it. That one perplexed Char the most; for another moment, while dodging fire, he wondered if anyone in the Federation, namely High Command, was aware that this pilot held special powers beyond ordinary humans. And if they did, he also wondered if it was for that reason that this greenhorn had been chosen to pilot the Federation's latest war machine.

Of course, all these factors made for a possible dangerous enemy in the future, and while Char wouldn't have minded the Federation gaining another ace to hold back the Empire, he couldn't let such a being threaten his plans for the future. Besides, he had already gained enough combat data on the Feddie mobile suit to impress Grand Admiral Dozle, so there was no real point in continuing this battle. All that remained for him was to capture the enemy mobile suit and bring it back to the Ralmel, with its pilot in toll for interrogation.

No sooner than he processed that decision did he see the enemy mobile suit charge at him again, this time with its left arm reached out, the hand opened to reveal a weapons port of some kind. Again, Char didn't need his special senses to feel the desperation of the enemy pilot, nor did he let out the war cry as he launched forward, attempting to grasp onto the Zaku's cockpit plate. Unfortunately for him, the Red Comet wasn't that easy to take down, and Char had his machine lunge upward and over the enemy suit as it moved by, in turn leaving its back exposed for attack. And so Char moved to deliver the final blow, a solid bone rattling kick to the back thruster with enough force to cause the pilot to fall into a blackout.

A sudden spark in Char's mind kept him from doing just that, instead forcing him to evade as a pair of magenta-colored beams shot by where he had been before. "What?" he let out before shifting his Zaku's mono-eye to the direction where the beams had come from. Surprise immediately dawned on him after.

Streaking the colony, two more mobile suits with the same design as the one he was fighting now were advancing toward his position. Both units were now firing at him with their beam rifles, causing Char to go even further into evasion while he drowned out his confusion.

There was only supposed to be one prototype, his mind said in astonishment, biting back the growing worry before it overwhelmed him.

Amuro was equally dumbfounded but no less grateful for the arrival of the two other Gundam mobile suits sent to Antillia. "Unit Beta and Unit Gamma?" he let out. He knew the original test pilots had been killed, and the captain of the Ark Royal had told him there was no one in his ship's roster qualified to use them. And yet there they were. "Who's piloting them?"

Just as he finished that question, both Gundams flashed by his position, and Amuro gunned his thrusters to keep up with them as they chased after the red Zaku. A second later, a vidscreen formed on his monitor, displaying a familiar face to him. "Yo, Unit Alpha! Remember me?"

Amuro blinked. "You're the Shrike commander!"

"Right," Sleggar smirked back before turning serious. "Listen, we need to work together to beat Mr. Comet there. Gamma and I will box him in, and you'll finish him off. Got it?"

While Amuro was still trying to make heads or tails of all that was going on, he still got the gist of the plan. "Acknowledged!" he replied before lowering his rifle and firing another shot. The other two Gundams followed suit.

Zeon Rewloola-class battlecruiser Ralmel
Antillia, Durga System

There were three prototypes!? Nanai's mind called out as she subconsciously gripped the arms of her chair in astonishment. The rest of the Ralmel's bridge held similar shock as they watched the three Federation machines give chase to the red Zaku that belonged to their commander, spray beam shot after beam shot upon the single Zeon mobile suit with great intensity. In turn, the red Zaku managed to maneuver around them just like it had been doing up to this point, but Nanai could easily tell that her CO was now being forced to give more energy than he had before.

This, of course, was a massive game changer, and not just for the current battle. The fact that there was more than one prototype meant Project V was further along than had been anticipated, and Nanai felt a chill run down her spine over possibly having more of these mobile suits in existence. Or even worse, there was the possibility that the Federation had been finalizing the testing stage out here and that the production stage would soon begin back on Earth. Either way, this made the mission of capturing or destroying the prototypes all the more vital before the Federation started fielding more of these things for their main forces.

Suddenly, breaking Nanai out of her mind race, Char's visage appeared on Ralmel's main monitor. "Rote One to Ralmel, come in," he said.

Nanai wasted no time tapping a switch on the armrest of her chair so she could speak. "This is Ralmel. Go ahead!"

Char gritted his teeth momentarily as he was forced to dodge another closing beam shot. "I'm leading the targets toward you now. Set up for full barrage in Sector Alpha Four on my mark."

The Zeon Lieutenant Commander immediately knew what her superior was going for. While a full barrage from the Ralmel wouldn't likely destroy the enemy mobile suits, it would confuse and disorient them enough for the Red Comet to move in through the beam fire and destroy or hinder them. It was one of the older mobile suit tactics developed, but very few pilots were willing to attempt it, much less pull it off, as there was always the possibility of their getting caught in the barrage. Fortunately, Char Aznable was not one such pilot.

As such, Nanai nodded back. "Roger, we'll be waiting," she replied, just as the screen flickered off. The Lieutenant Commander immediately followed her orders. "Set new target field! Sector Alpha Four, at wide barrage!"

"Yeah! Now, this is what I call a mobile suit!" Sleggar declared as he sent Unit Beta's charging after the red Zaku alongside its two comrades. Indeed, even after gaining a decent handling over the Unit Beta's controls and performance, the veteran couldn't believe what he was flying; it was literally unlike any other kind of machine he had ever piloted. Sure, the red Zaku was speeding out into space just like its pilot's moniker would dictate, but unlike before in the Ark Royal's hangar, Sleggar had no doubts that he and his wingmen would be able to keep up, if not overrun.

"Fly Gundam!" the commander called out as he put more power into the Gundam's thrusters and sent it barreling across the void, Unit Alpha and Unit Gamma doing the same. From there, they wasted no time in raining magenta-energized hell onto the red Zaku, causing it to bank and roll around each shot as they lanced out. This allowed Sleggar to gun his thrusters again and nearly come up right on top of the Zeon machine, almost shooting a beam through the finned head. Char banked again at this and brought up his machine gun, firing a spray at Unit Beta, which Sleggar evaded by putting the Gundam into the side dash. A second later, Unit Alpha moved in close and fired off another beam shot of its own, and for the first time in the entire battle, Char was forced to employ his beam shield to deflect the shot. He responded by firing three of his hip-mounted missiles at the attacking Gundam, but Amuro jetted away before the missiles could impact.

Before Char could pursue either of the first two Gundams, Sayla charged in with Unit Gamma, forgoing her beam rifle for a beam saber. Only a spark of warning from Char's extra senses allowed him to see the attack coming, and he immediately had his Zaku leap back as the Federation mobile suit came in with a beam saber swipe. However, whereas any other rookie pilot would have ended the attack there, the Federation mobile suit kept up the offensive, slashing the saber from various angles that the red Zaku barely evaded. Only another quick burst from the Zaku's beam machine gun ended the assault, forcing Unit Gamma to engage one of its beam shields, deflect the spray, and then shoot away when the Zaku kept up the attack. Or so it seemed, as Unit Alpha jetted in again and fired off a spray of vulcan fire, which Char evaded by ascending "upward" from the attack, Unit Beta and Unit Gamma quickly moving into pursuit.

Char grit his teeth as he induced more g-forces to stay ahead of his adversaries, his special senses now working overtime to predict their attacks more easily. It was clear from their fighting styles and greater control that the two newcomers were experienced pilots, perhaps even aces, and the fact they could keep up with the Red Comet, their mobile suits' superior performance notwithstanding, was further testament to their skills. Their only weakness, as Char surmised, was that they seemed to be unfamiliar with their machines; the fact they weren't moving as fast nor as smoothly as the first one seemed to indicate that. But even so, the skills and synchronization between these two more than made up for their lack of knowledge of their craft.

However, what Char's special senses detected worried him the most. The first he detected didn't seem to have any pressure, which meant that he didn't have the "gift" that Char possessed, but in its place, he felt a special confidence that could only be found in those who have survived for so long. This confidence and spirit were so palpable that to Char, they appeared to take shape before him, emerging around the mobile suit and transforming into a clear form: a great eagle, whose wings were primarily of blue yet holding hints of red and white, screeching a predatory cry as it ascended. No sooner than that cry had sounded out did the mobile suit line its rifle again, firing a triple shot of beam fire that Char had put extra effort into evading before returning fire with his machine gun.

That's when the second newcomer came around and fired its rifle, and Char barely managed to dodge those shots. Unlike the former, this one held pressure; in fact, it was the same pressure Char felt when he first came here. While this one didn't have the supreme confidence in herself that the first one did, this one made up for it by being honed and focused, completely devoted to the task at hand, whether that be killing him, destroying Zeon, or some other purpose that he was unaware of him. Her spirit also took shape in front of him, appearing as a warrior maiden in a winged helm and riding upon a great steed, charging at him with her sword raised to kill. And upon that image, Char again felt that stroke of connection and familiarity...

Instantly, the red Zaku arced back in its flight path and dodged as the Gundam Unit Gamma blasted past. As the Gundam did, Sayla twisted its head around and fired off a spray of vulcan fire to catch the Zaku on its side, but the Zeon mobile suit merely needed to activate its beam shield again to deflect the beam shots. Fortunately, though, that was more than enough time for Unit Alpha to fly back in and line up a beam rifle shot, and though the Zaku again dodged with a burst from its thrusters, the shot came mere meters from spearing the red mobile suit through its head. The red mobile suit responded again by turning and firing off its machine gun, but by that point, Unit Alpha had blasted away, and Unit Beta came charging in its place, leveling its own beam rifle for the kill. Unit Gamma quickly joined it from the opposite side, both Gundams flying at the Zaku in a pincer attack. But of course, their efforts fell short as the Zaku launched in the direction between the Gundams before barrel rolling around their beam shots, forcing the two Gundams to reverse their flight path to chase after, Unit Alpha joining them as well.

"Damn it," Sleggar muttered while glowering at the image of the speeding red Zaku. On the bright side, the Zaku was now flying in a straight path, and the fact it was growing larger on the panoramic monitor meant the Gundams were even faster than the custom Zeon mobile suit. It was only a matter of time in that regard. "Shrike Two, flank him again!"

Unit Gamma followed suit, breaking away to its left as Unit Beta readied its beam rifle again. Amuro readied to intercept in Unit Alpha, hoping the surprise would be enough to get a beam shot in. Before he could do that, however, he felt a spark flicker across his mind, halting this action. An image of the lead Zeon battlecruiser in the distance soon entered his mind, its bow turrets now angled toward the area the Gundams were flying toward. It didn't take much to realize what was happening. "Stop!" he called out to the other two Gundams. "We're falling into a trap!"

Sleggar and Sayla reacted to Amuro's warning, but before they could question him, a similar spark occurred in Sayla's mind, causing her to see the same image Amuro had seen earlier. "Evade!" she yelled to both units.

When she had given that warning, the Ralmel's six bow cannons opened fire, raining yellow streaks into the zone that the Gundams and the Zaku were in. Only that split-second window allowed the three Federation mobile suits to dodge the shots easily. Had Amuro not called it in the beginning, both Sayla and Sleggar would surmise later that the first shots would have easily crippled or destroyed them.

Char bit back his disappointment as he saw all three mobile suits escape damage, but that didn't matter, as he now had an opportunity that wasn't available before. Keying in his senses, he immediately tracked where the first machine, the weakest link amongst the three, had ended up; it was directly above him with its back away from him. With that in mind, he gunned his thrusters and shot up after it, switching his machine gun for his beam axe.

The enemy mobile suit had just started to turn when Char came upon it, and the beam axe was raised to strike. Time slowed for both pilots at that point, with Char's mouth growing into a smile as he was about to deal a direct hit and Amuro's expression turning to one of horror as he realized he was about to get struck. In a last-ditch effort, he moved to raise his left arm to deploy his beam shield, but he knew it wouldn't make it in time, as the axe was already descending.

But the blade never struck. Unit Gamma flung itself between its comrade and the red Zaku, its beam saber ignited in its right hand. The yellow-bladed axe quickly slammed against the saber's magenta blade, stopping short of its target as the Gundam's fierce yellow eyes gazed directly into the Zaku's malevolent red mono-eye, simultaneously flaring against the other.

Yet again, time slowed as both Federation and Zeon pilots' special senses ignited. The same pressure and feeling of familiarity ran through their respective consciousnesses before it all came down to simultaneous realization.

Casval...?

Artesia...?

However, the moment didn't last, as Amuro brought Unit Alpha's head around the left side of Gamma's and fired a spray from his beam vulcans. Char quickly snapped out of the trans and fled, evading the shots with a series of banks. In the process, he promptly redrew his machine gun and took aim once more, only for another beam to spear right through the weapon and cause it to explode, nearly taking the Zaku's right arm with it.

"Finally getting somewhere!" Sleggar called out as he fired more shots, which the Zaku dodged before disappearing. He gave chase, with Unit Alpha moving in to support him. When Unit Gamma didn't join them, Sleggar looked back and realized the Gundam had not moved from its spot. "Shrike Two, check-in," he called out to Sayla. No answer came, causing Sleggar to worry. "Repeat, Shrike Two, check-in. Do you read?"

This time, Sayla woke back from whatever had made her pause. "This is Shrike Two. No problems!" Sayla replied before putting Unit Gamma back into the fight. "Sorry, I lost it for a moment."

Sleggar frowned as something in him believed there was more than that. "Get back into formation! We're maintaining pursuit!"

In Unit Alpha, Amuro also wondered what exactly had just happened.

Federation Lexington-class fleetcarrier Ark Royal
Antillia, Durga System

"All moorings retracted! Firing thrusters and main engines online and at your command!" Katz reported after looking over his monitors around the helm station.

"All weapons online! Beam cannons, beam phalanxes, and missile launchers are all on standby!" Omar Fang, the Ark Royal's weapons officer, sounded off as he looked over his monitors, which showed a vast array of weaponry energized as he had just reported.

"Docking control reports all ready! We are to launch at any time!" Kikka called out from her station as well.

Settling back on the bridge of his titanic warship, Bright nodded as all the information was taken in, formulating his next action plan. "Helm, take us out at one-quarter engine power, then move to full power once we're clear. Weapons target one of the enemy cruisers once we have cleared the colony and any Zaku that stands in our way."

When he saw that his orders had been acknowledged, he rested his arms at either side, readying himself for the next minute. "Commander Yashima, if you will please..."

Understanding the indirect command, Mirai focused straight ahead and called out. "Ark Royal launch!"

Upon that declaration, the fleet carrier's eight massive engines blasted to life, slowly propelling the great warship forward. The entire bridge watched as the portal into space before them grew larger and larger while the various explosions of the battle became more and more visible.

At that sight, Bright suppressed the urge to hold his breath. He could only hope and pray that they would somehow make it out of the vortex.

Char was still reeling from his recent experience when his special senses and Zaku's sensors became alive again, indicating that something was coming out of the colony. Pausing briefly from his battle with the three Federation mobile suits, Char shifted his mono-eye back toward Antillia's main gate and, upon what his eyes were seeing on his main monitor, had the camera zoom in.

Sure enough, a Federation warship was emerging from one of the docks. It was not just any Federation warship; this was easily distinguished by its enlarged hull, just over seven hundred meters long and characterized by its unique design. Its bow consisted of two enlarged "legs," obviously hangar decks, that stretched back to the main hull, which possessed a bridge tower at its center and two engine blocks aft. In turn, the pods and the main hull all mounted gun emplacements. Two characteristic wings stretched out around either side of the bridge tower. Finally, the ship itself was painted in the grey and navy blue paint scheme that Earth valued, which made the vessel even more of a warship and intimidating to behold.

"That's a Trojan Horse!" Char said in shock. However, he wasn't so taken back that he couldn't dodge the incoming beam fire from one of the mobile suits he had been fighting, nor the follow-up attacks from its two comrades.

As soon as the great carrier had launched, its bow-mounted beam cannons angled themselves and fired a single salvo. Char gritted his teeth as he watched the salvo strike the Marom, causing the cruiser to erupt in flame and fragment. The remaining three ships returned fire, as did the Zakus nearest to the carrier, but the warship accelerated and continued on its course, responding kindly to all of its attackers.

Char silently cursed the situation. The same intelligence that had claimed that there had been only one prototype at Antillia had also failed to report that the Federation had deployed a warship out here as well, most likely to retrieve the three prototypes and return them to Earth or some other Federal sector. He had molded his entire strategy on that belief and was now paying for it, as his forces were too weakened to take on both the colony and the carrier, not to mention all three prototypes, at once.

As such, he called it in. "Rote One to all forces!" he called out, gritting his teeth together at the sting. "We're withdrawing! Abandon all combat activity and return! All ships standby to cloak once all mobile suits are recovered!"

A bewildered image of Nanai quickly appeared on his monitor. "Commander, are you sure?"

"Unfortunately, yes, Nanai, I am," Char replied solemnly, turning his Zaku around and heading for the Ralmel. Activating his rearward camera, he glanced at the carrier and the three mobile suits. "We'll just have to catch them on the run."

In Unit Alpha, Amuro found himself glaring at the sight of the distancing red Zaku, as well as the other Zakus. The Zeeks were calling for a retreat, but the Gundam test pilot wasn't ready to let them go. "Where the hell do you think you're going!?" Amuro growled as he gave chase after the red mobile suit. "Do you think after all you've done, we'll just let you run away!?"

"Unit Alpha disengage!" someone from the Ark Royal's CDC sounded alarmingly. "You're moving too close to the enemy formation!"

"That's enough, Lieutenant! Return to ship!" Sleggar ordered as he and Sayla turned Unit Beta and Unit Gamma around, speeding back toward the Ark Royal, which was advancing toward their position.

Amuro ignored all their cries and continued his advance, tapping a certain key on his control stick. In that instant, Unit Alpha raised its hyper beam rifle, but rather than fire straight out, energy began to form and collect around the barrel opening.

Once he believed he had the red Zaku targeted, Amuro pulled the trigger, and in that moment an enormous blast of energy, one approximately one hundred and fifty meters in diameter, shot out from the hyper beam rifle toward the Zeon mobile suit. Unfortunately, what would have been a killing shot for any other machine was easily dodged by the Red Comet, who rolled his Zaku up and over to the left to avoid the blast. The Zeon battlecruiser he had been flying toward soon took aim with its main guns again and fired off a covering salvo, forcing Amuro to evade.

"Not bad, Earthnoid." Amuro nearly jumped against his seat restraints as he heard an unfamiliar, velvet-smooth voice speak out over an open channel. Immediately, Amuro knew that the voice's owner was the man he had just tried to kill, and he knew that a smile was now present on the Zeon pilot's lips. "I look forward to our next engagement."

Amuro only sneered as he twisted Unit Alpha around and returned to the waiting Ark Royal.

Federation Lexington-class fleetcarrier Ark Royal
Durga System

"Unit Alpha has been recovered!" Kikka announced as she received the news from the hangar deck. "All Gundams are now accounted for."

"And the Zeon ships?" Bright questioned, talking down to Noel in the CDC again.

"They've also recovered their mobile suits. Wait a second…" Noel replied, stopping to check over her monitors again. When she spoke again, it was once more in warning. "Captain!"

Upon Noel's word, Bright and everyone on the bridge looked up at the main monitor just in time to see the three Zeon warships engage their Mirage Colloids, disappearing into the surrounding darkness. After the last Musaka vanished, Bright wasted no more time giving the waited command. "New Course! One-Five-One, Mark Three-Three-Zero!" Bright ordered, far more forcibly than he had intended. "Maximum Warp!"

Nonetheless, Katz maneuvered the Ark Royal outward and, with a great flare from her main thrusters, caused the ship to launch out past lightspeed. As a result, the surrounding stars and planets that had been present on the main monitor were quickly replaced by speeding light and darkness, and upon seeing that, the bridge crew visibly relaxed.

All except for Bright, that was. He knew that the Zeon hadn't given up by a long shot and that the three enemy ships were now directly behind the Ark Royal, still shrouded in their Mirage Colloids but not ready to abandon pursuit. Now that they no longer had the additional forces from Antillia to reinforce them, Bright also knew that the Zeeks would engage the Ark Royal, whether in or out of warp, at any point before they were to enter Federation territory. It was only when they believed the best time was to strike.

Bright tapped on his left arm control panel at that knowledge and brought up another holodisplay, a starmap of the surrounding space. Whatever he was going to do, however, he was going to save his ship and crew again; it would be based on what he read from that map.

And so the Ark Royal's return to Earth had, at long last, begun...