2024-08-23:Break The World 1: Side B

• Log: Break The World 1: Side B
• Cast: Rudi Pixyzalto, Rena Lancaster, Marian Cross, Serinas Nikola, Kathras Fari, Sayla Mass, Sagiri Sakurai, Tavelle Adzvin, Yuliana Kafim, Balbadoro, Flay Allster, Aphrodia, Daba Myroad, Rose Tritten, Stella Loussier, Li Yao, Lilium Valerie, Rin Naujakaite, Nicol Amalfi, Al, Elisa Kafim, Kati Mannequin, Nicol Amalfi, Talia Gladys, Gilbert Durandal, Shinn Asuka, Lunamaria Hawke, Athrun Zala
• Where: Descending Ever Closer to Earth
• OOC - IC Date: 08/23/2024 - August 30th UC 0099
• Summary: 'This time for certain, we'll let those damned Naturals know exactly how we feel.' Supporters of PLANT Chairman and Coordinator Supremacist Patrick Zala that broke off from ZAFT following the Bloody Valentine War stage a Colony Drop of Junius Seven, the site of one of the worst atrocities against Coordinators. The mysterious 'Company' as a part of the Anti-Earth Cooperative Federation sponsors their efforts in an unholy alliance to make certain that Earth is unable to escape unscathed, while both a universal inevitability and a mysterious clandestine group known only as 'Phantom Pain' decides to involve themselves. But this too is only one side of the story...

---

KTS: Tavelle Adzvin has deployed in Lestrail Blader.
KTS: Li Yao has deployed in GNF-00XNH Yulong.
KTS: Stella Loussier has deployed in ZGMF-X88S Gaia Gundam <MA Mode>.
KTS: Yuliana Kafim has deployed in Da Xukong 0.
KTS: EN Barrier activated!
KTS: Aphrodia has deployed in GGH-01C Halphas Boese.
KTS: EN Barrier activated!
KTS: Kathras Fari has deployed in Agammemnon-class Carrier 'AION'.
KTS: Rena Lancaster has deployed in A000-0001V Gaia Gear Alpha Custom.
KTS: Rose Tritten has deployed in ZGMF-1000 ZAKU Warrior.
KTS: Flay Allster has deployed in GAT-X105E Sword Strike E Gundam.
KTS: Rose Tritten has changed loadout.
KTS: Lilium Valerie has deployed in GNX-603T GN-X.
KTS: Lilium Valerie has changed loadout.
Stella Loussier transforms to ZGMF-X88S Gaia Gundam <MS Mode>
KTS: Serinas Nikola has deployed in Queadluun-Rhea.
KTS: Serinas Nikola has changed loadout.
KTS: Stella Loussier's ZGMF-X88S Gaia Gundam <MS Mode> has been disabled.
KTS: Stella Loussier has deployed in ZGMF-X88S Gaia Gundam <MS Mode>.
KTS: Daba Myroad has deployed in L-Gaim.
KTS: Rin Naujakaite has deployed in Combat Proto Test Group Nauja.
KTS: Rin Naujakaite has changed loadout.
KTS: Balbadoro has deployed in GNC-666 Balbadoro.
KTS: EN Barrier activated!
KTS: Balbadoro has deployed in GNC-666 Balbadoro.
KTS: EN Barrier activated!
KTS: Marian Cross has deployed in ORB-02 Inazuma Gundam.
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai has deployed in Tyranado.

<Pose Tracker> Rudi Pixyzalto has posed.

Junius 7, a place where so many of us once lived. Bloody Valentine, a day when so many of us died. It is said that a name reflects the essence of one's existence. What then shall we call this place now? A memorial? A tombstone? Both words have merit, but each is colored by the feelings of the people who remember, and those who cannot bear to forget. I would prefer to see it as a choice. A direction. A path that we take now as we move forward into a future of peace and prosperity. Let us take it together, and erase the path where our children's future is soaked in blood by old men who claim there is wisdom in hatred.

-Gilbert Durandal, Speech given during the Bloody Valentine Memorial, UC 0098

-=-=-

It was nuclear fire that left Junius 7 in this state. Melted alloys and fibrous glass, extending away from its disc like head like jellyfish tendrils. Once, not so long ago, you could still see bodies floating here. The ice of frozen artificial reservoirs in great cubes amongst the debris.

Now only this remains, of the once bustling PLANT. A plaque has been set up. Shuttles come here regularly, of school children to learn their history, of mourners to shed tears, of politicians to make grave proclamations against the most solemn kind of backdrop.

Today, it is different.

Tiny drones line every single naked tendril, every strut, busying themselves to affix devices that look so much like enormous calculators to them. The jointed robotic arms moving to tap, tap, tap the oversized buttons.

Men in mobile suits, High Maneuver GINN II's supervised, double checking the work of the drones, some of them setting up these devices themselves.

"Where are they?" One serious-looking man with a scar on his face demanded over the comms to a blithely cheerful woman. "Don't worry~ They'll make it, their commute is just a little unconventional. Anyhow, we're right on schedule, so why not relax some? Enjoy the view?"

It was a striking one of the Earth from here, that blue sphere, swirling with wisps of white, "A good work life-balance is important, and besides this may be the last time you'll be able to see it this way in your lifetime."

"Do you think this is just a job to me?" The man - Sato's - outrage was clear, as his GINN flew up beside Rudi Pixyzalto's mobile armor, the E-Phas, "My little girl there wasn't even a corpse to bury. There was nothing left for me to hold! She... she always needed someone to hold her to sleep peacefully."

Sato's voice cracked, as some of his anger was swept away by another emotion, before he found his footing again to stand up to her, "You may have supplied us- and I don't expect a woman like you to care about our cause but don't you dare forget yourself and insult what we're doing here!"

Rudi Pixyzalto seemed entirely unfazed by his anger or his grief, "As I was going to say before you interrupted me with your personal business. The Company aims to make certain all who have signed on with us are satisfied with their terms of employment, as such, we are doing more than merely supplying you." In that moment, six massive E-Bits shimmered seemingly out of existence, in an effect that the man in the GINN recognized, to his shock.

"We'll be committing our own personnel to the operation, including myself!" Rudi smiled at him, "I've confirmed the arrival of our other allies on site, so you may commence your grand undertaking."

At least, that's what she said, but even without the man's authorization, every single flare motor attached to the husk of the once proud PLANT, began to blink red sequentially, lighting it up as the propulsion systems activated, within seconds it lurched, meeting momentary resistance before it tore itself out of stable orbit.

Not for the first time, and not for the last, the grieving man wondered what kind of devils they'd sold their souls to, yet he put such thoughts away - as he didn't regret it, his GINN-II flying into formation with the others, then turning to salute Junius-7 as it began to move, before he spared a glance at the pictures in his cockpit.

Memories of who he's doing this for. Him and his best friend, him and his comrades, him and his wife - him and his daughter.

"Allen... Christine... after this I can finally see you again."

But his eyes lingered upon the picture of his daughter for a few long moments, because somehow, he hesitated to think his hands would ever be clean enough to hold her again.

-=-=-

At first, it was theorized to be a meteor strike that put Junius 7 off course of it' stable orbit, safe for hundreds of years, but that theory was put to the test in the same way that Earth handles chulips entering the atmosphere. Nuclear missiles were sent streaking skyward, only to ineffectually blip off a gray shield. Even the tiny trajectory alterations that were predicted...

... just didn't happen. Instead, Junius-7 curved towards Earth on a trajectory that was simply impossible to happen naturally, buoyed by countless flare motors. Intelligence analysts and scientists were soon in complete concord. Not only was it happening entirely by design, but the barrier protecting it had to be a distortion field.

Nergal put out a statement disavowing all knowledge of it, instead blaming the Jovian Lizards, long before the finger pointing even truly started. Reports came in from the Space Assembly League soon after, of GINN II's stolen from hangars, facial recognition technology got several hits of ZAFT deserters from the Bloody Valentine War, Zala hardliners that refused to accept the truce.

The moment Chairman Durandal was informed, he began putting out statements from aboard the Minerva that the League was doing everything in their power to put a stop to it.

With even less warning than the Axis Shock, Earth hastily called anyone who could make it before it struck the atmosphere, for there wasn't enough time to muster the Earthside forces and fire up the mass drivers to get them into space.

As for the distortion field itself, intelligence to NUNE was provided by a man in his early 30's with a grungy appearance, a five O'Clock shadow, and glasses that had definitely been repaired several times.

"This isn't going to violate my NDA right?" Seiya Uribatake asked another woman in her late twenties with a dark bob parted to one side, Erina Kinjo Wong, who was only half on camera, shaking her head in response.

"OKAY! Listen up!" The man began but then stopped, nervously looking this way, and that way, "Eh? She's actually gonna let me say it?" Somehow, Inez Fressange didn't appear, "Does she think this isn't important enough for her to make an appearance?"

Elsewhere Inez Fressange sipped some tea, in the medical lounge - not even dignifying this time with an appearance to tell him how correct he truly is.

"Alright!" The man pumps a fist, "The thing with a distortion field is that it warps energy away to another subspace dimension! Where? Who knows? That's not important! What's vital to know for anyone out there is that the last thing you wanna do is...!"

Drawings of a blue Aestivalis appear, with mangaka-like lines implying the presence of a Distortion field barrier, and a speech bubble which says, 'Gekigan Flare!' With flip book-like speed, it shows the Aestivalis running into an Unmanned Jovian Grasshopper, which crumples, slowly disintegrating with gruesome effect.

(A final signature at the end shows 'Hikaru Amano' was the artist in question. She almost certainly did this one long in advance for something else.)

"Run into one! So if they're protecting Junius-7 with it, then landing on it is a non-starter. So whatever you do, don't touch it without protection. With a field this big, just about the only thing that's going to work is massed fire. You gotta pop that bubble by overwhelming its capacity to warp energy away. What is that capacity?"

He leans forward close to the comm screen, before leaning back and saying sheepishly, while rubbing the back of his neck, "Hell if I know! A field that big was only theoretical until now! Isn't the unknown exciting?"

Thus concludes the helpful intelligence on distortion fields, brought to you by Nergal, a family friendly corporation. Specious rumors that they bought a child will result only in slander litigation.

(They absolutely did though.)

-=-=-

While the origin of Junius-7 from Side-2 gives individuals multiple approaches to intercept it ordinarily, the presence of a distortion field and the uncertainty of the capacity for it to absorb damage confines Earth's defenders to trying to hastily coordinate their defense among those who could respond.

Trying to rendezvous at a single point would take too much time, time they don't have to waste, instead on wide-band communications attempting to organize on two expansive, 180 degree planes, whereupon anyone who shows up would become part of the effort.

The defenders who show up on the wide plane between Side 2 and the Moon are greeted by the sight of the slowly shifting husk of the PLANT, trying to reach Earth's gravity well. Even as they watch, they can see a gray field just appear, to absorb a flash of something. There are several Virginia Class MS carriers flying towards it from the Orbital Ring, as they release their GN's towards it.

Converging towards it are a pair of old Nazca-class from the league, and their far more state of the art - LHM-BB01 Minerva that came from a diplomatic tour of the Earthsphere, and more besides, as the ring disgorged Beguirs and Demi-Garrison from Cathedra's forces towards it.

A stern looking woman with glasses, in a normal suit from the neck down addresses them, "My name is Colonel Kati Mannequin, of the Gaia Sabers, and I'll be organizing the defense here. Our enemies are-"

"Right here!" A split screen comes up of a cheerful woman's face, with red hair, and pale golden eyes. She's not even wearing a space suit, but an office suit that looks like flair got vomited up on it, "It is I, Rudi Pixyzalto! You're all intruding on Company Business right now. So if you don't mind, I'd like to politely ask you to leave."

"How dare you. With all that's at stake here you'd ask us to step aside?" Kati replied, as Rudi smiled, at her, "Of course. We here at the Company value the idea of future potential prospects, such as yourself, Colonel. Why with your tactical mind, you'd be an A+ acquisition. So why don't you call your soldiers off, and once this is over - I'll contact your people to set something up."

There's a slamming noise that reverberates across the comms as Kati strikes her palm against a console, "The only thing I'll be doing today is forecasting the defeat of another terrorist dissident." Rudi clucks her tongue in complaint, "You really shouldn't do that."

The view screen suddenly zooms out away from the smiling woman's face to show an avian mobile armor, the E-Phas punching a hole through a silver Blaze Zaku Phantom, severing its bottom half with rainbow light from the array of blasters on the underside of its arms.

"Flagrantly false predictions will tarnish your ability to command a top salary during wage negotiations." She replied with unconcerned cheer, as more Large Mobile Armor, E-Bits, shimmered out of some stealth effect to cut into the formations of GN's and Beguirs with blazing Cleavers, as Rudi charged up a shot from her E-Phas and sprayed rainbow light across a line of detonating mobile suits.

GINN II High Maneuvers, the same that were noted to have been stolen from SAL hangars, begin flying towards one of the Nazca classes, as it begins to return fire and release ZAKUs towards it.

Colonel Mannequin, to her credit, doesn't falter at this turn of events as she shouts out to NUNE forces at her command, "Regroup! We can't afford to fall back. Switch to Tactical Formation Nine-Echelon and mass your fire on the terrorists in the unidentified mobile armor!"

This is the battlefield that you approach, and by the detonations of light that can be seen on the opposite end of Junius-7, through the tendril-like latticework of metal, laced with blinking red of the flare motors... it's just as bad on the other side.

As what's left of the PLANT moves ever closer to that beautiful blue sphere that humanity has fought over ever since the beginning of it's existence.

(OOC Note: For this first round, don't attack, you're still on the approach to the battlefield.)

Lucine Azul teleports in.
POT: Lucine Azul is now set observer.

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.

It was simple, in a way, for Terminal to make its decision. The mass of Junius 7's wreckage hitting the Earth would be disastrous. If it wasn't an extinction-level event, the damage to the Earth would horrendous. They would deploy; they would do everything in their power to stop this from happening.

And, they would find out who was behind this, because it could not stop there.

But that is tomorrow's problem.

Terminal forces arrive in force. They are no longer the handful of mobile forces they were, as the Three Ships Alliance. Several ships hang back in the distance -- a couple of Nazca-class ships from the Clyne Faction, a pair of Musaka-class light cruisers from Magallanica, and an Izumo-class battleship.

They've already launched Mobile Suits, broadcasting Magallanica and Orb IFF's.

The Gaia Gear Alpha Custom flies at the front of their formation, in its waverider mode; the white-and-teal Mobile Suit rockets forward, as Rena leans forward in the cockpit.

Alongside it, there are some older machines -- a pair of mass production-type Nu Gundams, a trio of CGUE's, and a half-dozen Murasames. Those are already beginning to fan out.

"Defense Force and Orb pilots--" Terminal isn't publicly known, after all. Rena's voice manages to stay calm; someone who knows her can spot the intention. "--Move out and intercept them. Assist the NUNE, SAL, and other cooperative parties. Hold fast, stand strong, and let's make sure there's a tomorrow, people."

She exhales, switching off the comms. "Al, keep your sensors open and let me know if there's something I'm missing. We're going in."

The Gaia Gear's back erupts as the funnel pods open up. A dozen funnels shoot out, flying in a lattice formation around the Mobile Suit. It rockets forward, starting to arc on the approach towards Junius 7. The flare motors and the GINN II's grow larger on her monitor; they're outlined in crimson light.

The frozen remains of Junius 7 loom large on the 360-degree panoramic display; Earth is behind it, and far larger than she'd like. She swallows, thinking for a moment of everything at home. "Look at that thing," she says, her voice quiet inside her cockpit. "We've got to find a way to stop it."

<Pose Tracker> Marian Cross has posed.

Orb National Defense Headquarter, Onogoro Island -

A cacophony of voices fill the Command Center with satellite imagery of the Junius 7 fragment displayed on numerous displays. The news of its collision course, the accusations, and soon the appearance of GINN II's and of the distortion field threw everyone scrambling. Calls are being made, files being moved around, senior officers of High Command arguing about what to do. A typical sight during wartime. But this isn't a war. ...Yet it might just be signaling the start of one.

"Another call from NUNE! They're demanding us to help!" A voice from the back, on one of the terminal says.

"Ignore them! We're not sending a single bullet! We're a neutral nation! They don't have the authority to tell us what to do!" A senior officer scowled. Was it out of a sense of pride? Or is he just a firm believer of Orb's ideals?

"Orb will be joining up with NUNE at some point anyway! We'll fall out of favor and be exploited if that time comes if we don't muster all we can and assist!" Another voice yelled over. This one's perhaps a pro-NUNE officer. Or maybe she's just looking out for Orb's interest.

"They caused the Bloody Valentine incident! Orb will not be cleaning up after them!"

"It's not important who's at fault right now! There'll be no Orb left to defend if we don't help. We have to send our forces! Anything at all!" A pragmatic voice argued over.

In the face of imminent destruction, High Command is still splintered in its ability to make decisions, especially after the passing of Chief Representative Uzumi.

The 'Hero of Orb' makes her way to the Command Center when the news hit. A subordinate besides her keeping her in the loop as new information was made available. Marian soon walked into the chaos of the Command Center. And the sight that greeted her made her release a sigh in disbelief. 'This is why she could never get anything done'. An internal rumination as the door slides shut behind her.

"How many ships and mobile weapons can we deploy?" Marian pointedly asked the senior officers at the table.

"Cross?" The first man shoots a glare at her. High Command recruited her back from Nergal and gave her a Gundam, even hailing her as a hero for what she did at the Invasion of Orb. But it was just a simple reward with no real power behind it. And yet... "Like I said, we're not sending anything! Don't forget your place, Commander... Or did wining and dining with the nobles and government officials swell up your ego so much you think you have authority here?"

"We have a ship in the immediate space on patrol. With two teams of Murasames on board."

"The only other combat-ready Izumo-class ship we is on standby on the coast of Yalafath," another voice added to the dismay of the belligerent officer.

That isn't really true, of course. Orb have the Archangel, and the Freedom. But they were supposed to be decommissioned, and their existence is known only to a select few...

"Get that ship on the mass driver. I'll be sortieing in the Inazuma," Marian replied commandingly, ignoring the insults thrown her way as she turned. She was getting tired of their indecision.

"You will not be doing that, Cross!"

Another deep sigh from Marian. "I'll take command of the ships and Murasames. If anything happens, I'll take responsibility."

"That's the issue, Cross! You don't get a free pass to do anything you want just because we call you a 'Hero'!" The toxic in his voice when he says the word is clear.

Marian scoffed and smirked wryly. Waiting for a beat before she respond, "...then you shouldn't have called me one."

The door slides open as the 'Hero of Orb' makes her exit and towards her hangar. A few loud voices behind her shouting at her in disapproval as she leaves. But there are some that are neutral, or even supportive voices... Nevertheless, a decision from High Command was finally made.

-=-=-

"...we are under Commander Cross's explicit orders to not correspond with non-Orb forces," the Captain repeats once more for the fifth, maybe sixth time now whenever a non-Orb ship hails them. And two ships there are, hastily scrambled together with whatever forces Orb could muster up immediately and making up a tiny fleet.

The XO rolled his eyes and groaned. His annoyance very clearly visible when he listened to his Captain repeats over the comms. "Captain, why are you allowing that bit- woman, to treat you like this? She's just a Commander. Who is she to order us around?"

"Let it go." A sigh. "She's got connections with the brass. They gave her command of this fleet," the Captain says sternly with a hint of tired tone.

"She could've asked NICELY instead of being rude about it! And she has the gall to keep us behind while the fragment is hurtling towards us. Hero, my ass."

The Captain couldn't come up with a retort. He outranked her but was made to follow her orders, and to tolerate her behavior. But to not link up with the NUNE defenders? Is she trying to exhibit Orb's independence? When Earth faces an existential threat...? An idle thought for now. Not like he can act on it otherwise.

"I heard that, Executive Officer. Drop and give me fifty."

Seems comms has been broadcasting to the Inazuma this entire time - with Marian in her white pilot suit seated within - prepared and ready to sortie.

"LISTEN HERE, YOU GLORY HOUNDING BI-" Marian cuts him off by deafening her speakers. It'll be awhile until the XO realizes that it's - in his anger - impossible to do push-ups with the lack of gravity.

One by one, Murasames take flight and swarms the two Orb ships and forming a defensive line. 'Defend our ships and secure our retreat, provide cover fire if able', is part of the 'Hero of Orb's' orders. Looks like Marian is set on fighting in the front alone. No wonder the XO called her a glory hound before she cut him off.

"Inazuma, you are clear to launch," the communications officer finally relays as she prompts Marian to undeafen. At least the XO has calmed down by now. And he didn't seem keen to resume hurling insults at her. Maybe he got reprimanded by his Captain for his uncouth behavior...?

"Copy." A few more checks as button and switches flips. Her hand goes to grip the controls and she announces her habit launch phrase, "Marian Cross, Inazuma, moving out."

Thruster burns to life and metal screeches in the hangar as the darkened Gundam catapults out the launch tube. And with a click of another button, dull gray shifts and shimmers into a vibrant silvery white with gold accents. A bright white leaving its streaks against the dark of space, a pretty blue sphere of life just behind her.

And within moments, the new power of Orb joins the other Earth-side defenders and flies in formation. She's ordered her ships to not talk with NUNE, and while she would've liked to do the same, it would just add to the confusion if she remained silent while fighting alongside them.

"Commander Marian Cross, Orb NDF, in the Inazuma Gundam," she announces to Colonel Kati Mannequin. "I'm here to assist. A small Orb detachment will be reinforcing our flank. Leave their command to me."

A look at the IFFs notify her of the presence of mobile weapons she's fought with recently. And so she greets the other defenders. A few of them ought to recognize her voice, at least. "Looks like we're fighting together again. Let's try to keep each other alive, shall we?" The latter half of that though, is addressed to everyone, but especially to her new acquaintances.

<Pose Tracker> Serinas Nikola has posed.

        Junius 7. The tragedy and the war that followed shattered young Serinas's dream of a peaceful life in the Earth Sphere learning Culture and catching up with the mother she never knew. And so many others were hurt far worse as the world was plunged into a war drawing lines between Naturals and others, dividing humanity against itself as the Zentraedi were once divided.

        Things had begun to improve, with the end of the war... but now, that very symbol is being used to cause even *more* pain, *more* suffering and division and conflict. She won't have it!

        The time for such ruminations is over as she steps out of the maclonization tank and pulls on her flightsuit. She steps through the giant shower curtain set up around her tank, out into the rest of the hangar, walking past pilots and Mobile Suits to climb into her Queadluun-Rhea.

        She launches with the rest of the SAL defenders, and wastes no time in firing a salvo of missiles and taking shots from the Queadluun suit's shoulder cannon at the distant colony on approach. It's not like they'll do *less* damage to the field when they finally get there, it's space!

        And then the perpetrators of this crime against humanity reveal themselves. (Obviously the people on the suddenly-decloaked ship are responsible, why else would they be getting in the way?) It's... A mobile armor? <<"Who ARE you?! Why are you DOING this?!">>

        Look, the half-Meltrandi may have seen a lot of things but she's optimistic enough to believe in the SAL. Also, *someone* had to say it.

<Pose Tracker> Kathras Fari has posed.

"Yeah?" a younger Kathras says to another junior officer aboard the Ra Mari. "...Well... I guess I can tell you about my father. He helped the AEUG--from behind the scenes. He was no warrior. He's a negotiator. He's actually going along with the team to negotiate this out with the PLANTs. I'm sure that with him there... we'll achieve a peaceful resolution. My father can do anything."

Kathras was so young, then. So naive.

"He used to develop weapons, but he's going places now. I'm proud to be his son."

And then... came the news. Back then...

"...I'm sorry," said his mother. "Your father, he..."

He didn't make it. He was on the delegation that Siegel Clyne never met. Because he had them killed. Oh, everyone said he had nothing to do with it--but the scheming bastard must have. It didn't add up, otherwise.

"Father..."

Kathras was glad, to be part of the war effort then.

"I'll avenge you."

-=-=-

Kathras Fari is on the bridge of his own ship, the Aion, an Agammenon-class carrier. Dressed in the purple uniform of a Gaia Sabers Captain, he look at the viewscreen's display as they approach their destination. He looks resolute, certain; the way a Captain should. Only Jadsa Hakallo has any idea that he's actually brooding about the past, and that only because of the psychic abilities Kathras pretends he doesn't have. But there is much to do.

"We're on approach, Captain. Five minutes until contact." Nuwan Jayaissa, the helmswoman, was part of Bloody Valentine too. She is somber, serious, quiet.

"Acknowledged," says Commander Lanra Gavarre, the XO of the ship, handling matters that don't require Kathras Fari's intervention. She remembrs, too--she remembers the friends, the family she lost in the Bloody Valentine war. The horrors those friends faced, trying to compete with Coordinators. Her expression is tight; her hand is curled into a fist in her seat. This is the nightmare scenario...

Jakallo and Zhukov remain at their stations, along with a dozen or so junior crew members handling things at the officers' direction. "Weapons at the ready, Captain." So says Jakallo. Then, "Our allies are still in communication. Everything is green," the Zafran Zhukov adds.

And thus, that established, finally...

"...This was inevitable," Gavarre says. "Even back then, there was GENESIS. I'm not at all surprised that they're targeting Earth again. Their jealousy, their hate..."

Kathras says, "...Keep alive, Gavarre. We can't be weighed down in our anger for a battle like this."

"But Captain--" Gavarre turns to him, "I can't just let it go, either! We never should have--"

"Commander," Kathras says. "...I'm not saying you should let it go." Surprised, Gavarre does relent. Then, Kathras continues, "...that anger should be put to use."

Fari continues, "To protect our blue Earth."

"For our blue Earth!" most of the bridge crew repeats fervently.

Gavarre settles back into her chair, reassured. She looks to the Captain again, her shining example. And she sighs. "...Yes sir," Gavarre says. "We'll do this."

The Aion continues to sail through space, towards the colony remnants. The black ship hangs in space, a tiny backdrop against the giant before them.

Captain Fari keeps his eyes forward.

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

The LHM-BB01 Minerva was the League's state of the art warship designed as both a space - and naval vessel. The latter one might debate whether it was an implied threat after the Bloody Valentine War. Recently it had been commissioned on its maiden voyage around the Colonies, on various diplomatic missions - this last one to Side 3 to have talks on the current refugee crisis.

These talks were headed by Doctor Sayla Mass, the current League Councilor for Reconstruction and Refugee Affairs, while Councilor Gilbert Durandal of NUNE had come along as well to discuss trade, with Republic of Zeon Minister of Foreign Affairs - Monaghan Bakharov. When asked about how his own talks went, the Councilor merely smiled and stated, "Not as well as I would have liked. The man still prosecutes the One Year War to this day."

It was to be a flight of... misdirection after, to round the Moon towards Side 4, before doubling back to visit Magallanica in secret, when the alerts came in.

Junius 7.

Captain Talia Gladys had never flown faster as the reports came in, thankful for the ship's nature, even now they could see it, the memorial curving towards that Blue Planet. Their suits had already deployed, what few were in range, as the battleship flew closer. Councillor Durandal sat on the bridge with Doctor Sayla Mass, honorary seats. They were, after all, politicians. Every so often they could see something flaring against the grey light of the PLANT sized distortion field, like the flash of a camera, as the bridge crew began coordinating their own attack.

"It feels different, being on this side of it." The man stated quietly, before speaking to Sayla conversationally, "Did you know I was on Earth in Ninety Three?" He asks, "I was doing my Post-Doc in Foundation at the time, and I looked to the sky and saw one man's cry of powerlessness at the limitations of humanity." He doesn't invoke his name, "Now... I am here, and I wonder, if Patrick Zala were still alive to see this, would he recognize this as the same?" His eyes slide over to Sayla, "Or would he not even have that much self-awareness to recognize how pyrrhic the victory."

Gilbert Durandal looks at the screen again as another flare of light over the falling gravestone catches his attention, he is quiet for a moment before breaking his silence again, "I might be a politician now, some might argue I have greater power than almost anyone else in this Earthsphere." He states gravely, not quite in defeat but an awareness of his own role, "And yet, despite my new role, this is all I can do. Just like then - I must sit, and watch as others who have the talent to fight, do what I cannot."

"Rey is returning, the Blaze ZAKU Phantom has taken a bad hit." Meyrin on the comms announced to the room with a note of anxiety, as Talia cursed lightly, "Damn, there's no time for repairs right now and we're out of suits. Have him evaluated then put him on standby when he returns." Before Arthur, the XO cleared his throat, "There is the Prototype, Ma'am." Before she glared at Arthur, "He isn't rated for it." "But- Ma'am all due respect, with the situation as it is." Arthur tried to reply, only to face a brick wall in her eyes, "Until his quantum brainwave activity is fully vetted - my answer is final."

There is nothing in Talia's answer that he would seek to contradict, so Gilbert Durandal doesn't so much as weigh in, after all...

... this is all he can do.

-=-=-

The refugee crisis conversations had been... difficult, as was to be expected, but not totally hopeless. It would have been easier, of course, if the PLANTs would take on more naturals, it would be easier. Many things would have made it easier.

It was frankly, not how she imagined returning to Side 3. Returning to her birth place. There were plenty of ways she would have rather done it. With Leina, for example. With time to visit her parents grave, the museum made of her old home. Hell... she would have even liked Edouard to be there, even though she knew all the reasons it would be a truly, truly terrible idea. But she only had time for these talks today, but...

Well, at least she established she *could* handle returning to the colony she was born in, at least. Even if the occasional 'Welcome home, Princess Artesia' had stung in ways she hadn't expected- even the ones that weren't snide jabs.

"Things went well enough," Sayla said, quietly. Even if she didn't like that Durandal had been talking with the man who made Full Frontal and Zoltan Akkanen. Not that she had shared that she'd known that, either. She was still establishing if she could trust him that much. "Still... it's early days. Hoping I can make some ground."

And then the news came in.

Sayla and Durandal really, really shouldn't be shouldn't be on the bridge right now. They aren't combat personnel. But no one was moving them out.

She was silent as Durandal spoke. She knew exactly who he was talking about, gripping the arm of her honorary seat tighter. "I didn't." Her voice was quiet, tense, fearful, angry. Helpless. It was happening again and even though she was here- not with her daughter, in her home- wondering if she could have stopped this. If she could have done anything. She was still finding closure with that, even now, six years later.

"...you don't have to put things so gently, Councillor." Sayla said, coldly. She still hadn't properly talked with her brother about it, even now he was back in her life. There was lots she hadn't spoken with him about. But still... even if she had wanted him back, even she couldn't forgive Axis. Who could? "He nearly killed billions, trying to force some twisting of our father's theories. Because of something that had happened twenty years ago." ...Well... twenty years ago now.

"...who can tell?" She says, quietly. "...You don't usually get a chance to interrogate the dead, and trying to know what they're thinking after the fact can just wind you up in knots."

But it's what Durandal says next that causes Sayla to fall silent. 'This is all I can do' rings in her head. 'Just a politician'

Thoughts racing, back to 0093. Back to the thoughts that went through her head, after the fact. When she was lucid enough to think, and didn't immediately do everything she could to stop being too sober to think. Wondering what else she could have done.

'Until his quantum brainwave activity is fully vetted- my answer is final.'

Sayla stands up.

"Captain Gladys- I am formally requesting permission to launch in that Prototype. My quantum brainwave activity is well and fully documented, and I have experience with newtype use suits."

She was, after all, one of the Federation's first.

"Watching isn't all I can do, Councillor. And I have no intention of watching while I can still act."

Captain Talia Gladys looks at Sayla with momentary surprise, before stating, "Out of the question. You're currently under my protection, and my responsibility. I cannot allow you to go out there in an untested prototype-" That's when Talia noted that Chairman Durandal had raised a hand, as he eyes Talia, "I'll allow it, Captain, on my authority as Council Chairman."

Talia looked shocked for a moment before she asks, "Chairman, are you certain of this?" "I am." Gilbert Durandal noted firmly, "Doctor Mass has talents neither you nor I possess, and we are faced with an unprecedented crisis that threatens the very foundation of our government. Who are we to forbid her from utilizing them? If she can do more than watch- then what I can do here and now is authorize this." Captain Gladys gives him one last look, before stating, "Very well. Meyrin - inform the hangar crew to ready the Prototype for launch."

"Thank you." Sayla says- to Captain Gladys and Durandal both, before propelling herself from her seat and moving for the hallway. It won't take long to get to the hangar at this rate.

"...It's better for me to do it than have some poor kid jump into it instead, anyway."

<Pose Tracker> Sagiri Sakurai has posed.

"Wow. Nergal's spin team does not fuck around, huh?"

"Ma'am. This is not the time."

"I know. I know! It's just really impressive, and really scary!"

This is Sagiri Sakurai's first thought in the seconds before she looks up to watch the footage of that tremendous PLANT floating through the vastness of space towards the insignificant blue marble she calls home.

"... Maybe not as scary as that, though."

                        VTX HEADQUARTERS - SENDAI

Seated backwards on her office roller chair, the manager of VTX's Special Section 3 watches video feed and live reports of the dawning PLANT Situation with an unreadable expression. Amies Ernest and Meryl Spanna stand to either side of her, worry etching itself in their own ways on either of their expressions.

In the back, Rami Amasaki looks on, pale and wide-eyed.

"Seriously, though. We got this information from Nergal before it even hit the newsfeed, but I'm not really sure how we're supposed to handle a colony drop. Isn't that a" Sagiri lifts a hand from the top of her chair to swivel a wrist opaquely, "'Eva Thing' now?"

"It might, if it was a normal situation," Meryl pipes up beside her, red brows furrowing in pensive concern. "But the use of a distortion field complicates things considerably. Didn't you listen to the brief?"

"I mean, yeah, but the technical stuff just kinda goes..." Sagiri's shoulders lift in a hapless way, and makes a soft 'whoosh' sound. Meryl and Amies just sigh in unison (and pinch their nose/stare on in disdain respectively).

"I guess it really doesn't matter what's going on with the distortion thingie" -yes it does- meryl wants to scream "compared to what we need to do. That thing can't reach Earth. And even if all we can do is open a path, then that's what we're going to do."

Meryl's expression settles, quietly mollified, as Sagiri continues on.

"The Chief's speaking to President Goldwin and Nergal's Chairman. So right now all we can do is sit and wait until--"

The door hisses open; Sagiri, Meryl, Amies and - with a troubled delay, Rami - all look in Hirosuke Amasaki's direction as he steps through the threshold, his expression stoic.

"We have our mission," Hirosuke states calmly. "President Goldwin has personally tasked us with doing everything in our power to assist Nergal and NUNE in halting this colony drop before it can do any harm. Everyone, get ready for orbital launch; Meryl, I'd like you to stay in contact with the Nadesico's R&D to see what we can do if anything to deal with that distortion field."

"Right!" "Of course." "Don't have to tell me twice! Let's go, team!"

"..."

The others start to leave, filtering out one by one until only Sagiri is left... and Rami, lingering still near at the corner nearest the exit, chewing at the inside of her lip until it grows sore.

Sagiri pauses at the threshold. She looks sidelong at Rami, but says nothing, as if to let Rami have the freedom to open up on her own time, if she feels like it. Three seconds of pregnant silence pass.

"... They actually did it. That colony is really falling... it's just like..." Rami's sentence trails; Sagiri's expression turns briefly questioning, but she doesn't press it as Rami continues, attention turning directly to the older woman.

"... Ma'am... is it just... like this everywhere? Just so... so... wrong?"

Rami looks at Sagiri plaintively, as if she might hold all the answer to all the troubles that plague her. SS3's manager hesitates at the sight uncertainly, before she offers a small, earnest smile.

"... I don't really know, Rami. But if it is -- that's why people like you are here. To right it. And I'll have your back, every step of the way." She reaches a hand out, placing it on Rami's shoulder. The smaller woman starts, but something inside of her steels at Sagiri's next words.

"So come on. Let's make it right."

And despite the circumstances, despite everything -- a small smile touches Rami's lips.

"... Aye aye, ma'am!!"

                        ~ $$$ ~

NUNE's forces find themselves repelled by overwhelming force, lights igniting the base void of space.

From a distance, Sagiri and Rami watch from within the cockpit of the Tyranado; as they rapidly approach, Rami's eyes widen at the familiar machines in the distance.

Sagiri's narrow.

"Those mobile units -- it's...!"

"Yeah. I know." Sagiri wastes no time turning on the line to the Carriax, Rin, and any available allied units also on the approach.

<"Be careful! The forces supporting the PLANT aren't alone -- this has got the Company's stink all over it!">

The Tyranado's thrusters IGNITE, punching faster through space, straight threw towards the heart of that brewing calamity as Sagiri's incensed voice splits through open comms.

<"Rudi! You're supporting a colony drop, now?! I thought you had more integrity than -that- at -least-, but I guess I was wrong!">

She usually isn't very happy to have Rudi around. But, well.

The anger in her voice is a huge step beyond 'frustrated and annoyed,' now.

<Pose Tracker> Tavelle Adzvin has posed.

Tavelle Adzvin wasn't supposed to be here today, either.

She has apparently made a habit of showing up places she isn't supposed to be.

Tavelle isn't from Earth and certainly isn't getting NUNE's intel broadcasts. She *does* get the news, though; she is notoriously online and, even though she had intended to be asleep at the time, had been tooling around on her computer when things started to happen.

Her first instinct: get on the Yaman group text chat.

<tav> hey
<tav> HEY. turn on your radios! turn on the news!
[alertping.wav]

She switched to voice as soon as anyone connected: "Turn on the news. Right now. You have GOT to see this." A pause, as someone responded, then: "Any news! Literally any channel!" She muted her mic afterwards, going back to coordinating by text.

Tavelle saw two things, simultaneously. First, this was going to be the biggest salvage operation she'd ever been able to partake in if Earth managed to stop it. And second, this was going to be the biggest disaster she'd ever seen if Earth didn't.

But then she saw something out of the corner of a still image. She zoomed in, and her heart damn near stopped. She knew that unit. She *knew* that unit! It wasn't a Gorainkel machine so she didn't have its specs, but she at least recognized it from silhouette and the way it was moving.

Tavelle bounded to her feet and grabbed the closest pair of pants she could, feeling around with her foot to find her discarded shirt while she was pulling them on to trade it for her sleeping shirt. It was yesterday's clothes, but who cared? She was less worried about cleanliness than she could be at the moment.

While dressing, she thought furiously. What was it doing here? There's no way something like that should be anywhere near Earth; and even if they were, they wouldn't do something like *this* without a profit being involved. Tavelle knew she'd never go broke betting on the greed of companies like that.

So what the hell were they getting out of this?

She came to a conclusion in about five seconds - three, actually, none of which she liked. She turned and ran toward the launch bay, hopping on one foot as she tried to unfold the back of her shoe from under her heel while simultaneously trying to text a request to launch, leaving the blurry smeary screenshot of the E-Phas up on her terminal.

---

Having managed to grab her space suit en route - actually hers, even, she wasn't stealing from someone else who might want to deploy - Tavelle managed a hasty launch, getting the suit on while she was still waiting for doors to open and hatches to move, and only *then* managed to actually get her helmet on.

Which is why there is another mystery unit approaching Junius 7.

No IFFs, at first, because Tavelle forgot. She's been a part of a quasi-military operation few enough times in her life that she can count them on her fingers and doesn't even need both hands; she's *never* shown up at anything this big while bullets were still flying.

She's sweating and already regrets wearing yesterday's clothes, because she is going need one hell of a shower when she gets back. (If she gets back, her traitor brain reminds her.) She shouldn't be here. She *shouldn't* be here, she should let Earth handle it, it's not her planet, it's not her PROBLEM!

But she needs to know.

The unit approaching is one very few Earthlings have seen, though NERV has seen it once. A unit with a short, almost recessed head; hands with three elongated fingers and a thumb; legs that bend backwards compared to a human (or most mobile suits); and of course the distinctive long, whiplike tail.

But UND certainly has it on record: this is a modified Lestrail, a mass-produced Zuvorg homeland unit. Tavelle's Lestrail differs from the standard by having a clamp-like attachment on the end of its tail and by having the back-mounted over-the-shoulder guns removed, replaced with a fan-like array of... something worn like a backpack. She's left it in its standard colour pattern, at least. It shouldn't be here any more than they should.

Tavelle is in one of the very few units that can actually theoretically engage at the range she's currently at, as the laser cannons are pretty much line-of-sight and there's a lot of sight in space... but with all the Minovsky interference, she can't get a lock on anything. All she could do is manually - manually! like she wasn't in an expensive, precision piece of machinery! - raise the arm, point it at something, and fire. She'll never hit anything the size of a unit at this distance, so she doesn't even try.

She points a camera at Junius 7 instead, and the veritable swarm of units around it... on both sides... and then focuses on the Distortion Barrier. She doesn't recognize it, exactly. It has some similarities to things she's seen before, but it's not the same, and *she* didn't get a NUNE intel broadcast. She has to figure it out herself.

Once Tavelle raises one of the Lestrail Blader's arms as if she was going to shoot, but doesn't. She could probably hit Junius 7 (or, well, its barrier) from here if nothing else, but she doubts it would actually do anything useful and she'd rather not draw attention to herself yet.

<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.

        MAY 11, 0094

        "Minister," Captain Yuliana Dispersal says, as she sways into the room, "I'm afraid you're doomed fired." She clusters those last two words, as if saying one and then immediately crowding it out with another.

        "What is the meaning of this?" Minister Chou frowns, leaning back in his desk as the two women enter the room. When First Lieutentant Wen Yuan hands over a dossier to him, he flicks it open, and pales.

        "Gee, how do I put this...?" Yuliana asks, rubbing at her short, sharp hair, half her breezy expression hidden by her bangs. "Let's go with... we know. We know! Hahaha, that was so easy! We know, we know, we found you out!"

        "We gained access to your medical data," Wen explains, helpfully, pointing to one of the tabs on the dossier. "We know you're a Coordinator, sir."

        "This is an outrage," Minister Chou glares, slamming the dossier down on the desk. "You can't just fire me because of my birth! Who are you to even come in here and say that, anyway?!"

        "We're 'the easy way,'" Yuliana explains, wagging a finger. "See -- the way this goes down is -- you're gonna resign. Yeah? All on your lonesome. You're gonna resign, and you're gonna move up to the PLANTs, and you're not going to embarrass the Chairman on the way out. Funny thing is," she clicks her tongue, lifting her arms in a broad shrug, "we're also 'the hard way'!"

        "It would be better for your health if you resigned voluntarily," Wen translates, and she at least sounds more sympathetic. She clearly serves as her unhinged Captain's more well-adjusted counterpart... though she's still here for the same purpose.

        "The Chairman wouldn't do this to his own people," Minister Chou says, though he pales just a shade further.

        "Hahaha! That's the best part!" Yuliana slams her hands down on the desk, leaning forward, into his face, with wide eyes and a wide grin. "He doesn't even have to KNOW ABOUT IT! Come on, come on! I just got my own squad, so give me an excuse!"

        He shrinks back, and he's not slightly pale, any more. "You... you can't just condemn me," he says, his voice thinner. "I've served the Republic loyally. You must realise -- what you're sending me into. The famines..."

        Yuliana straightens up, folding her arms behind her head, with a broad shrug. "Yeah," she says, more thoughtfully. "I guess it's pretty messed up. If you were to ask me, you're not the problem we should be shipping out like this... but we're all cogs in the machine, baby doll," she cracks her neck, back and forth, "and the best part of that? It's grinding someone down."

        Someone else, that is.

        He's one of many thrown under the bus -- and deported back to the PLANTs -- long before the explosions. Yuliana isn't the only one tossing them down... but she certainly helps, because those are Major Pham's orders, and the chains of military command are tight about her.

        ... when she fights in the Bloody Valentine conflict which follows, Yuliana fully fails to reflect on how some of those Spacenoids she hates so much may well have been Earthnoids condemned to space.

        AUGUST 23, 0099

        Yuliana hangs up the phone, and she's the one pale, now.

        "Get everyone out," she tells Jin Guanyu, as she stands abruptly -- her tea scattering to the side. "Yao, Wendy, and Parminder. We've got to get to Junius 7. Right now. Tell them it's a colony drop."

        And after a few calls through the Castle, it's the now-Wendy Yuan who Guanyu hovers beside, as the cyborg pulls her pilot's suit on. "But what's going on?!" The blue-haired maid beside that pink-haired pilot asks, with rare anxiety. "A colony drop? Just like that?! And you're going--?!"

        "There's no time," Wendy says, as she tugs on her glove... over a hand with an engagement ring resting there.

        "Not again!" Guanyu cries, grasping her hands over that glove. "They put you right in Axis's path last time -- if not for that miracle, you'd--!! Do you really think we'll get another miracle where we're standing?!"

        Wendy puts her hand over Guanyu's, and leans over, to press her lips to hers. "Hey," she says, her voice lowering. "Hey. Look at me," and the eyes she's inviting her to look into are strange, rings where her pupils ought to be, an artificial body made for precision warfare. "I love you. That's why I have to go and protect you... and it's why I'll come back."

        "If you don't," Guanyu says, her blue eyes brimming with tears, "I'll haunt you forever."

        "Not if I don't haunt you first," Wendy smiles, and leans in again.

        She still manages to report to her cockpit in time for the rendezvous.

        ...---...

        "It's really just us, huh?" Parminder asks, as he brings the Salamis Kyo-class 'Shandor' towards their mark. The ship, built from the husk of a Salamis Kai, has tentacles about its prow, and draconic frills fanning along its length -- half-kaiju, half-ship. "You really too proud to get Angelo's boys killed here too, Captain?"

        "There's no time," Yuliana hisses, her grip on her clutch white-knuckled. "The Prince rang me. I did what I could. We've got to be here, anyway. If we don't stop this -- we'll have way bigger problems with the populace." The unfortunates of Earth, pushed aside by NUNE policy... that's who Dawn of Fold is fighting for, at least down there.

        "Liked it better when I was sitting pretty in HQ for this kind of thing," Parminder sighs, leaning back in his own Captain's chair. "Da Xukong 0, cleared to launch."

        "LAUNCHING!" Yuliana all but bellows, as the scorpionoid wanzer jets into open space.

        "Aaand... Nightmare Plus," Parminder looks over a screen, "you're up."

        "Wendy Yuan," Wendy says, grasping her own controls with a more controlled grip. "See me going." The fighter-mode Valkyrie flies out, as well.

        "Masquerion... hahahaha, I feel bad for you, man, you're gonna be in SO much shit if you fuck up the Captain's backup ride. Anyway, get outta here," he waves a hand, as he disengages the locks.

        "I will be in no shit!" Borislav XII declares, bombastically, as he drives out in the pale red machine. "Masquerion, ho! Today is a good day to die...!!"

        "Whatever you say, man," Parminder laughs. "Anyway..."

        He pauses, looking down at the console. "... huh," he says, half to himself, his brown gaze lidding for a strange moment.

        "Well, whatever. Feios Valkyrie, GTFO."

        And Parminder's cousin, Jadgit Singh, smiles sympathetically. "Weird, right?" He asks, and doesn't dwell on their connection, as he affirms: "Fighter now launching," and another VF launches from that, strange, organic dragon-ship. He has to rely more on muscle memory than anything, since the onboard controls are still in the process of being translated to English -- but enough is translated, at least, that he can fly.

        "Yulong," Parminder moves to the next bay, flicking the releases, "go long!" That's Yao's cue, finally, as they move to fly out --

        "You didn't have to come," Yuliana radios in to the two Cyber-Newtypes, as they fly out in formation. "So..."

        "This is our blue Earth, too," Boris cuts in, on the radio. "You can't tell us not to protect it!"

        "Forte is staying with Salvacion," Jadgit adds, his own voice more even. "So it's not like we were all forced into it. I'm here because I want to be. No," he shakes his head, within his green helmet. "I have to be."

        "We all have something to protect," Wendy adds, at their other wing. "You'll just have to accept it, Captain!"

        "Tch -- then you'd better do what I say," Yuliana scowls, as she takes in the battle they're approaching. "I don't want another Qiu Lim on my conscience."

        "Qiu Lim?" Wendy asks.

        "Axis Shock took him," Yuliana replies. "In a fighter just like yours."

        "Ahhh," Wendy says, forcing levity into her voice, "don't say that after I've launched in it--!!"

        "It can't be helped," Yuliana scowls. "Most of our suits are ground-bound." She wonders -- distantly -- if Zoltan would accuse her of being too weighed-down by gravity. "We're just lucky I started translating the Feios -- it's the only reason I wanted to secure a Nightmare Plus in the first place."

        "These suits are more than space-worthy enough," Boris insists, behind Yuliana's wanzer. "Now, let us ready ourselves--!!"

<Pose Tracker> Balbadoro has posed.

In space, no sound travels. Sound requires a medium to travel through, after all, and space -- for all humanity thinks of it as a sea -- has no water or air to carry such a wave.

Yet still, there is a screech as something approaches Junius 7 -- something at once familiar and alien.

One would be forgiven for thinking it another of the line that spawned the E-Phas; one would similarly be forgiven for thinking of it as a faintly more avian take on the Neue Ziel, with its massive central cannon. The monoeye and head shape might evoke the Qubeley; certainly, the could be seen to betray the sensibility of a spacenoid designer... but the curves of the armor plates, the layout of the wings -- these things seem to be lightyears ahead of current mobile armor design thought, or at the very least, a synthesis of every stray thought an engineer could have had on the subject.

The distinctly avian screech it emits, at once real-and-not, reverberates through the battlefield. For the moment, a feeling pulses through the air -- unbidden, despairing, and at once deeply foreign and deeply personal.

'This is inevitable,' some far-off voice seems to call, in abstraction, in feelings and energies and historical inescapability. 'Such a tragedy has happened before, and will happen again. Such tragedies always happen. The world's course is set -- and it is for that reason that the world needs guidance.' The feeling seems almost tangible.

For a split second, one Virginia-class carrier's wing seems to falter. It pauses -- for just a moment.

22 bright red lights pierce through the blackness of space -- only to disgorge as deep gouges of blackness-within-yellow through space, curving in ways no beam ought to before lancing through as many GN-Xes.

Whatever the avian attacker is, it's unresponsive -- save for yet more pulses of that feeling, of that vague sinking sensation that Junius 7's trajectory is as immutable as the rest of the world's.

KTS: Al is now subpiloting for Rena Lancaster.
KTS: Balbadoro has deployed as a Boss for 4 opponents.

<Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.

Junius Seven...

It's near impossible to have lived in the Earth Sphere without having an opinion on the Bloody Valentine tragedy that saw it destroyed. A memorial, a promise to do better? A tombstone, a permanent scar marking the world's hatred? A justification, to start a war that took the lives of many more? To an extent, they're all true... and perhaps that's why today, four years later, it falls.

It wasn't since the Archangel's desperate supply run in the remains of the colony that Flay Allster really had to confront the spectre of Junius Seven. She'd even participated in the memorial service along with the rest of the crew... but it wasn't very long after that she lost her father and vowed for revenge.

Considering the weight behind it, Flay was skeptical though, that this was a mere uncontrollable accident. And as information scrambles in, it soon becomes clear... this is a deliberate terrorist attack against the Earth itself. "They're Coordinators who just can't let go..." Flay mutters, fist clenched, in the briefing room of the Aion, as the monitors display footage of the hijacked GINN High Maneuvers.

"And if we let them get their way, so many people will die... so many!" It's hard not to spiral about it, as more information comes in about the nature of the unquantifiable destruction the Distortion Field would cause if it reached the atmosphere. The situation only becomes more confusing with the appearance of the E-Phas, which Flay recognizes from her very first combat mission.

But once it all clicks... all reminds Flay of why she chose to fight, as she prepares herself in the cockpit of the enhanced Strike Gundam. She can't turn away from this now, so if there's anything she can do to stop it by her own power... she will. "Flay Allster, Strike, ready to launch!" She announces, Sword Striker parts mounting for endurance combat, VPS turning the Gundam a stark blue as it reaches the empty space of the battlefield. "No mercy... I'll stop them no matter what."

KTS: Rudi_Pixyzalto has deployed as a Boss for 8 opponents.

<Pose Tracker> Aphrodia has posed.

The scorched remains of Junius 7, once resting in Side 2, have begun to fall toward the Earth. Forces gather on both sides - those who would see it descend, and those who would try to stop it in a bid for the fate of the world...

But it is when that avian screech resounds, echoing throughout the battlefield, that something seems to take notice. A mote of light descends before those opposing Junuis 7's fall as if in reaction to this cry, to the presence of that avian mobile armor, and builds, and builds, and builds, growing into a blinding light - and when the light clears, it materializes into what can only be called a Gundam, colored in dark blue, black, and purple. And yet, it, too, seems beyond anything currently possible in mobile suits.

But unlike the mobile armor... it speaks.

"Balbadoro...! Smiting the Earth with this monument to tragedy... Do you intend to damage the repair system? The Generation System must not be allowed to go further out of control!" A woman's voice, regal and authoritative, rings out. She can be heard - perhaps, makes herself be heard, regardless of distance or interference. It is only now, as she speaks, that the presence of others registers - as if before, they were beneath her notice. The Gundam turns, briefly, to regard Earth's defenders.

"This mobile armor, Balbadoro, must be stopped and its 'power' sealed, lest the world be driven into madness." She speaks directly to them, now - the defenders of Earth. The Gundam turns once more to face the avian mobile armor, and Junius 7 beyond it. "If you need further convincing, you need only see what it is capable of."

"I command you in Aphrodia's name! Let us cooperate to destroy the Balbadoro, together with this crown named Halphas Boese!" The woman bids - and the Gundam, Halphas Boese, stretches as if in response to her command, readying itself for battle.

<Pose Tracker> Daba Myroad has posed.

====== ABOARD THE TURNER ======

On the bridge of the Pentagonan shuttle, the four core members of Daba Myroad's fledgling rebellion are holding court.

"Still no sightings of the Epsilon," Mirao Kyao explains, running a hand through his pompadour. "You ever think we came here on a wild goose chase, Daba?"

The dark-haired leader of the group shakes his head. "That footage Theart Star sent us was clear enough, even through the distortion. For whatever reason, Quwasan's ship docked with Neo-Britannia."

"No sign of Slender Skala, either," the red-headed Gaw Ha Leccee continues, and Daba frowns. "No, Gablae followed us, I'm sure of it. He wouldn't let something like us Fold-jumping to a different region of space stop him."

"What's his deal, anyway?" Fanneria Amm pouts. "It's like he's crazy about you, Daba."

Before anyone else can comment, the comms ping - as Kyao tunes their radio, Tavelle's voice rings through, crackling a little with static. "Turn on the news, right now!"

"Wait, what - " Kyao starts to ask, only to be interrupted: "Any news! Literally any channel!" Tavelle cuts the comms, leaving only silence as Daba, Kyao, Leccee and Amm exchange looks, before Amm turns on the news. The tension only deepens as they watch the broadcasts, about Junius Seven's unprecedented and inexplicable descent towards Earth.

Daba's face is stony. "Kyao, get L-Gaim and D.Sserd ready to go. Amm, monitor communications and deployments."

"We're getting involved, Daba?" Leccee asks, surprised.

"This looks deliberate. Which means someone wants to hurt a lot of people." Daba moves to the exit of the bridge, grabbing a traversal panel to accelerate his movement towards the Turner hangar. "I can't ignore it."

====== TURNER HANGAR ======

Having changed into a dark blue normal suit, the combination thruster pack and helmet safely sealed over his head, Daba climbs onto his Spiral Flow hoverbike, thumbing a triangular button on its central dashboard. "Docking sensor, activate!"

With a burst of thruster power, the hoverbike launches up towards the collar of L-Gaim as the Heavy Metal's head slides backwards to reveal a hollow for the bike to comfortably nestle within. Its lift thrusters slide inwards, and an armoured canopy encloses Daba as it backs into the hollow. L-Gaim's head slides forwards, sealing Daba within the cockpit, and his helmet HUD lights up as it connects to the Heavy Metal's visor sensors. To the white Heavy Metal's left, its crimson sibling, D.Sserd, also prepares to launch.

"Come back safe, Daba!" Amm calls from the bridge.

"What about me?" Leccee demands, fiery, and Amm sticks out her tongue over the visual feed before cutting it off.

"Don't let her get to you," Daba advises. "Watch my back, Leccee. L-Gaim, launching!"

The thruster flaps on L-Gaim's calves flare open and with a roar of energy the two Heavy Metals burst out of the docking bay, streaking towards the ill-fated Junius Seven...

<Pose Tracker> Rose Tritten has posed.

It was only a gasp that was heard in the briefing room of the One Fine Day when the mission was explained. Someone, had deliberately pushed the wreckage of Junius 7 out of orbit, and initial reports indicated that the perpetrators may be ZAFT deserters. Rose and Aspyn both looked at Sushila, sitting between them, not making it too obvious, but their friend and one of the very, very, few survivors of Junius 7 only by happenstance, simply remained looking ahead, stoically. The mission was "simple", overwhelm the Distortion field, land drills on Junius 7 itself to break up as much as possible so damage to the earth would be minimized. Once dismissed, the pilots quickly moved as a whole to their locker rooms, to switch from uniform into pilot suits.

In theirs, Rose helped Aspyn squeeze into her pilot suit, before the two looked over to Sushila, facing away from them as she put on her own. Rose and Aspyn shared a silent discussion, and Rose hopped over in the low gravity behind Sushila.

"You don't have to launch Sushila." Rose said.

"I'm flying." Sushila replied, firmly.

"I mean it, if it would be too much-." Rose continued, but Sushila suddenly stood up and turned to face her, her face determined, her next words cutting the red suited pilot off.
%5"I'm flying!" Sushila spat, grabbing her helmet and kicking off towards the door, dissapearing through it's automatically opening and shutting passage.

Rose sighed as she looked over to Aspyn, tying her hair up as usual, her face unable to hide her worry. The passage of the two behind Sushila was a silent one. All Rose could wonder is who could be doing this. Who would want to bring more pain to the PLANTs? Her father had lost most of his family on the PLANT now hurtling towards Earth, and Rose had come very close to losing all of her family when the Aprillius cluster was hit. Sure, the Earth had shrugged off a thousand armageddons by now but the damage the PLANT could do was unthinkable still. The techs had already warmed up her Blaze ZAKU Warrior when the hangar went into Red Alert. The announcment came over all comms. The first line of NUNE forces were under attack, and the order was now to scramble. Within minutes, Rose's ZAKU was in the launch tube, and firing out at high velocity and vectored towards the threat. Sushila and Aspyn weren't far behind. As they screamed forward through the void, the IFF system began to light up with targets. The outputs reading GINN II High Manuver Types. So the reporting was true. Zala's zealots were responsible. Rose felt a pit in her stomach. This was going to be a long day.

<Pose Tracker> Stella Loussier has posed.

        Some people called it a memorial. Others a tombstone. One man called it a path into a future of peace and prosperity. So what do they call it now?

        Well, some call it an opportunity.

        "What do you mean, an opportunity?" Neo Roanoke asks of the grey haired man on his screen. When Neo had informed him of the truth of the matter of Junius 7's altered course, Neo had also provided long range camera footage of the devices attached to the PLANT remains as well as the GINNs placing them. He had expected his superior to curse out the Coordinators as he often did when faced with setbacks.

        However, the man known as Lord Djibril-current leader of Blue Cosmos and its secret backing group, Logos-is instead smiling at the prospect of Earth being struck with the colony debris. He explains, "After the devastation of the impact, it'll be a simple matter to rile up the masses again with the evidence you've acquired. The whole planet will be looking for someone to blame, and by pointing the finger at the PLANTs, we'll be able to reignite the war that was unfortunately put on hold."

        Neo is not surprised by this revelation. He know fulls well the kind of man he works for. He himself has no particular interest in another war with the Coordinators. But he also knows his life would likely be forfeit should he not do as he is told. Still, Neo's not afraid to point out the flaws in his superior's plans, "It likely won't come to that. I'm sure you know of the measures available to stop a colony drop. Measures that may not even be necessary, as there is already a counter-force moving to engage."

        Lord Djibril doesn't seem concerned though, continuing to smile, "Don't worry. I have it on good authority that this isn't going to be a normal colony drop. As for the counter-force... Well that's what I have you for."

        Neo sighs a little in resignation. He'd seen this coming. Still, he asks for confirmation, "You want us to disrupt their attempts to stop it?" The remains of the destroyed PLANT may not be as large as some other colonies, but that much mass hitting the planet is still going to cause considerable damage. Neo asks, "What about the collateral damage?"

        Lord Djibril waves a hand dismissively, "A small price to pay. Besides, the rebuilding afterwards will be a big boon to our assets in construction." He stops smiling to give Neo a firm stare, "Do what you can to make sure it hits. And don't forget the role you have to play."

        Neo silently wonders what he did in a previous life to deserve the fate of serving a man like this in his current. But he doesn't have much choice in the matter. He knows the kind of power this man wields. In comparison, Neo is no one. He nods in response, "Understood. We'll play our part."

        The transmission ends and Neo leans back in his chair inside his quarters aboard the Phantom Pain flagship, Girty Lue. He stares through his mask up at the ceiling. What he's been asked seems like an impossible task. He might as well have been ordered to oppose the entire war.

        Perhaps he'll just sortie by himself this time. Perhaps it'll be a fitting end to his sordid career.

        A part of him fights back against this notion, apparently unwilling to give up on this life just yet. Neo leans forward again, pressing a control on his desk to open a line to the ship's bridge, "Commander, activate the Mirage Colloid system. We're going dark. And wake up those three."

        The voice of the Girty Lue's captain, Ian Lee, replies back, "Are they really stable enough to use?"

        Neo hmphs with some dark humour in response, "No. And that's why they're perfect for this 'role'."

        -=-=-=-

        Within a different room on the Girty Lue, one labelled as 'Equipment Storage Bay 3' on the ship's plans, a trio of circular pods are arranged in the center. Their canopies slowly open to the sound of hissing hydraulics. Nestled within the soft cushioned interior of one of the pods, a young woman stirs form her sleep. Stella Loussier opens her eyes.

        -=-=-=-

        The battle has already started, the enemy already met in the form of a large avian mobile armor.

        But it's not the only enemy out here.

        Three new signatures appear from seemingly nowhere near the outer edges of the battlefield. They're not broadcasting IFFs, which is probably a sign of ill intentions on this chaotic battlefield. Using visuals and signature analysis will reveal their identities:

        Chaos Gundam.

        Abyss Gundam.

        Gaia Gundam.

        The three prototypes reportedly stolen from ZAFT a few months ago. Are they part of the efforts to drop Junius 7 on the Earth? If not, why are they not broadcasting their intent to assist? Who was even responsible for the theft? There's too many questions surrounding these machines to rest comfortably at the sight of them rapidly approaching the battlefield.

        The three Gundams split up, Chaos and Abyss blasting away in different directions towards different parts of battlefield. But the black, red and gold of the Gaia Gundam continues to blast straight ahead, the thrusters in its wings quickly pushing it closer with with beam rifle in hand. Its trajectory is pretty clear: It's not heading for those apparently responsible for Junius 7's altered course. It's heading to flank the defense forces, with the Aion the closest ship in its path.

<Pose Tracker> Li Yao has posed.

        On the planet earth lives many old grumpy men, and one of them is Li Yao. At least he thinks he lives on Earth, he asked Yuliana and she yes, but Elisa sorta did that half giggle chuckle thing and then wore a smile that would make a cat jealous, so the doubt is still present. However for the sake of uncertainty he absolutely suited up so to speak to help stop the earth from well stopping. That and well if he didn't come he would have been stuck babysitting, which the children and tiger was fine, but well it just seems that any 'Baby' of Yuliana's that starts with a G was a pain in Yao's ass.

        So it was that Yao ended up in Paraminder's launch bay inside his mobile suit. One might think that he should be prepping things,checking the status of this suit that hasn't seen real action in years. instead he is simply sitting in the certain of the Mobile Fighter cockpit meditating, and working to adapt to the low gravity. Then his turn is up as he stands and turns on the system, <"Roger that. Yulong and I appreciate the life."> The hum of the Yulong's GN drive moves to full power as the Gundam comes to full life. "Let's go old friend."

        The Yulong launches into space and the oldman finds himself enjoying the since of zero G for a moment as he just drifts in the vast ocean of stars, staring at the moon, while the coalition of whatever this coalition is going to be called gathers. Interacting with a few of the sensors he locks one on to the Xukong and sets that sensor aside to go unused for the rest of the fight. It was his job to make sure Mrs. Kafim returned home after all.

        The Yulong rights itself as the other sensors detect the signs of battle up ahead and Yao chuckles. A few months ago he would have quietly accepted death by colony impact, but now here he was, tempting a grave on a battlefield. With the hope of death on the horizon he falls into formation behind the Xukong and heads towards the fun.

<Pose Tracker> Lilium Valerie has posed.

Inside the hangar bay of one of those Virginia-class transports, inside the cockpit of a single GN-X, A dark-haired woman stares down at her helmet, heavy bags under her eyes. Today was going to be... a bad day.

Colony Drop. Noun. Modern origin. The ultimate spectre of terror, at least in the minds of Earthnoids. The thing that's happening. Again. Right now.

If Lilium remembered correctly, Junius 7 was a... PLANT? Innovator diaspora colony. Destroyed by the old federation? Spark for the ZAFT-Federation war.

Well. Today it was causing problems of its own. Someone wants the sky to fall again. Someone has spent a lot of time and money making it hard to even mitigate this time.

"Distortion... field..?" She muses, staring at the helpful family-friendly Public Service Announcement being broadcast to all responding forces. Her head was starting to hurt again "Sends the energy.. not here, I--" She places a hand over her mouth, shutting her eyes tightly at the oddly graphic depiction of a Jovian UMW's demise. She never had to worry about Distortion Fields, or... subspace dimensions, or... anything like this in those trenches with the AEUF. Maybe an officer's commission really isn't worth it...

But... then, again... Nobody was trying to drop a colony on anyone then. Or--at the very least, it wasn't her job to deal with it.

A helmet is pulled over a head, and secured to a normal suit. A series of GN drives flare into action, and a series of hatches open one at a time. Deck crew mill about on the deck below, waving their marshalling wands frantically.

Eyes that wanted desperately to look at anything else stared out at the massive shadow on the monitor. As the pilot of the craft with the long rifle detaches herself from her berth, she takes a moment to reflect--for better or worse, Second Lieutenant Lilium Valerie was in the big leagues now. Or at least, close enough to them to get burned.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.

"Maybe each time it produces a new universe due to the infusion of enormous amounts of energy into a theoretically minimal space," Rin muses at the explanation of the Distortion Field. But she's listening.

Listening because what else is there to do?

"Well... I guess it's probably not going to be as bad as the cylinder types," Rin says, as things slowly sink into her. Her arms are folded. She's sitting down. And then they are given:

A JOB TO DO.

ACTION TEAM. The trio of units comprising the Nauja Team have been clinging onto the same object - a device in the neighborhood of a Base Jabber, a supplemental thrust unit. The Gespenst II-M stands in a place where one might well normally expect; curled in front and attached by a magnetic clamp is a quasi-quadriped.

The bird-shaped unit hangs beneath. It's in space: they don't have to maintain orientation.

"... They're here?" Rin says, when the beans are spilled - the Company is here. Not VTX, not Nergal, but 'THE' company - that group encountered out in the far reaches of space, where capitalism, it seems, had not been overcome.

She can feel her choler rising, slow but surely. One of those happy little bonuses. She opens her link back to Sagiri and the Carriax: "At least they can't just buy out the Gaia Sabers," Rin says, sourly.

Unease rocks in the back of her stomach. Her eyes scan around at other units lighting up, Scorn's head pivoting in his reversed perch as he collates data and sends it up to the other two units.

".. they're really doing it," Rin says, her voice oddly hollow. "Just... it's... I..."

She is quiet for long seconds. There is the faint sound over her mic of something being swallowed.

"... okay. I guess we have to figure out how to - to disable it, stop, the motors," Rin begins, before stopping and sucking in a huge breath of air.

Emotions war inside of her. Like many wars, it's inconclusive and pointless. Rin turns to something that isn't pregnant with the horrific implication of gravitational exploitation and the destruction of life by the dead - she looks towards the side panels in her complex HUD to check.

"Scorn, triangulate," Rin says. Scorn detaches, activates thrusters, and quickly moves south of the relative plane of the battle's axis. Soon enough he's just a twinkle. One of the little pleasures of space.

"... But before then, we have to bust through the guardians, huh," Rin concludes. She leans back in her seat, shoulders straighter now. Taking it in. Figuring out locations. Angles. Vectors.

In the front of the transit module, Rancor raises his head. Dual optical mounts gleam with a faint red shine as reactor output increases.

Rudi_Pixyzalto has changed Boss level to 7

<Pose Tracker> Rudi Pixyzalto has posed.

Nergal's spin team really does not fuck around. Even if now is not the time, Sagiri really did say it. Upon the accusation from Sagiri, Rudi does respond to her, "I'll have you know that we at the Company ascribe to the the highest standards of business ethics within the Earthsphere. Where else will you find a Company that values it's employees so much as to grant them that which they desire?"

The cheerful unflappability of this woman in the face of Sagiri's justified anger is just galling, "Has there never been a time in your life when you felt powerless, Sakurai? Granting power to the powerless, that - is what we at the Company can offer to those that sign with us." Before Rudi squints at the modified Lestrail appearing on her sensors, and then a Heavy Metal too?

"Huuuhhhh - that's unusual, but even a long way from home, we at the Company do accept all applicants, both foreign and domestic. I promise we're quite flexible about immigration status."

As the Three Stolen Gundams take the field, Rudi smiles, "Hooo, what's this? Straight from Armory One... I guess the League's cat really is out of the bag!" Which is when a blade flashed as the Impulse Gundam charged at her, "Whoa! The crew of the Minerva is so motivated right now! Gotta go all~! If anyone's interested in switching to the winning side-!"

Rudi puts her hand up and makes a 'call me' gesture before her image blips off everyone's comms screens.

-=-=-

GINN II High Maneuvers swarmed a Nazca cruiser like angry wasps, a katana like blade carving through a ZAKU as the last mobile suit defending it died. Only two had been close enough to even respond in time from this vector, against the backdrop of the enormous metal jellyfish descending towards the Earth.

The Impulse Gundam had a different target however, as it rose up, equipped with it's Excalibur Anti-Ship Sword to meet an E-Bit, parrying it's blade with an ignited Cleaver almost as big as the Gundam itself as Shinn shouted in outrage. "What's wrong with you? Do you know how many people will die if that hits the Earth!?"

Behind that E-Bit, the E-Phas suddenly shot upwards at a steep angle, as the woman cheerfully lilted, "Nothing at all. I simply try to be a good example of the 'gung-ho' attitude the Company is looking for." Before the 'pinions' unveiled an anti-proton array that showered the Gundam with blasts that forced it to break the lock and retreat away. "As for your other inquiry, it's not for me to judge what those who sign on with the Company desire."

A Red ZAKU Warrior fired at one of the E-Bits with a Beam Assault Rifle, as Lunamaria called out to him, "You wash your hands of all the blood just because it's your job? You're sick, lady! Shinn! I'm going to clear you a path!" And as Shinn surged forward with the Anti-Ship Sword again, Rudi stated blithely, "But isn't that what the people of Earth did? One of these men was telling me about how his daughter didn't even have a body left to bury, after the Bloody Valentine."

That comment caused Shinn to make a surprised noise, as his aim was spoiled, an E-Bit slamming the flat of its Cleaver into the Gundam, sending it flying, "SHINN!" Lunamaria called out in alarm, "You can't let her get under your skin, this woman already beat Rey!" "You think I don't know that!" He shouted back at her.

But Rudi was now focused upon the arriving reinforcements, distantly, but more so that strange screech of... inevitability, "Faster than expected. I was hoping to have more time to make both of you an offer but it sounds like our timeline is moving up." Rudi replied to them affably, before calling out, "You're up superstar! It's time for our latest acquisition to clock in!"

<Pose Tracker> Nicol Amalfi has posed.

The youths who were forced to fight in a war started by adults... Should we say they've sinned and punish them now? If we do that, who exactly will carry on towards a better tomorrow? It is precisely because they have experienced those times of tragedy and suffered through them that I want them to be the ones to create a peaceful future.
-Gilbert Durandal speaking at Yzak Joule's Military Tribunal

-=-=-

Isn't it always how it is, when your life doesn't turn out as expected?

"Reinforce the Fourier! Distract those GINNS away before they overwhelm it!"

"Captain! Heat emissions detected at close range- It's-!"

Take the people on the other Nazca Cruiser, the one not being so sorely pressed as the other right now. Despite the dire circumstances, all the people aboard hold onto the hope that they'll be going home tomorrow, that a better future awaits them.

Namida no Theme - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RZyNRxkxsg

But nothing awaits them, come tomorrow.

They all saw it at that moment, the massive E-Phas materializing outside the bridge, as the particulate gas of mirage colloid shimmered away, its cannon already charged with a prismatic glow, and pointing right at them.

"I'm sorry." The pilot inside says quietly, as he pulls the trigger, and the bridge was punched right through instantly by the awful glow of antiprotons disintegrating all within the bridge, carved at a diagonal through the column, and to the reactor where without part of its mass - instantly went critical.

A nuclear fireball lit up the sky, and in the midst of it all, a mobile armor of white sped out of it, and the comms lit up with the face of a boy that some may recognize, his friendly brown eyes once so full of life, now like a man who has nothing left to live for, green wisps of hair peeking out from under his helm.

Nicol Amalfi, once a young Ace within ZAFT, but no one had seen him since the end of the war. MIA was listed, and few had either the time or the resources to search. "This isn't how it was supposed to be. I didn't want to fight any of my own people. I thought... I thought they'd understand, that peace won while the people who did this still exist... can't last."

What changed? He wasn't like this even during the war, he bore the trauma of Junius-7 just like any other resident of the PLANTs, the knowledge how meaningless their lives were to Naturals - and he fought. He fought, even though he had no desire to. A pianist, not a soldier.

While he seemed on the verge of breaking, coming off of killing an entire battleship, now his voice hardened into resolution, "For those who don't know... I'm Nicol Amalfi, formerly of the Le Creuset team, now of the Company. I don't care if you're with NUNE, or Three Ships Alliance 'heroes'." The contempt on that word is plain as if he had a specific grudge against all of them, "Come any closer, and I'll kill all of you."

KTS: Nicol Amalfi has activated the Daunt Spirit Command targeting Flay Allster
KTS: Nicol Amalfi has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Nicol Amalfi's I'm Afraid That's Not An Option activates Focus and Trick!
KTS: Stella_Loussier has deployed as a Boss for 5 opponents.

<Pose Tracker> Balbadoro has posed.

The avian mobile armor whirls to face the Halphas Boese first and foremost, though the head starts to pivot slightly as it assesses others as well. That massive off-white body starts to flit from place to place with a little more agility than one might expect, translating thrustlessly from place to place.

It offers no explanation for its existence; it's impossible to tell if it's even piloted. An all-channels signal throbs off of it, and for a split second the battlefield tinges a faint shade of purple.

It passes. The mobile armor's main body shifts up subtly, folding outward in a way that might, for some, recall weapons like the Shamblo; as it moves, what looked like decorative paneling folds outward slightly, revealing beetle crusher-type claws. Rotating its now-extended second torso slightly, it begins to pick up targets. Aphrodia, of course, is the first to receive its attention; however, before long, it begins to pick up others. The claws detach and wires start to spool off of the Balbadoro, revealing the INCOM-like nature of those sharp, heavy weapons.

One claw streaks for the Heavy Metal from another star, while the other heads for another GN-X. Aphrodia, meanwhile, receives several beams from the wing-mounted cannons of the Balbadoro; while it's attacking semi-indiscriminately, it definitely seems to have it in for the Halphas Boese in particular.

KTS: Tavelle Adzvin has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
KTS: Balbadoro's Fail-Deadly activates!
KTS: Balbadoro targets Aphrodia with Diffusion Mega Particle Cannon!
KTS: Balbadoro targets Lilium Valerie with Wired Large Claw!
KTS: Balbadoro targets Daba Myroad with Wired Large Claw!
KTS: Balbadoro has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Daba Myroad engages parry against Balbadoro's Wired Large Claw!
KTS: Daba Myroad poorly reacts to Balbadoro's Wired Large Claw, taking 4410 damage!
KTS: Aphrodia has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
KTS: Aphrodia fails to engage Guard against Balbadoro's Diffusion Mega Particle Cannon!
KTS: Aphrodia's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage.
KTS: Aphrodia successfully reacts to Balbadoro's Diffusion Mega Particle Cannon, taking 4140 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.

"I have no interest in switching to your side," Rena says, flatly, and with barely contained anger, at Rudi.

There is a tense moment, then, as Rena takes stock of the GINNs -- and the Distortion Field. One brush with that means death.

Unfortunately, there are more distractions.

"What the hell are those doing here?" Rena asks, as three prototypes -- reported stolen from ZAFT -- are part of the assaulting forces, it seems. Are they with the rebels? She frowns. No--no, that's an intercept course for the Aion.

"Aion," she sends a transmission. "You have incoming. Time to be lively."

There is also a long look at Aphrodia -- and at Balbadoro, in turn -- and then she shakes her head. "Terminal forces, assist her and engage that Mobile Armor!"

It's just a hunch.

Then her eyes widen. There's a flicker of insight; a flash of something familiar.

UC 0096

Rena Lancaster's Mass Production-type Nu Gundam set down on the African desert, feet crunching into the sand. Her eyes looked around, scanning quickly. "Where--"

She felt it. That flash of insight, at the back of her mind; something she barely noticed.

Mirage colloid deactivated, light shimmering over the Blitz Gundam, as its beam saber carved through the right side of the Gundam's head instead of a crippling shot on the chest. Rena sucked a breath in.

"Funnels," she cried out, "GO!"

UC 0099

"It's you," Rena says, her voice soft, as she looks at the E-Phas that appears -- appears so easily, in a familiar way, thanks to mirage colloid -- and then she sucks a breath in. "Why are you with the Company? You--you have to stop this!"

The Gaia Gear Alpha Custom, currently in its waverider mode, shifts. Arms unfurl; wings slide in; legs slip down, and thrusters fire to control its movement towards the massive E-Phas.

"VTX team!" she sends to Rin and Sagiri. "I'm forming up with you!"

The Gaia Gear lowers its beam rifle, firing off three rapid pulses of blue light for the E-Phas.

KTS: Rena Lancaster targets Nicol Amalfi with Beam Rifle Burst!
KTS: Rena Lancaster has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Lilium Valerie has activated the Foresee Spirit Command.
KTS: Lilium Valerie engages evade against Balbadoro's Wired Large Claw!
KTS: Critical Hit! Lilium Valerie poorly reacts to Balbadoro's Wired Large Claw, taking 5390 damage!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi engages evade against Rena Lancaster's Beam Rifle Burst!
KTS: Best Defense! Nicol Amalfi moderately reacts to Rena Lancaster's Beam Rifle Burst, taking 0 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Rose Tritten has posed.

An override came over the IFF system of Rose's ZAKU Warrior. It zoomed in and focused on one model, seemingly appearing from nowhere.

ZGMF-X88S Gaia Gundam.

Rose gritted her teeth. Was the Gundam theft from Armory One by the deserters? It made sense. Either way, the order came over the comms. Support the Aion, take the Gaia Gundam down. Rose thought about the endless amounts of gun cam footage reviewed at the MS academy dating all the way back to the One Year War. A lot of GINNs, Leos, Union Flags, and of course, original Zakus alongside scores of mobile suits had been obliterated by Gundams. But it's not like they were immortal right?

Right?

"Pixie Team!" Rose ordered to her wingmates."The Gaia's appeared and we're going after it! It's the best ZAFT's built so far so don't underestimate it!"

Her companions radioed back the affirmative, Sushila's even less upbeat than usual. Rose tried to push her worry aside. Rose tapped at the switches on her left stick, and the hatches of the twin missile pods on her ZAKU's shoulders opened up. It was time to get stuck in.

KTS: Rose Tritten targets Stella Loussier with MMI-M633 Beam Assault Rifle Barrage!
KTS: Rose Tritten has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

There were a number of reasons Sayla took issue with ZAFT mobile suit designs. Today she had another one. Another day, she would have had time to be angry about it. Now she just had to grin and bear it and do what she could with what she could. They wouldn't have time to synchronize the psycommu properly, and there was a bigger problem.

        Sayla Mass was not a coordinator and this was a suit built with coordinators in mind. The layout of the cockpit, the design of the controls require a far greater precision, a faster reaction speed, the ability to take in more information at once. Sayla can already tell- whatever edges she has as a Newtype would be used simply keeping up with the machine, and using it's Psycommu features. She can already tell there's no psychoframe in it, for better or worse.

        But once the systems are initialized, and everything is functional... Sayla is ready. Waiting for the all clear on the catapult. An untested prototype, huh? ...She's really making a habit out of this.

        The green light comes. "Sayla Mass, QUBELEY Awakened! Launching!"

        https:'imgur.comaFXGoF4L

        The second Newtype use suit developed in the PLANTS bears a striking resemblance to the Providence Gundam and a silhouette evocative of one of the terrors of the First Neo-Zeon War. The massive shoulders used for maneuvering, the 'skirts' holding the DRAGOONs were similar- but notably not the same. It was a pity that the colours of the Phase Shift Armour cemented the look, all white, purple and black. Nonetheless, that was not Sayla's primary concern. The primary concern was the feeling that she was going to vomit.

        It felt so much like the first time she had tried to pilot the Gundam, deploying without permission. That feeling that the simulators couldn't convey, that only real piloting could convey.

        At least this time, she doesn't throw up in her helmet.

        For Sayla, it's like trying to ride a horse that's out of control, somewhat. A machine that could bolt suddenly, or pull against you. She doesn't have time to break it in right now, she just has to follow where it pulls and guide it where she can, right now. And where it's heading right now is toward a space where seconds ago there were hundreds of souls- and now there is one, in a massive machine.

        And no matter how pained he is, no pain justifies this. "We cannot do that, Mr Amalfi." Sayla says, a harshness in her voice. "And if you were going to stop this, you would have done so already."

        She can feel the Psycommu responding to her, to her anger. To her desire to fight- to act. They fly out, scattering around the QUBELEY, plentiful small hard to hit targets surrounding her. It was a whole different beast to the Hi-Nu's large Photon Funnels.

        "If the only way to stop this is through you- then I won't stop until one of us crumbles!"

        Eight DRAGOONs fly forward, firing from a range of angles towards the E-Phas, testing it's defences, and working out it's responsiveness- and in so doing, hopefully making it harder to manage attacks from many fronts, Minovsky beams blasting at giant.

KTS: Sayla Mass has deployed in ZGMF-X72N QUBELEY Awakened.
KTS: Sayla Mass targets Nicol Amalfi with 'Andromalius' DRAGOON System Harassment Tactics!
KTS: Sayla Mass has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Rose Tritten targets Stella Loussier with AGM138 "Firebee" Guided Missile Telemetry Shot!
KTS: Rose Tritten has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Nicol Amalfi has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Nicol Amalfi engages intercept against Sayla Mass's 'Andromalius' DRAGOON System Harassment Tactics!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi moderately reacts to Sayla Mass's 'Andromalius' DRAGOON System Harassment Tactics, taking 2000 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Kathras Fari has posed.

Secret stolen Gundams. Of course. Kathras's eyes narrow as he sees them--but it's Gavarre who speaks up to Rudi, "Go to--"

She bliips off, and Gavarre says, "Tch."

"We're picking up a signature from our side, Captain," says Zhukov. "It's--the Shandor. Yuliana Kafim's ship."

"Yuliana Kafim, hm?" Kathras Fari muses. "...Maybe it's 'fate' after all."

"...Captain?" Lanra Gavarre starts.

"...She's the one who opened my eyes to a few things," he explains. "Though she's unquestionably our enemy. Keep an eye on her units."

"Yes, sir."

"As for these Gundams," Fari comments, "Keep an eye on them, too. They were taken from the League. ...We might have an opportunity."

He doesn't know that he's thinking along the same lines as the commander of Logos--but would he change anything if he did? Of course not. Someone has to 'fight the good fight'... even if they know who to blame later.

"Achilles squadron, prepare to deploy," Gavarre directs. "It's time we show these people what we can do."

"Jakallo," Fari instructs. "That Gaia Gundam--show it we don't want it coming t our side."

"Yes, sir!"

The turrets of the Aion turn as one towards the Gaia Gundam, and deliver a huge, boisterous blast straight for it, aiming to push it out and expose it to the mobile suits deploying.

Two at a time, Achilles squadron launches, GN-Xes rushing out towards the battlefield.

KTS: Kathras Fari targets Stella Loussier with Heavy Ship Fixed Beam Turrets Blast!
KTS: Kathras Fari has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Stella Loussier engages intercept against Rose Tritten's AGM138 "Firebee" Guided Missile Telemetry Shot!
KTS: Stella Loussier's Physical Wall L3 activates, negating 3000 base damage.
KTS: Stella Loussier poorly reacts to Rose Tritten's AGM138 "Firebee" Guided Missile Telemetry Shot, taking 1710 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Tavelle Adzvin has posed.

What is that, Tavelle thinks to herself, as the Balbadoro makes itself obvious. Not only does she not recognize it, it doesn't look like any Earthly unit she's ever seen, nor does it look like something the Company fields. And that other woman speaking about it -

"<Daba,>" Tavelle sends, "<keep an eye on that thing, I've got a bad feeling about it.>" She is an expert in battlefield analysis of units, but even she couldn't say why the Balbadoro makes her uncomfortable. Maybe it's the way it flies - it doesn't move like something with a pilot, but she's seen bioroid pilots before and it's not quite like that either.

But she's got things of her own to focus on. Tavelle flips her radio on after Rudi speaks to her. Immigration status, huh? "<Not interested,>" she transmits back, and her accent is - to Rudi's ears at least - as Zuvorg homeland as her unit is. "<If I wanted THAT kind of job, I would have stayed home!>"

Tavelle sounds all confident, even brave. Internally she's keeping up a mental litany of 'crap crap crap crap CRAP' - or something similar, anyway, as she doesn't think in English - because she didn't want to be noticed by a Company manager (is that a manager?) and she doesn't especially want to be headhunted. What if -

No use thinking about that. Tavelle forces herself to put it aside, even though she's privately still worrying to the point that it's affecting her piloting. She slows for a moment, then accelerates as she hammers the thrusters, the Lestrail making a sudden swerve. It snaps its tail behind it, using it as a fifth - and more powerful - AMBAC limb, which has its own concealed thruster that puts it through the turn faster than most MS-style units could.

Tavelle has one additional issue:

She wasn't on the Earth Sphere for the last war. She has absolutely no idea who Nicol is or why she should care, other than that he's an employee of the Company who appears intent on dropping this entire rock on Earth, on killing the Earth ship.

"I wasn't involved but it looks like I'm going to have to be," Tavelle lets out a slightly shuddering sigh in her cockpit, not transmitting to anyone. If the Company wants this kind of death... they must be getting something out of it or they'd never act. Which means she's on the other side of it.

Tavelle raises both of the Lestrail's arms, spreading its three skinny fingers and a thumb upward to reveal the emitter in the base of the palms. One shot goes toward Nicol's E-Phas, the other goes toward Rudi's, though Tavelle has absolutely no confidence in that one actually landing.

"<Sorry, but does this count as denial with prejudice?>" Okay, next step, Tavelle thinks to herself: how to get not shot by the Earthian troops?

Well, she could reach out. "<Hey! The rest of you!>" She's aimed it at Rin, at Rena, at Sayla, at Sagiri - clear pilots. "<Don't shoot me!>" Well, that's ... direct.

KTS: Tavelle Adzvin targets Nicol Amalfi with Laser Skirmish!
KTS: Tavelle Adzvin has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.

        "Capitalist dogs," Yuliana spits, listening to Rudi's transmissions. It's just a moment's scorn, shared with this pool of communists, before she turns her attention to the other units on approach.

        (One of those units isn't close enough to her to warrant much attention, but she does see, on the IFF, the QUBELEY Awakened. Briefly, she opens a tight-band channel to it, with a four-word private message to Sayla before it cuts out: "Don't you dare die." ... she doesn't want to imagine how much trouble Leina would be in, if she did. Far too much trouble...)

        She takes the liberty of opening channels to the nearby units of NUNE -- be they SAL, in the case of Rose and Serinas, or the Gaia Sabers in Fari's ship. "The Dawn of Fold are not your enemies, today," she informs them, tense. "It's unfortunate, but let's work together to avoid an extinction event."

        To the Masquerion and the Feios, she says: "Maintain our flank. Don't let them surround us." And having given the Cyber-Newtypes their tasks, she jets straight forward, instead, towards the Gaia Gundam. (Rena's here too, isn't she? Yuliana wonders that -- briefly -- before she thinks, well, she won't die. She's blessed by the Void, after all.) It might be Yao's job to make sure Yuliana returns home, but that doesn't mean he has an EASY job -- because she, unfortunately, is a Cyber-Newtype too.

        Her scorpionoid tail pulls back, and she fires a burning volley of plasma towards the stolen Gaia Gundam. "COME AT ME!", she screams, on open channel. "You damn Spacenoid--!!"

        Oh, she's THAT kind of ally.

        As she fires, the Nightmare Plus does its own strafing run -- and while its ordinance is likely more distracting than damaging, it may still shake her.

KTS: Yuliana Kafim targets Stella Loussier with Infernal Arachnid Injector Stinger Salvo!
KTS: Yuliana Kafim has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Yuliana Kafim has activated the Daunt Spirit Command targeting Stella Loussier
KTS: Stella Loussier engages block against Kathras Fari's Heavy Ship Fixed Beam Turrets Blast!
KTS: Stella Loussier moderately blocks Kathras Fari's Heavy Ship Fixed Beam Turrets Blast, taking 3380 damage!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi fails to engage Block against Tavelle Adzvin's Laser Skirmish!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi successfully reacts to Tavelle Adzvin's Laser Skirmish, taking 5250 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Daba Myroad has posed.

"<Tavelle,>" Daba calls out as L-Gaim approaches, "<You recognise her?>" He's referring to Pixyzalto, of course, but they have little time to coordinate before the stars shimmer with a strange amethyst wave and the giant machine strikes at them.

"What the - " Daba has little time to react, bringing up L-Gaim's shield to try and catch the huge claw hurtling towards him with the prongs at the shield's base. It's a deflection, but barely, and L-Gaim's space booster shuts off briefly from the impact, the white Heavy Metal spinning away until Daba can reactivate it and stabilise.

"<I can't back you up, Tavelle,>" he calls out, "<This thing's in the way. Try and stay alive!>" He checks his shield, and aims it at Balbadoro, revealing the twin power launchers mounted on the inside. "<Firing!>" Twin lasers, crackling yellow, blast out towards the grey-steel mobile armour.

KTS: Daba Myroad targets Balbadoro with Double Launcher Volley!
KTS: Daba Myroad has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Daba Myroad has activated the Trust Spirit Command targeting Tavelle Adzvin
KTS: Balbadoro engages charge against Daba Myroad's Double Launcher Volley!
KTS: Balbadoro's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Best Defense! Balbadoro successfully reacts to Daba Myroad's Double Launcher Volley, taking 3900 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Serinas Nikola has posed.

        No answer comes. The mobile armor pilot can't even justify himself. All has been subsumed by The Company, whatever that is. <<"This 'Company... It sounds like some crazy space parasite, infecting people and turning them against their own kind. Is THAT what's happening? A new invasion we don't even *see* until it's too late?!">>

        And there's another mobile armor. And the stolen gundams... <<"So that's who really took them... 'The Company'!">> The Queadluun-Rhea turns towards the machine coming to flank them. It strikes a combat pose. <<"Humanity won't be so easily preyed upon...">> Thrusters fire, taking the Meltrandi suit towards the gundam at blazing speed in a zig-zagging corkscrew to evade attacks.

        <<"They have friends now!">>

        Is she just going to ram it?!

<Pose Tracker> Al has posed.

It's an unimaginable kind of violence. A monstrosity to even consider.

Yet, for Al, it is merely a new scale to consider. The Gaia Gear Alpha Custom's internal UI can show his focus, target brackets scanning rapidly across the field across from them. "I'm unable to estimate the mass of the impactor with available data. What little we do know about the nature of distortion fields suggests it may not behave according to listed figures."

"The listed figures are already bad, by the way."

Multiple tags light up the displays. "Unknown Mobile Armor. Unknown Mobile Suit. Designations offered by pilot: Balbadoro, Halphas Boese. Tagging." Another target highlights. "Rudi Pixyzalto. Door-to-door recruiter." ...then she's gone. "...found another door," he says, flatly.

Despite the scale of the operation, Al runs targets down, tagged, flagged, prioritized in colors and shapes. Nicol's E-Phas' arrival gets him tagged as well: "Optical camoflage. Category isn't Electronic Concealment. Possible Mirage Colloid." ... "Pilot appears agitated."

KTS: Serinas Nikola targets Stella Loussier with Meltran CQC Dynamic Entry!
KTS: Serinas Nikola has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Al has activated the Attune Spirit Command targeting Rena Lancaster

<Pose Tracker> Li Yao has posed.

        At first Yao is a bit concerned that the lack of recent experience may slow him down but slowly he is finding the flow of operating the suit again. Including remembering techniques on how to keep the sensor screens in the corner of his eyes. The three gundams catch his eye, gundams are always worthy of keeping an eye on. For a moment he considers trying to use reverse psychology on Yuliana to get her to focus on the target he wants.

        Fortunately it would appear that Yao does not need to go that route as Yuliana moves to engage the flanking squadron and is already giving orders. In truth he is impressed, it is hard to sometimes see the mobile suit pilot and commander while Yuliana plays housewife. This is something to consider but now is not the time.

        <"Careful child, don't let your emotions get the better of you. Use them, focus them, but don't let them use you."> Yao sends a transmission to Yuliana as he moves into a supporting position behind Yuliana's Xukong and throws a trio of short beam saber knives towards the Gaia Gundam. Dangerous, not really, more annoying than anything, if nothing else they are a way for Yao to simply say hello.

KTS: Li Yao targets Stella Loussier with Triple Knife Throw!
KTS: Li Yao has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Lilium Valerie has posed.

Today was already proving to be an absolutely awful day. What was that mobile armor, a... bird? A quadplane? Why is everything purpl--

Shit.

<<This is--Valerie--unknown mobile armor seems to have a fix on me-! Can't-- can't shake-->>

Some kind of remote claw was chasing her. It was fast. It was faster than her--no matter how tight a corner she turned, how many GN particles her suit forced out through its drive, nothing seemed to be enough to keep that outsized claw from tearing into Lilium's craft. Another scream sounds over the general communications channels. A woman's heavy breathing follows, and then-<<This is... Valerie. Heavy damage. MS still operational... continuing mission.>>

A pilot's gaze flicks across damage report screens. The GN-X's strange drive system might mitigate some of the issues taking a hit like that might otherwise take, but it still needed compensation. Reorient yourself. Stablise flightpath. Ready long rifle. Target... port, number two Wingroot. Inhale. Confirm target--

Exhale.

KTS: Lilium Valerie targets Balbadoro with GN-X Long Barrel Beam Rifle Sub-System Targeting Shot!
KTS: Lilium Valerie has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.

There's some familiar faces that sortied in Flay's vicinity... she remembers Rena from the last time they fought together against an E-Phas. And she couldn't forget Marian's voice, though the Inazuma Gundam isn't nearly as familiar. The VTX team's machines are recognized, too, though Tavelle's... just isn't. Nor is the Quebeley, but Sayla is.

"Rena Lancaster, Marian Cross...? I'm surprised to see it, but Orb's support is acknowledged and appreciated. Let's work together for this one." More broadly, she adds, "I don't know how good our chances even are... but maybe if the whole world comes together, we can stop this!" Sayla Mass is also a surprise, but maybe less so. Maybe she was always meant to return to the battlefield.

But something's felt off this whole time. That strange feeling of sheer inevitability that Balbadoro emits throughout the entire battlefield isn't lost on Flay. But that pulsing feeling doesn't gravitate her towards the strange mobile armour. No, it leads her to meet...

-

I'm Nicol Amalfi, formerly of the Le Creuset team, now of the Company.

'The Le Creuset team? Then, he's...' That tells Flay all she needs to know about the ace in the hole behind this operation to drop Junius Seven. "You," The Strike Gundam, which once gave Nicol so much trouble long ago, charges for his E-Phas - though this time, the voice is that of a young woman. "You were one of them!" Two of the anchor claws thrust from the Gundam's limbs, onto the E-Phas, in a brazen maneuver to close in. Unfortunately, though the Aion is in such danger against the stolen Gundams from ZAFT... she won't be around to protect them.

"If everything you took away wasn't enough... now you've sold out your own kind, just watch Earth burn?! I'm sure your former commander must be really proud of you... " Flay accuses, as the Strike punches the E-Phas' massive frame now that she's latched on, without caring about the Mirage Colloid. "But I won't let you kill me, too. I'm going to send you to meet him down below!"

KTS: [Spirit Defense] Nicol Amalfi's Contractual Loyalty activates, and the spirit is adjusted.
KTS: Flay Allster has activated the Daunt Spirit Command targeting Nicol Amalfi
KTS: Flay Allster targets Nicol Amalfi with Panzer Eisen Rocket Anchor Launch!
KTS: Flay Allster has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Marian Cross has posed.

Marian's been listening to the open comms. 'The Company', huh...? That sounds eerily close to Nergal... Even ignoring that, this attack is using Nergal's technology, isn't it? Marian always thought Nergal had Orb's interests in mind... Which is why she accepted their offer to join them when they first poached her from Orb NDF a nearly decade ago... Realizing this, it's put a bad taste in her mouth.

So she tries to go for Rudi's E-Phas immediately. An attempt to renounce her previous allegiance.

"Didn't think the company I used to work deals with terrorists. I'm a little saddened," she tries to goad her. Appealing to Rudi's apparent loyalty to the Company.

...then gathering an orb of arc in her machine's hand... and tries to blast it at Rudi's E-Phas, only to be interjected by Nicol. And so she quickly flicks her controls to aim at him instead.

KTS: Marian Cross targets Nicol Amalfi with DAE Standard Shot!
KTS: Marian Cross has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.

Rin, in her soul, thanks Nicol Amalfi. Not for what he is participating in -- for that is abominable and terrifying. Nor for his threats -- which, well, speak for themselves.

But when he speaks, Rin can feel the world come into focus. She feels like life is returning to her. Some of it, yes, is glucose hitting the blood stream. Not all of it.

"Dang," Rin answers. "That's a pretty lopsided goal, huh. You've got to kill all of US --"

The Gespenst II-R dismounts its beam rifle. "But WE only have to kill YOU."

It's a bluff thing to say, a casual one. Airy, dismissive. It's *TALKING TRASH*... but it's something to hold onto.

Rin adjusts the controls on the flight body, pivoting in the general direction of the E-Phas. "I guess I should introduce myself, too," Rin continues as the optical reflection rangefinder data from Scorn tells her how long she has to go. "I'm Rin Mei. I guess I work for a company that actually gives its name... it's funny you were talking about heroes, though."

"Doing something like this isn't 'heroism,'" Rin says, leaning her head forwards as she watches the fuel readout from the flight body fall deeper and deeper. Rancor wiggles his hind parts left and right, once, anticipatory. "Keeping this horrible impactor from gouging another wound in the planet where we all come from, even if we've left... That's just *good corporate citizenship.*"

Rin exhales. Okay, she tells herself, this is the point. The Gespenst decouples from the flight body - quickly drifting behind, vectoring thrusters kicking it somewhere towards the right. Rin's eyes turn towards Flay as she hears those transmission, but that's not where the real action is.

BECAUSE...

The flight body accelerates somewhat faster, due to losing the mass of the Gespenst, and it suddenly becomes an optically-resolvable shape a moment before the THING upon it - a quadripedal thing with a ramming-horn for a face and wedged striking bodies on the forelimbs - leaps clear with a sudden burst of acceleration, looming near the E-PHAS and striking a single accelerated blow with one forelimb before -- (hopefully, anyway) -- streaking forwards, banking towards the debris of the recently killed ship.

KTS: Rin Naujakaite targets Nicol Amalfi with Rancor - Sic 'Em!
KTS: Rin Naujakaite has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Stella Loussier engages charge against Yuliana Kafim's Infernal Arachnid Injector Stinger Salvo!
KTS: Critical Hit! Stella Loussier poorly reacts to Yuliana Kafim's Infernal Arachnid Injector Stinger Salvo, taking
6599 damage!
KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Yuliana Kafim's Mortal Wrath activates, causing Control Bonus!

<Pose Tracker> Sagiri Sakurai has posed.

I'll have you know that we at the Company ascribe to the highest standards of business ethics within the Earthsphere.

<"Now -really- isn't the time for your lame jokes, Rudi! No one enjoys them, anyway!">

Even in the face of global catastrophe, Sagiri Sakurai has the clarity of vision to make schoolyard jabs.

She's just that powerful.

Speaking of power -- it's as Rudi asks that question, that simple question, that Sagiri pauses. Has she ever felt powerless? Within the Tyranado's cockpit, Sagiri's brows furrow. Her lips pull into a thinning line. For a brief moment, it seems as if she might have no rebuttal.

But though she doesn't--

<"That's complete... complete... complete CRAP!">

--Rami Amasaki has it covered.

Sagiri blinks, glancing behind her to stare at the small young woman, her eyes wide but expression steeled with defiant anger. Her hands balled into tiny, indignant fists, Rami rears up, voice pitching higher as she goes after Rudi with all her compact fervor:

<"You're not giving them power! All you're doing is fanning the flames for your own greed!! That's not power -- that's a bill of goods for real change! People like you are... are...!!">

<"-- people like you are the WORST!!">

Once more, Sagiri finds herself blinking... but soon enough, a bright, beaming grin melts that surprise away. It's difficult for Rami to read in the moment; to her eyes, it feels supportive, approving.

<"You heard the lady, Rudi! So save it -- we've got a job to do!">

Soon enough, Rudi's screen is flickering off. She has her own battles to fight, and the timing is pure coincidence, but it doesn't stop Sagiri from calling out a very petty, <"Yeah, you better run!"> after her, because that's just how Sagiri rolls.

There's little time to celebrate her very legitimate moral victory (???) though, because soon enough...

Something ccomes.

Another E-Phas, just like before, takes Rudi's place. It emerges out of the empty ether of space as if it was just spilling from the void itself; Sagiri recognizes the trademark shimmer of mirage colloid in an instant, eyes narrowing.

"Damn, are they just adding more tricks onto that thing--?!"

The idea brings a troubled look to Rami Amasaki's features, but she says nothing. Instead, as that E-Phas obliterates the Nazca Cruiser, she instantly focuses on amping the reserves of the Quark Drive, fueling it to higher output ratios as Sagiri takes point.

<"No one's gonna be able to do a thing as long as those monsters are on the field! Rin, you're with me -- we've gotta take that thing down, ASAP!">

Rena is chiming in soon, and Sagiri, eyes narrowing with resolve, gives a single nod before gripping the controls of the Tyranado tight.

<"You got it! Consider VTX your wingwomen today, Terminal -- free of charge!">

The Tyranado -surges- forward, gripping the twin Bayonets at its hip mounts as it rapidly closes the distance between it and that otherworldly mechanical monster.

<"Rin, we've got the Gaia Gear's flank -- coordinate with her, try to get some openings in that thing's defenses. Meryl -- I need you to prep the Magna for launch on my word!">

<"Leave it to me, ma'am!">

The Carriax banks, keeping high above the unfolding battle as if to get as relative an eagle's eye view on the proceedings as it possibly can. As it does, the Tyranado unholsters those two handguns, opening fire in a blitzing salvo even as it gains more and more grounds on the E-Phas and its desperate, conflicted pilot. Come any closer, and I'll kill all of you.

Sagiri frowns. She can hear the tenor of the young man's tone. But she doesn't relent.

<"Sorry, but I've got a job to do. And my terms of employment are -very- clear about what side to stand on in situations like this! Back down, kid! This isn't a fight you should be fighting, and it's definitely -not- the kind of people you should be fighting for!">

Rami, meanwhile, has quieted down -- distracted, briefly, from her work by the passing-by of a very familiar-looking unit. Her eyes briefly widen as she watches the Lestrail go by.

"... is... is that...?" she murmurs beneath her breath.

<Pose Tracker> Aphrodia has posed.

Countless lives are ended once more in nuclear fire as a battleship is erased by a young man who's surrendered hope. At the same time, the defenders are flanked by a trio of stolen machines, threatening to crush their forces in the jaws of their pincer attack.

The woman within Halphas Boese regards this, but her attention remains on Balbadoro's - as its turns toward her.

"Ah. You see me. ...Good. I've come for you, Balbadoro! You will no more deter this world from its proper course!"

The battlefield is tinged in purple, briefly, and Balbadoro shifts. Panels unfold, and claws emerge... and Balbadoro attacks. The wing cannons focused on her, beams issuing forth. Halphas Boese extends a hand outward, palm outstretched. Beams collide, biting into Halphas Boese - but the damage is healed almost as soon as it is made.

She assesses the damage. Both of the other units the Balbadoro attacked are... damaged, but still functional.

"So you are still alive. Good. You will fight with me." The woman speaks, to Daba and Lilium. "Hold tight to your senses. Do not let Balbadoro's madness wash over you."

She turns back to the Balbadoro... and Halphas Boese's eye's gleam.

"Now... we dance, Halphas Boese!" She calls - and the Gundam accelerates through space. A weapon launches from its back, spinning, and is caught mid-flight before being swung ahead once and held in both hands. A wicked, curved blade crackles to life at its head - a beam scythe, and the Gundam descends like a bird of prey, swinging its scythe for Balbadoro.

KTS: Aphrodia targets Balbadoro with Single Scythe Slash!
KTS: Aphrodia has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai targets Nicol Amalfi with Beam Bayonet Blast!
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Balbadoro engages charge against Lilium Valerie's GN-X Long Barrel Beam Rifle Sub-System Targeting Shot!
KTS: Balbadoro's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Balbadoro's Beam Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Balbadoro successfully reacts to Lilium Valerie's GN-X Long Barrel Beam Rifle Sub-System Targeting Shot, taking
3050 damage!
KTS: Balbadoro engages guard against Aphrodia's Single Scythe Slash!
KTS: Balbadoro's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Balbadoro's Beam Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Best Defense! Balbadoro successfully guards Aphrodia's Single Scythe Slash, taking 1650 damage!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi engages evade against Flay Allster's Panzer Eisen Rocket Anchor Launch!
KTS: Best Defense! Nicol Amalfi successfully reacts to Flay Allster's Panzer Eisen Rocket Anchor Launch, taking 0
damage!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi engages guard against Marian Cross's DAE Standard Shot!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi moderately guards Marian Cross's DAE Standard Shot, taking 4250 damage!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi engages charge against Rin Naujakaite's Rancor - Sic 'Em!
KTS: Best Defense! Nicol Amalfi successfully reacts to Rin Naujakaite's Rancor - Sic 'Em, taking 3150 damage!
KTS: [Lucky] Sagiri Sakurai's !!BIG BONUS!! activates, and luck goes her way!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi fails to engage Guard against Sagiri Sakurai's Beam Bayonet Blast!
KTS: Best Defense! Nicol Amalfi successfully reacts to Sagiri Sakurai's Beam Bayonet Blast, taking 2625 damage!
KTS: Stella Loussier engages parry against Serinas Nikola's Meltran CQC Dynamic Entry!
KTS: Stella Loussier's Physical Wall L3 activates, negating 3000 base damage.
KTS: Best Defense! Stella Loussier successfully reacts to Serinas Nikola's Meltran CQC Dynamic Entry, taking 500 damage!
KTS: Stella Loussier engages block against Li Yao's Triple Knife Throw!
KTS: Best Defense! Stella Loussier successfully blocks Li Yao's Triple Knife Throw, taking 2050 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Balbadoro has posed.

That massive mobile armor takes a shot straight to its center of mass from the twin power launchers; it leaves a dent in the armor rather than penetrating in full, though. Whatever this is, and wherever it came from, it seems to be made of stern stuff indeed... and no sooner has it taken that hit than does the armor begin to right itself, dents and scores and holes gradually working themselves back to their original shape.

The GN-X and Halphas Boese both come in hot, with the GN-X firing its long rifle and Aphrodia bringing her beam scythe down. An I-Field coalesces in front of Balbadoro, making it difficult for the beam rifle to fully penetrate and even solid enough to make it hard for Aphrodia to close; still, the shots hit their mark, as Balbadoro seems undeterred by even these very credible threats to its armor. Bit by bit, those wounds, too, start to knit. For those who saw such things in the first half of the decade, the appearance might seem similar to the Devil Gundam's DG Cells -- albeit more deliberate and consistent.

At the very least, it seems to have stopped emitting that purple-tinged signal for the moment, as it more fully orients on fighting its attackers. Its mega particle cannons sweep across the battlefield, black-and-yellow energy lancing and whipping from place to place in an unnatural trajectory; the Balbadoro's control of its I-field appears so fine that it's able to effectively treat its mega particle cannons like beam whips, slashing as much as it is shooting.

It's Aphrodia, though, who receives the worst of its attentions; as its claws spool back in, it rushes forward, looking to seize the much smaller Halphas Boese and pull it apart like a toy.

KTS: Balbadoro has activated the Enable Spirit Command.
KTS: Balbadoro has activated the Foresee Spirit Command.
KTS: Balbadoro targets Lilium Valerie with Diffusion Mega Particle Cannon!
KTS: Balbadoro targets Daba Myroad with Diffusion Mega Particle Cannon!
KTS: Balbadoro targets Aphrodia with Twin Wired Large Claw!
KTS: Balbadoro has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Aphrodia has activated the Enable Spirit Command.
KTS: Lilium Valerie has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
KTS: Aphrodia has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
KTS: Aphrodia engages evade against Balbadoro's Twin Wired Large Claw!
KTS: Critical Hit! Aphrodia poorly reacts to Balbadoro's Twin Wired Large Claw, taking 6960 damage!
KTS: Lilium Valerie engages guard against Balbadoro's Diffusion Mega Particle Cannon!
KTS: Critical Hit! Lilium Valerie poorly guards Balbadoro's Diffusion Mega Particle Cannon, taking 5355 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Stella Loussier has posed.

        The Gaia Gundam rushes forwards, continuing to close on the defenders without a word either way. This leads to some of them breaking off to intercept. Rose's ZAKU Warrior is the first to engage, Rose well aware of the Gundam's theft and that this is no friend. The Gaia Gundam's pilot clearly sees the incoming missile barrage because a moment later its wings fold down and twist, the large thrusters in them redirected and pushing the Gundam to the side. As the missiles curve to catch up, the Gundam's head turns and unloads towards them with CIWS fire. A couple explode prematurely but one gets through for a direct hit against the Gundam's frame.

        The explosion clears to reveal the Gaia Gundam mostly untouched by the physical explosion. Though the hit seems to have stalled the unit's approach as it floats in space silently. Was it friendly after all?

        The twin beam cannons over the Gundam's shoulders snap down, aimed in the direction of Rose's ZAKU. They fire off a quick twin blast towards her. It's quick because it's all the time the unit has as a barrage of beams lance out towards the Gaia from the Aion. The unit uses its verniers to dance around some of them, but one turns out to be on target. The Gundam raises the shield in its left hand up into the path of the shot. The large beam impacts, somewhat splashing off the anti-beam coating of the shield. Though the shield still suffers under the assault, its surface slightly distorted by the blast.

        After the barrage passes, the Gaia Gundam turns its beam cannons towards the Aion this time, returning in kind. It starts to rain down several shots towards the large target, trying to land its shots around the same point to try and blast a whole open in the ship's armor. Repeated shots like this would certainly break through if the Gundam was left to continue.

        But of course, it's facing too many foes today to go undisturbed for long. As the barrage of plasma rips out towards it, the Gaia Gundam ceases its barrage against the Aion and turns to face the Xukong. As if its pilot had heard Yuliana, the Gaia blasts forward, charging through the assault. Several blasts manage to impact against it, melting through armor much more effectively than the missile had. But still the Gaia charges the wanzer, raising the shield in its hand not defensively, but to swing it towards the smaller machine as it reaches it.

        Serinas and Li are the final two to join in against the team up against the Gaia. It brings its shield to bear again, swiping it towards the Queadluun's charge to knock it to the side, then bringing it to bear against the thrown beam knives, which dig into the shield only partially.

        A voice then filter in over the radio. Is it coming from the Gaia Gundam? It appears to be responding to Serinas's words, the male voice saying, <"Humanity... Humanity has forgotten the incredible losses it has only recently suffered. Languishing in corrupt comfort. Or quibbling over pointless lines on the map. We will not let it forget.">

        The Gaia Gundam rapidly backs up with its wings folding down, thrusters pushing it backwards. It raises its beam rifle, starting to fire off a rapid assault of beams towards both the Queadluun-Rhea and the Yulong.

KTS: Stella Loussier has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus.
KTS: Stella Loussier targets Rose Tritten with MA-81R Beam Assault Cannons Dual Snap Shot!
KTS: Stella Loussier targets Yuliana Kafim with MMI-RS1 Mobile Shield Crazed Smash!
KTS: Stella Loussier has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Stella Loussier targets Serinas Nikola and Li Yao with MA-BAR71XE High-energy Beam Rifle Rapid Wildfire!
KTS: Daba Myroad engages block against Balbadoro's Diffusion Mega Particle Cannon!
KTS: Daba Myroad successfully blocks Balbadoro's Diffusion Mega Particle Cannon, taking 3060 damage!
KTS: Stella Loussier has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Rose Tritten has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Stella Loussier targets Kathras Fari with MA-81R Beam Assault Cannons Exploit Them!
KTS: Kathras Fari has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus.
KTS: Kathras Fari has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
KTS: Kathras Fari engages guard against Stella Loussier's MA-81R Beam Assault Cannons Exploit Them!
KTS: Best Defense! Kathras Fari successfully guards Stella Loussier's MA-81R Beam Assault Cannons Exploit Them, taking
3525 damage!
KTS: Rose Tritten engages block against Stella Loussier's MA-81R Beam Assault Cannons Dual Snap Shot!
KTS: Rose Tritten poorly blocks Stella Loussier's MA-81R Beam Assault Cannons Dual Snap Shot, taking 3600 damage!
KTS: Li Yao engages evade against Stella Loussier's MA-BAR71XE High-energy Beam Rifle Rapid Wildfire!
KTS: Li Yao successfully reacts to Stella Loussier's MA-BAR71XE High-energy Beam Rifle Rapid Wildfire, taking 4935
damage!
KTS: Yuliana Kafim has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
KTS: Yuliana Kafim fails to engage evade against Stella Loussier's MMI-RS1 Mobile Shield Crazed Smash!
KTS: Yuliana Kafim moderately reacts to Stella Loussier's MMI-RS1 Mobile Shield Crazed Smash, taking 4050 damage!
KTS: Serinas Nikola has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
KTS: Serinas Nikola has activated the Focus Spirit Command.
KTS: Serinas Nikola engages evade against Stella Loussier's MA-BAR71XE High-energy Beam Rifle Rapid Wildfire!
KTS: Best Defense! Serinas Nikola moderately reacts to Stella Loussier's MA-BAR71XE High-energy Beam Rifle Rapid
Wildfire, taking 0 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Nicol Amalfi has posed.

Rudi for once seems to break that unflappable act at Sagiri's schoolyard jab, "They're not really jokes!" She tells her, sincerely, before Rami calls her out, "The worst!? Surely..." She calls out, flabbergasted, "Now hold on-! Won't you give my offer another look-" Rudi gets cut off again, this time by Lunamaria's red ZAKU warrior taking several shots at her.

Nicol seems perplexed by Flay's accusation of 'one of them' at first, but then his voice places her, "You're the young woman that held Clyne hostage..." He still remembers her screams of- "A girl like you? You're with the Gaia Sabers, in a Gundam like HIS?" It's like the cracks start to show, before his voice hardens, "Your father was on a warship. You think siding with the people who tried to wipe out my home and my people make you any better?"

Flay's Anchor claws come at him, and Nicol does something just as daring, as he suddenly jukes downwards, the pinion laden wings smashing each one away, already charging a blast from the array, "You don't know what you're talking about-!" He says, indignant, as two long streams from the beams try to penetrate the Variable Phase Shift Armor of the Strike Gundam.

"And you." There's something angry in Nicol's voice upon hearing Rena's out there, "Another Coordinator that took the same side as Clyne." There's something different, about Nicol piloting one of these, not just on his skill level, the E-Phas abruptly banks, diving down almost gracefully as it avoids Rena's from the Rifle.

And then it vanishes, into a translucent outline of Mirage Colloid activating again. One might think you can track it by that, but he immediately flies past the glare of the distant sun, pivoting as it appears again, the cannon in it's body firing quick bursts of deadly anti-proton beams.

Which is when the Tyranado wields it's Beam Bayonets in either good luck, or amazing intuition, scoring several hits across the E-Phas's flank, despite the vacuum of space, everyone can imagine they can hear the clash just from the harshness of the impact. "The Company told me to watch out for you."

A cover abruptly slides over the Anti-Proton Smasher like a lens, before a strobe like effect of Antiproton blasts fire out to try and catch the Tyranado within it. "This is EXACTLY the battle I should be fighting!" He shouts, upset, "I'll worry about the people who I'm fighting for once this is over."

"Why?" Nicol replies to Rena, but it's someone else that answers, a trio of GINN II's speeding up at Sayla's Qubeley, as the DRAGOONS score a hit, one of them slashes at one with a Katana, not quite managing to slash through it, but instead striking its aim off, even as two others chase after her with beam rifles.

"Why do YOU live in a fabricated fantasy, averting your gaze from those responsible?" Sato in the lead GINN II, with Katana drawn calls out at Rena in outrage, "What deals did you make with the people who did this for Magallanica to even exist! You think the cries of the lives so mercilessly discarded are appeased by this false peace?"

Nicol spares a glance at the Qubeley, flying ahead of it's DRAGOONs, before it vanishes again, "ZAFT has truly lost it's way if it's fielding someone who believes the right path is for us to stop this."

Rudi doesn't appear visually on the comms this time, as she's currently fending off an angry, angry young man with a very big sword, answering Tavelle, "Oh don't be like that! You haven't even heard our offer yet. You won't find a better one in the Earthsphere!"

Nicol melts out of a Mirage Colloid haze only to face down the Lestrail, as a shot is scored against it's side, whereas Rudi takes several glancing hits at lower power from this range, "Are you sure you can afford to take shots at me right now?" Indeed, Nicol's E-Phas rises both it's winged arms, as an array of shots start raining down upon the Lestrail.

"You can try." Nicol answers Rin against the erratic movements of the Gespenst's flight body, that starts to ram towards him through the debris of the dead Nazca, what Rin may not expect is how Nicol's E-Phas meets the charge head on, accelerating, jarred by the impact, right as it slams against its Flying Body.

Backwards, right into the Katana of Sato in his waiting GINN-II, "You think you're just doing the right thing, as any good citizen would, do you?" As he slashes down into the Gespenst II's flying body twice, "They call the soldiers who fired nuclear ordnance at the PLANTs the same in this corrupt world!"

Marian tries to shoot at Rudi, only for her to find the E-Phas edging into her sights, the shot she fires is deflected off its crossed arms, before several GINN-II's open fire with beam rifles from multiple directions, trying to catch her off guard.

Through the debris field the battle takes them closer to distant Junius 7, a teddy bear lists off the ground, floating aimlessly into the dark, a single limb mauled with only fluff left behind. The empty streets of Junius-7 are cold, alien now, bereft of anything but what belongings remain from lives stolen.

An evacuation shelter sits upon a great rift, opening its bowels to the harsh vacuum of space, as if in monument to the futility of escape. It is truly, in all senses of the word a gravestone, kept further untouched by the battle going on around it by that gray field, sacrosanct.

Would the lives lost here truly desire this? It is a question that many might ask themselves, but perhaps it is the wrong question. A tombstone is ever for the comfort of the living.

These are the feelings of those who have lost, who grieve, who feel powerless against the cruelty of the people who did this, and the apathy of those who live under them.

Destroy it all, perhaps then - something can be built from its ashes.

Crimson lights blink, like warning lights on an aircraft. It is coming. It seeks solid ground to land upon. Gravity tugs it towards it with the certainty of an embrace. It matters not what will happen when it makes contact. The Earth welcomes all, equally, to humanity's cradle and does not judge their purpose.

There isn't much time.

KTS: Nicol Amalfi has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus.
KTS: Nicol Amalfi targets Flay Allster with Productivity Quota!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi targets Marian Cross and Sayla Mass with GINN High Maneuever Type II Wing Ambush Tactics!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi targets Sagiri Sakurai with Scattershot Approach!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi targets Rena Lancaster with Disciplinary Action!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi targets Rin Naujakaite with GINN High Maneuever Type II Wing Cleaving Strikes!

<Pose Tracker> Li Yao has posed.

         The Yulong does its best to avoid the shots of charged plasma from the Gaia Gundam, still the outer edges of the Yulong looks a bit like swiss cheese. Nothing crucial but he can't go back to the hangar and claim he was never touched that's for sure.

        Yao listens to the pilot of the enemy and despite years and years of being told not to engage in conversation with the enemy he can't help it. <"To the enemy gundam that believes we forgot the past. You are an idiot."> Yao states plainly, letting it sink in for a moment before he continues, <"Humanity doesn't forget, humanoids don't forget. The ones with artificial brains certainly don't forget. Everyone loses, everyone suffers loss. That is life, and yes sometimes it is truly tragic like what happened here, , however a part of the process of grieving is moving on. ">

        The Yulong moves towards the enemy at high speeds now, rapidly zig zagging back and forth as Yao continues to lecture at the Gaia Gundam, <"If your answer to make us remember is to cause an even bigger travesty that will dwarf the previous one then I feel you don't understand humanity. We thrive on conflict and seek it constantly, so where there is conflict there is loss. We humans will always lose...">

        The Yulong stops dancing about the battlefield now, dashing straight towards the Gaia Gundam planning for a head on collision with the Gaia Gundam before at the last moment the Yulong raises it's knee attempting to ram the knee into it's enemy. At the same time Yao finishes his sentence to the Gaia Gundam, <" ... but funny enough every so often we win.">

KTS: Li Yao has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus.
KTS: Li Yao has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
KTS: Rena Lancaster has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
KTS: Rena Lancaster's Newtype activates!
KTS: Rena Lancaster engages block against Nicol Amalfi's Disciplinary Action!
KTS: Rena Lancaster successfully blocks Nicol Amalfi's Disciplinary Action, taking 3060 damage!
KTS: Li Yao targets Stella Loussier with Wu Xian Llu Long: Dragon's Flight!
KTS: Li Yao has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Rin Naujakaite has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
KTS: Nicol Amalfi targets Tavelle Adzvin with Corporate Burnout!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Nicol Amalfi's I'm Afraid That's Not An Option activates Alert and Strike!

<Pose Tracker> Kathras Fari has posed.

"Transmission from the Shandor," Zhukov directs to Fari. Kathras Fari then nods and flips a switch. "Noted," he says to Yuliana. "Rely on us. We'll show them the strength of the Earth."

The Gaia Gundam rushes still, and as its beam cannons turn on the Aion, Kathras frowns. Lanra says, "Achilles squadron! Get in there and stop it firing!"

The mobile suits rush from the Aion, and indeed--while it's able to defend against those shots, its armor can only hold so long. As the voice starts to filter in...

"Humanity will rise above such losses," Kathras answers. "Humanity is strong. Together, we will excise that which makes us weak. And that starts with you, Gaia Gundam."

It's too close for now to use the ship's cannons; instead, Achilles Squadron rushes in, trying to rush the Gaia Gundam and see to it that it can't get to the Aion again. One mobile suit comes, then another, until all five are using hit and run tactics to try to get its attention away from the ship.

...But there isn't much time.

Jakallo frowns. "You're sure we can't just start blasting this awful thing?" he asks his Captain, as Junius 7 comes closer and closer. "...It's ghoulish, fighting near a graveyard like this. I do not like it."

"We need to focus on the foe before us, first. Or we'll end up the same."

Zhukov is thoughtful, at the Yulong's words. The old man who speaks them is... interesting. Grieving, and...

"Can we really move on?" Zhukov wonders.

"Can we go back?" Fari counters. "Time only flows in one direction, Zhukov."

KTS: Kathras Fari targets Stella Loussier with AION Mobile Suit Wing Harrying Tactics!
KTS: Kathras Fari has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Rin Naujakaite engages evade against Nicol Amalfi's GINN High Maneuever Type II Wing Cleaving Strikes!
KTS: Rin Naujakaite poorly reacts to Nicol Amalfi's GINN High Maneuever Type II Wing Cleaving Strikes, taking 5200
damage!
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai engages guard against Nicol Amalfi's Scattershot Approach!
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai moderately guards Nicol Amalfi's Scattershot Approach, taking 4590 damage!
KTS: Flay Allster fails to engage charge against Nicol Amalfi's Productivity Quota!
KTS: Flay Allster successfully reacts to Nicol Amalfi's Productivity Quota, taking 3840 damage!
KTS: Sayla Mass has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Sayla Mass fails to engage Intercept against Nicol Amalfi's GINN High Maneuever Type II Wing Ambush Tactics!
KTS: Best Defense! Sayla Mass successfully reacts to Nicol Amalfi's GINN High Maneuever Type II Wing Ambush Tactics,
taking 3675 damage!
KTS: Tavelle Adzvin fails to engage Block against Nicol Amalfi's Corporate Burnout!
KTS: Tavelle Adzvin poorly reacts to Nicol Amalfi's Corporate Burnout, taking 4326 damage!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi begins a Formation attack!
KTS: Marian Cross has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
KTS: Marian Cross engages guard against Nicol Amalfi's GINN High Maneuever Type II Wing Ambush Tactics!
KTS: Best Defense! Marian Cross successfully guards Nicol Amalfi's GINN High Maneuever Type II Wing Ambush Tactics,
taking 3675 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Lilium Valerie has posed.

There were many things competing for the unfortunate GN-X pilot's attention in that moment. For one, an incredibly powerful I-Field just consumed her well-aimed beam shot almost entirely, as well as the Halphas Boese's scythe strike. For another issue, what little damage had made it through--from the beams and from the Heavy Metal's launchers--was... no longer visible. That was going to be an issue. Thirdly: The targeting alarms were going, again. This time It was a beam weapon of some sort. Her GN-X stopped dead in space, arms raised to cover itself towards the target. It's just a beam weapon. She could block beam weapons, right?

The black-yet-bright energy curved about, and answered her question by effortlessly turning itself into a new series of damage reports on her monitor.

<<Valerie again--Who.. who is-->> she manages to cough out, attempting to respond to Aphoria's contact. <<No time. Acknowledged. Designating unknown target alpha as... 'Balbadoro'. Moving to reengage!>>

Her suit's drive spins up aggressively, pumping far more power than would typically be considered healthy for its weapon into one single shot. Center-mass. Where the I-Field's strongest. If that can't put a dent in it, nothing she's capable of can.

It's not going to be that nothing can, is it..?

KTS: Lilium Valerie has activated the Attune Spirit Command.
KTS: Lilium Valerie targets Balbadoro with GN-X Long Barrel Beam Rifle Overloaded Shot!
KTS: Lilium Valerie has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Al has posed.

Al handles communication handshakes promptly, organizing cooperation channels, setting up two-way settings quickly. High-command comms from Magalanica itself, fleet comms from the flagships...down to team comms quickly established among Rena, Marian, Sagiri and Flay.

"Oh, he can hide again at combat power outputs," Al observes, as Nicol vanishes. "The benefits of a low-power stealth option." Still...he does his best to keep an angle on Nicol, because he is used to stealth-capable combat. Albeit, more from the other side.

Another machine arrives. Self-identifying as...Sayla Mass. ... .... Comms silently, dutifully connect.

Then, Al notes, "Captain, I'll attempt to project his movements," to Rena, before streaming calculations to rapidly try to keep combat ahead of Nicol's stealthy E-Phas.

KTS: Stella Loussier has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
KTS: Stella Loussier fails to engage Charge against Li Yao's Wu Xian Llu Long: Dragon's Flight!
KTS: Stella Loussier's Physical Wall L3 activates, negating 3000 base damage.
KTS: Stella Loussier successfully reacts to Li Yao's Wu Xian Llu Long: Dragon's Flight, taking 1400 damage!
KTS: Al targets Nicol Amalfi with Designate L2!
KTS: Al has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Al's Where Are We Going activates Valor and Wall!
KTS: Balbadoro engages charge against Lilium Valerie's GN-X Long Barrel Beam Rifle Overloaded Shot!
KTS: Balbadoro successfully reacts to Lilium Valerie's GN-X Long Barrel Beam Rifle Overloaded Shot, taking 3360 damage!
KTS: Rose Tritten has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
KTS: Nicol Amalfi accepts Al's Designate L2!
KTS: Al designates Nicol Amalfi, making her easier to target and opening her to indirect fire.
KTS: Best Defense! Nicol Amalfi successfully reacts to Al's Designate L2, taking 0 damage!
KTS: Rose Tritten has activated the Strike Spirit Command.

<Pose Tracker> Rose Tritten has posed.

The message from Yuliana fills Rose with a weird sensation. One she can't put a finger on, especially in the middle of a battle like this. She doesn't have much time to process it, as her screen suddenly fills with the green blasts from the Gaia Gundam screaming towards her. Rose quickly tries to dodge but winds up absorbing the hit with her ZAKU Warrior's shield, the bottom edge melting away as she rolls and tumbles."Pixie Team! Formation Gamma! Get ready on my mark! Aspyn, close with me!"

The Pixie team divides, Sushila flying up and unfolding her beam cannon as Rose and Aspyn scream towards the Gaia at full speed, spraying beam fire and missiles at the stolen Gundam, screaming in and trying to hit it with tandem melee hits, funneling it until it's at the spot where Sushila's targeting scope is waiting. A white, blue and red beam of energy erupts from the barrel of the ZAKU Warrior Gunner, aimed right where the Gaia is about to fly into. The conversation between the newcomers approaching the Gaia is most likely about to be interrupted.

KTS: Rose Tritten targets Stella Loussier with Ace Attack Formation Gamma!
KTS: Rose Tritten has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Serinas Nikola has posed.

        On the bright side: Serinas seems to have correctly predicted this is a ranged-focused model from its visible armaments! On the less-bright side... it's pretty good at defending their attacks. "Gh!" <"What, no words for us, *thief*?"> She spoke too soon.

        <"Are you *insane?* ...Obviously. But we've done anything but forget. *Comfort*?! I have to stay alert and ready, *exactly because of stuff like this!* I left the belt for a PEACEFUL existence... and have yet to see it!">

        She stays close, too close for the beam rifle to get even a single shot at her, as she knocks it aside and closes again every time the Gaia gundam tries to bring it round on her.

        Well, since she has to stay close... she'll kindly introduce this parasite upon humanity to moves passed down by Meltrandi for centuries! A barrage of quick strikes, trying to wear it down and stay close!

<Pose Tracker> Daba Myroad has posed.

The yelling across commlines is mostly mired in unfamiliar context to Daba, as he has L-Gaim lift its shield again, this time turning its deflective panelling towards the megaparticle beam sweep. Letting out a breath of relief as the plates hold, he darts the Heavy Metal back a little ways to get a better scope of the fighting.

"This whole plan... this indiscriminate injury to not just people, but a world..." He glances over to his shoulder at a tiny figure perched there, auburn hair barely contained by her own miniature space gear. "Is it like this everywhere in the cosmos, Lilis?"

The Milari girl touches a hand to the side of his helmet, gently. "That's why we're here, Daba, to try and stop it. Right?"

Daba nods, and directs his comms to the Halphas Boese. "You know what this thing is. Show us how we stop it."

KTS: Serinas Nikola has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Aphrodia's Replay activates!
KTS: Daba Myroad targets Aphrodia with Dream!
KTS: Daba Myroad has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Serinas Nikola targets Stella Loussier with Cultural Exchange!
KTS: Serinas Nikola has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.

The Strike Gundam pilot from before, Rena thinks. Her eyes widen a little. Then, she nods her head. "We're not going to ignore something like this," she says, before she smiles. "The circumstances aren't pleasant, but I'm glad for the help. Let's do everything we can, Miss Allster!"

She shifts, then, as another person chimes in.

"I read you, pilot," Rena answers Tavelle. "I'll let the rest of the Magallanica allied forces know."

Then, she listens to Al's assessment -- she frowns, for a moment before she nods. "He does. And... you're right. Whatever it would do, it's bad enough that we have to stop it."

The Gaia Gear Alpha begins to move backward -- thrusters sending it rotating along the same arc it was doing, but facing the other direction -- and Rena cracks a smile. "Free of charge, Miss Sagiri? I'll take it."

As her unit moves backward, she sees a flash of white -- and then streaks of light, from the DRAGOONs -- and a certain flash of a familiar feeling.

"What in the--"

A Psycommu-armed ZAFT unit was not what Rena was expecting. She does a sharp glance to the side, as the white QUBELEY Awakened hurtles into view. There's a blink -- then she startles. "D-Dr. Mass!? Ah--"

A few different emotions surge through her. She thinks of Leina, then; she wonders what she would say. But then she looks at Junius 7; at how little distance it has to cover before calamity.

And there's only one thing to say.

"I'm glad to have you with us, ma'am!"

Her eyes widen, as she sees the Lightning Strike rocket in. Rena grimaces, slightly; there's an uncomfortable feeling that shoots through her, as she feels a rush of strong emotion from her. Anger, Rena thinks, but settling on the exact emotion is hard, even for a Newtype.

"Miss Allster... he's not the person he used to be," Rena says. "His anger, his desperation--this doesn't feel like Rau Le Creuset did."

Her eyes widen, though. She remembers hearing about George Allster, when she was in Londo Bell.

Rena's fingers tense on the Gaia Gear's controls. Her first shot was dodged so easily. She sucks a breath in, the Gaia Gear Alpha turning when it vanishes like that -- and she feels his reappearance a moment before it happens.

It gives her enough time to lift the shielded arm of the Gaia Gear Alpha, the anti-proton beams slamming into it and burning through layers of armor. They're left as molten craters on the thick armor there.

"Not every Coordinator grew up in PLANT!" she tells Nicol. "It doesn't mean I'm not sympathetic, but I've seen what these wars can do! And--"

She didn't expect Sato to call out to her. She looks sideways at his GINN II and its katana. Her eyes narrow. "I know a thing or two about the spirits of the restless dead," she says. "And I know... it's not vengeance that will put them to rest! We're making a place so that won't happen again!"

She shifts the Gaia Gear Alpha around the debris coming off Junius 7. Her eyes look down at the broken streets below; at the torn open evacuation station. She shakes her head, those flashing red lights acting as all the warning she nods.

Blue particles of light begin to flow out of the Gaia Gear Alpha; a few more dance in the cockpit and in Rena's eyes. She sucks a breath in, then rockets forward. Her eyes dart across the screen. "Got it, Al," she says. "I'm relying on you!"

The beam rifle shifts -- the barrel extends, then a second stabilizing handle pops out of the side. The Gaia Gear grips that, too, and takes aim -- and then a larger lance of blue light erupts from the barrel, and hurtles for Nicol's E-Phas.

KTS: Rena Lancaster targets Nicol Amalfi with Beam Rifle Hyper Mode!
KTS: Rena Lancaster has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Nicol Amalfi has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
KTS: Nicol Amalfi fails to engage Guard against Rena Lancaster's Beam Rifle Hyper Mode!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi moderately reacts to Rena Lancaster's Beam Rifle Hyper Mode, taking 4230 damage!
KTS: Stella Loussier fails to engage intercept against Kathras Fari's AION Mobile Suit Wing Harrying Tactics!
KTS: Best Defense! Stella Loussier successfully reacts to Kathras Fari's AION Mobile Suit Wing Harrying Tactics, taking
3300 damage!
KTS: Kathras Fari begins a Formation attack!
KTS: Kathras Fari rattles Stella Loussier, making her next maneuvers more difficult.

<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.

        "I'm not a child!" Yuliana snaps back to Yao, as she tries -- and doesn't quite succeed -- to get out of the way of the larger suit's shield. The Gaia Gundam's blow crashes down on the side of the Da Xukong, piercing through that strange green shield to crash violently into the metal below.

        The Gaia Gundam backs up, which mercifully means it misses the shot from Wendy's Dragunov sniper rifle as she shifts to GERWALK mode. "You think we've forgotten?" Wendy's voice cuts in, calmer than her Captain's. "I took this name from the ZAFT soldier, Wendy Kal Vie... so I'd never forget the cycle of violence which brought us here. Are you blind, or were you blinded?"

        Yuliana, on the other hand, just keeps trying to close in -- this time hefting her Cleave Axe as she aims to bring it down on the Gaia Gundam's arm. "Who cares?!" She snaps, over open channel. "Who cares, who cares, who cares?! All right, the old man's not wrong! Conflict, chaos, war and battle -- that's the life injected through our veins! If you're making it a fight, you've brought me here! And that's a BIG MISTAKE! Yeah, yeah, humanity's strong, and each conflict makes us STRONGER!"

        (Rose might be right to feel unnerved, after all.)

KTS: Yuliana Kafim targets Stella Loussier with MULS-P Cleave Axe Topple Strike!
KTS: Yuliana Kafim has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.

"Got it!" Rin answers Sagiri as she vectors around. Positioning. Unfortunately, as a wise man once said, the enemy gets a vote too.

Rancor would no doubt express himself as a '!!' as the E-Phas bursts forwards and smashes him aside. The animalistic form tumbles in space, even though Rin's eyes flick to the side -- nothing desperately broken, good...

"Yeah cool and you're throwing a giant mass at the Earth, that'll definitely kill them," Rin keeps talking as her eyes track around. "Maybe if you're really lucky you'll miss them and you can just keep throwing things at the planet until everything is dead. That'll definitely feel way better, yup, uh huh --"

And then the E-phas looms enormous in Rin's vision.

Shit, Rin thinks.

I'm gonna die, Rin thinks.

Sweat pours from her skin as the shining slashes come. In the face of this sudden stabbing peril, her body throws everything forwards. Her vision distorts slightly, but not enough to stop her from abruptly pulling one of the control sticks to the right -- some nuance tells her to release the Magna Beam Launcher, which tumbles. It's validated when her abrupt turn becomes a pirouette and the second slash smashes down and cleaves off several layers of armor plate *and* destroys the hand actuator that had just been holding the Launcher.

But that's past tense, folks. The actual Magna Beam Launcher is safe and sound! (as space debris).

(Rancor regains attitude control and pivots around. His reorientation means one of those strange red eyes, set back so far from the impaling ram of his featureless 'head', turns over the wreck of Junius 7. An eye with resolution beyond even a Coordinator's takes in the image. Something inside of the autonomous beast feels... what?)

"Yeah," Rin says, after she picks up Rena's words. The fear catalyzes somewhere in the back of her stomach. "My father died for that dumb planet, and I'm not gonna let YOU screw it up even worse!"

Except that the Gespenst is falling back, jinking perhaps to try to reclaim the Magna Beam Launcher with its less-destroyed hand. Unlike many Mobile Suits, there's no beam saber here to save the day or close to battle at such near quarters. Rin stares at the E-phas and clicks her tongue twice, pause, once, and

A blue-gray streak erupts in a cascade of magenta fragments; a barrage from Scorn as he catches up to the nexus of the battle, showering the E-Phas with coherentized megaparticles! Scorn's wings stay close - there's no air to catch - until one pivots outwards in a peculiar angle, software-induced AMBAC-emulation letting him pivot to keep weapons to bear towards Nicol, even as Rin jerks further back to weave and rise 'behind' Scorn.

"So how much," Rin breathes, "are they paying you? Huh?"

KTS: Rin Naujakaite targets Nicol Amalfi with Scorn - The Pitiless Judgment of a Beam Emitter!
KTS: Rin Naujakaite has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Nicol Amalfi fails to engage Guard against Rin Naujakaite's Scorn - The Pitiless Judgment of a Beam Emitter!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi successfully reacts to Rin Naujakaite's Scorn - The Pitiless Judgment of a Beam Emitter, taking 4000
damage!

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        Four words. Four short, quick words. And yet... under the circumstances, Sayla sends one even shorter in response to Yuliana: "Same to you." Right now, against something like this... it's better than Yuliana's fighting it than if she's not. ...Certainly, it might make things easier for some members of her family in the long run... But not in the short run.

        She'll have to scrub comms recordings on her way in, admittedly.

        At least she has allies working with her right now. Even if some of those allies are doing better than others. She can hear it through the open comms right now, and she reaches to access the EYewitness system- an advanced EWAC suite, also connected to the psycommu, so it can be directed and activated via the same system. "Pilot Allster!" She calls, hearing, feeling the young woman's distress. "I'm not going to tell you not to be angry. I'd say it's more than warranted right now." Indeed, Sayla's not exactly calm herself, for all she is projecting it. "But you cannot go against that thing recklessly. If what you want is revenge..."

        It's strange, isn't it. Learning from her Brother's mistakes- from what happened in that room in A Bao A Qu- and using that knowledge not to stop someone going down that path, but... to make sure they survive going for it. "Keep that anger cold. Focused. Remember what it is you need here- and aim for that and nothing else. If you let him goad you, or distract you... You'll end up with nothing. Not even your life."

        Sato's anger at Rena strikes a stinging blow at Sayla as well, his words stinging here. What deals indeed. "...Appreciated, Pilot Lancaster. Stay alive, okay? You do that and I'll do the same." She's not going to come out of this telling Leina of the death of a childhood friend- nor does she intend to have Rena report her last moments to Leina.

        She can't help but feel bile rising in her at Nicol's refuting. "I'm not ZAFT." Sayla states, coldly. And it's true... She's not, even if she's in one of their experimental suits. "And you'll excuse me for seeing that what you're doing..." Sayla's practiced false calm is hard to keep up right now. "Is every bit as selfish and stupid and self serving as the shit Shuji and my Brother tried to do!" It's hypocritical, perhaps, to try and hone Flay's vengeance while denying Nicol his... but Flay's is directed at one person, and Nicol's at the entire Earth. And Sayla has grown okay with accepting her hypocrisy, especially when the scales don't match. "Who do you think this will actually punish!? The people in charge, or the people who had the misfortune to be born in the target destination? Indiscriminate revenge isn't revenge, it's simply a slaughter, nothing more!"

        The Andromalius DRAGOONs launch to try and drive off the incoming GINN-IIs, but it's not enough. All her newtype abilities should be put into keeping up with the machine- trying to fight defensively and use the DRAGOONs is taxing, and while Sayla can mitigate some of the damage the QUBELEY Awakened is scored by beam fire, even as she tried to drive them off. She is rattled in the cockpit, but still fighting. If they are closing to support the E-Phas...

        The Composite Armed Shield System of the QUBELEY rises- the last time one of these was scene was on Rau le Creuset's own machine. For a soldier who served the man, one of his weapons raised against him might be jarring- or it might mean nothing. Who can say. Despite that, she charges the cannon the shield is part of at the E-Phas and fires. "And frankly... I am sick of people following in my brother's footsteps!"

KTS: Sayla Mass has activated the Rouse Spirit Command targeting Flay Allster
KTS: Sayla Mass targets Nicol Amalfi with MA-MV05A Composite Armed Shield System Beam Guns Saturation Fire!
KTS: Sayla Mass has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Stella Loussier engages block against Rose Tritten's Ace Attack Formation Gamma!
KTS: Stella Loussier moderately blocks Rose Tritten's Ace Attack Formation Gamma, taking 3709 damage!
KTS: Rose Tritten completes the Formation attack!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi fails to engage Guard against Sayla Mass's MA-MV05A Composite Armed Shield System Beam Guns Saturation
Fire!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi successfully reacts to Sayla Mass's MA-MV05A Composite Armed Shield System Beam Guns Saturation Fire,
taking 3600 damage!
KTS: Stella Loussier engages evade against Serinas Nikola's Cultural Exchange!
KTS: Stella Loussier's Physical Wall L3 activates, negating 3000 base damage.
KTS: Best Defense! Stella Loussier moderately reacts to Serinas Nikola's Cultural Exchange, taking 0 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Aphrodia has posed.

Balbadoro is difficult even to approach - and more dangerous still even when one does get in close. Even she has difficulty closing in - and even when she does, the damage knits back together.

It turns on her next, and once more she receives the worst - it rushes at her, claws seizing and tearing at the Halphas Boese.

"Damnable Balbadoro...!" The pilot hisses. She's forced to seize one of the beam sabers stored within the suit, slashing away at the claws as she extracts herself from its grasp. The attack was formidable - though it repaired itself before, damage registers now, inflicted too quickly for the regeneration to keep up with. She retreats back, putting herself at distance to give Halphas Boese time to recover.

A question is asked, but interrupted, but she has time to answer.

"I am Aphrodia, overseer of the Generation System that lies deep beneath the surface of the Earth - and the one who will lead the world down the right path." She answers. "The Generation System exists to ensure Earth's stability, that the fighting on its surface will not destroy it, even should the world's will focus at a single point... but it has gone rampant. Goragon, the Fragment of Emperor, Triple Zero, the emergence of Tsutsujidai, and the prevalence of psychoframe and the miracles it brings about... These events and more have tampered with causality, and overwhelmed its capacity to process information."

"This Balbadoro was created by the Generation System. It has stolen the Code that controls the Generation System, my Code, to bend causality to its purposes... and now, it seems, it intends to destroy the World Core so that the Generation System remains unstable." Aphrodia explains. "...It is lamentable. Were it not for Balbadoro's intervention, perhaps this all could have avoided."

Daba's question is addressed, then.

"It is powerful - but it is a mobile armor all the same. Focus your will upon it, and destroy it - even it must have its limits." She answers.

KTS: Aphrodia accepts Daba Myroad's Dream!
KTS: Daba Myroad shares a dream with Aphrodia, increasing her SP!
KTS: Best Defense! Aphrodia successfully reacts to Daba Myroad's Dream, taking 0 damage!
KTS: Aphrodia targets Daba Myroad and Lilium Valerie with Awe!
KTS: Aphrodia has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Aphrodia has activated the Enable Spirit Command targeting Daba Myroad
KTS: Aphrodia has activated the Enable Spirit Command targeting Lilium Valerie

<Pose Tracker> Marian Cross has posed.

The beam shield on the Inazuma expands and forms over its arm as a beam shot zips towards it. It dissipates the moment it hits the shield. Alert blares over the speakers, two more beam from behind. She spun in place, catching them before they do damage her... But the alert doesn't subside when more flies her way. It was too late to dodge, and too many to defend against with a single forward facing shield. The Inazuma got knocked about as some more beam shots hits her squarely, even as she tries to persist.

"Tch!" She clicked her tongue. "Guess I'll have to deal with you guys first..." She muttered. Taking out the commander or ace of the enemy was always her first priority in a fight, but seems they weren't given her an opening to do that.

The comms are still open, and she overhears Rena and Flay's exchange with Nicol. He's supposed to be dead, but for him to be here alive and well... What would the Archangel crew - or more specifically, the former Strike's pilot - think if he saw him now? And Flay... her anger, and possibly disgust, is justified. This is between her and Nicol, Marian would not want to interject. Marian told Flay to fight. And maybe Flay'll find her answer here, meager the chances of that may be.

But none of that is her concern right now.

"I'll keep the GINNs off of you! Take that thing out!" She simply calls out to anyone in the vicinity, and instead focus on the GINNs that's surrounding her.

Beam sabers fires up to life and extends out of the Inazuma's forearm. Another pull on the sticks and hard step on the pedal thrusts it forwards at speed. One by one, she streaks passes the GINNs, running her beam across them, trying to eliminate as much of the obstacles as she can.

KTS: Marian Cross has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Marian Cross targets Nicol Amalfi with Integrated Beam Sabers Rush Combo!
KTS: Marian Cross has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Stella Loussier engages evade against Yuliana Kafim's MULS-P Cleave Axe Topple Strike!
KTS: Stella Loussier's Physical Wall L3 activates, negating 3000 base damage.
KTS: Stella Loussier moderately reacts to Yuliana Kafim's MULS-P Cleave Axe Topple Strike, taking 300 damage!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
KTS: Nicol Amalfi fails to engage Evade against Marian Cross's Integrated Beam Sabers Rush Combo!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi successfully reacts to Marian Cross's Integrated Beam Sabers Rush Combo, taking 4320 damage!
KTS: Marian Cross begins a Formation attack!

<Pose Tracker> Tavelle Adzvin has posed.

"<I don't know HER but I know who she works for,>" is Tavelle's response to Daba. "<Ask me later!>"

Tavelle has no idea she's been marked by Rami. *She's* not the one talking, after all. But it's not hard to do; Tavelle's Lestrail is obscure in the Earth Sphere because they've never had them here, but it is not obscure in the Zuvorg homelands at all. 'Security by obscurity' is Tavelle's strategy on that front.

And until now, it's worked!

Until now.

Now, of course, Tavelle has to fight for her life for a planet that isn't even hers. "<You guys had better pay out,>" Tavelle huffs toward the Federation troops fighting Nicol, even as Rudi - well, she doesn't pop up on her screen but she gets an alert notification.

"<Cut the bull. I know perfectly well you're not from the Earth Sphere,>" Tavelle replies to Rudi, a bit of sass coming back into her voice. "<What do you want here, huh? What's the profit in turning the planet to debris? Gonna mine it out for pocket change? You could do it cheaper on asteroids, or on one of the uninhabited planets.>"

Nicol, then, is pressing her. Tavelle really wants to stick to Rudi but she's not *that* good a pilot. She has to handle him or she's going to get herself killed, and she is - if she's being honest with herself - a bit of a coward. She overreacts, lashing the reinforced tail of the Lestrail around and absorbing at least part of the shot on it. The rest launches Tavelle away like she'd been kicked in the butt more literally.

"<I don't even know who you are!>" Tavelle sounds like she's flailing, mentally if not physically, in response to Nicol. "<But if you're working for *them*, and they want this, I don't. Nothing personal...>"

Not that she expects that to put him off.

Tavelle lashes with the Lestrail's tail again, but it's more of a distraction than an attack - it doesn't launch anything and it's not close enough to touch the E-Phas. Instead, Tavelle fires the thrusters, arcing closer to the colony - still quite a distance away, she's in no danger of being rammed into it, but putting herself between him and it.

The fan of... equipment launches several of itself. Long, narrow pieces of equipment, with a little fan of thrusters near the base - they're funnels, or bits, but they don't look right. They're not all the same; they're inconsistent, and some of them look to be handbuilt. None of them have particularly long barrels.

Focusing on the Zuvorg thought-pattern device, the Bladers are very wobbly, almost uncertain. At first, anyway - she's launched three of them, and two of them lash out, scissoring together while activating. Not as guns, but as swords - laser swords, Hand Sabers from Pentagona, which she harasses Nicol with while staying a ways back herself.

"<Ha! I knew it'd work! All those people who said I couldn't do it were just talking shit!>" Now enthusiastic with the success of her bashed-together, haphazard piece of equipment, Tavelle adds a third and fourth Blader, all thrusting in from various directions to catch Nicol in the middle of them like flying spears!

KTS: Daba Myroad accepts Aphrodia's Awe!
KTS: Aphrodia inspires awe, increasing Daba Myroad's Morale!
KTS: Best Defense! Daba Myroad successfully reacts to Aphrodia's Awe, taking 0 damage!
KTS: Tavelle Adzvin's In The Zone activates!
KTS: Tavelle Adzvin has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Tavelle Adzvin targets Nicol Amalfi with Blader Pincushion Formation!
KTS: Tavelle Adzvin has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Lilium Valerie accepts Aphrodia's Awe!
KTS: Aphrodia inspires awe, increasing Lilium Valerie's Morale!
KTS: Best Defense! Lilium Valerie successfully reacts to Aphrodia's Awe, taking 0 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Stella Loussier has posed.

        The Yulong rapidly closes in on the Gaia Gundam, ramming a knee into the Gundam's chest. But the impact is decidedly less impactful than it should be, thanks to the unit's Variable Phase Shift Armor. Still, it causes the Gaia to rapidly back up, firing its CIWS in long streams towards the Yulong as it does so.

        <"There is no winning. There is only death.">

        The Aion's squadron of mobile suits try to the Gaia Gundam away from their mothership, but it seems intent on reaching the Aion. It doesn't try to go after them directly, pushing its thrusters hard as it blasts its way towards the vessel, the squadron's beams crisscrossing around it, some managing to dig grooves across its frame as they glance past it.

        <"We speak for those who speak no more.">

        The large particle beam fired by the ZAKU Warrior Gunner streaks out across space to meet the Gaia's charge towards the Aion. Too well aimed, the Gundam spins, bringing its shield up. Much like with the Aion's cannon, the beam impacts dead on. Energy splashes over the edges, singing parts of the Gaia Gundam's armor.

        Apparently concerned about such a weapon, the Gaia Gundam raises its beam rifle once more. It starts snapping off more shots, both in the direction of the Pixie Team and the Achilles squadron, trying to keep them distracted long enough.

        Though the Gaia Gundam can't get off too many shots as the Queadluun-Rhea rushes in, trying to keep up. But as it tries to unleash its flurry of blows against the Gaia, the Gundam dances and weaves its way around them as it presses forward.

        <"This world is insane. Drowning in regret and sorrow. Each death just another drop in the ocean.">

        Yuliana faces much the same problems as Serinas. Trying to keep up with the Gaia Gundam as it rushes towards the Aion. It makes getting solid blows from the axe difficult as the Gundam weaves around unpredictable. One blow does manage to strike against the mobile suit's leg, but the cheat of VPSA all but negates it.

        The Gaia Gundam finally reaches the Aion, but it doesn't look as if its going to attack. Instead its form changes, rapidly transforming from its humanoid mobile suit mode into that of a mobile armor that more resembles a wolf. Its four legs hit the Aion's armor, the Gundam spinning around as it slides across the surface to a stop. It then turns the beam rifle, now attached to its side, and the two beam cannons in its forward shoulders to the two that had been chasing it. Beam rifle starts to rain down on them.

KTS: Stella Loussier has activated the Accel Spirit Command and and has gained Terrain bonus!
KTS: Stella Loussier targets Kathras Fari and Rose Tritten with MA-BAR71XE High-energy Beam Rifle Rapid Wildfire!
KTS: Stella Loussier targets Li Yao with MMI-GAU25A 20mm CIWS Dash-and-Fire!

<Pose Tracker> Balbadoro has posed.

The GN-X's GN beam pierces clean through the nanoskin, and crucially: it does what GN rifles of the type and make used by NUNE tend to do. The regeneration of the Balbadoro's armor slows -drastically-; a real, persistent hole in the 'tail armor' leaves the mobile armor's path through space just a bit wobbly. It does get a reprieve from Daba's attacks, but Aphrodia remains locked onto the beast --

-- and it is a beast, for as much as it seems to be a mobile armor. 'Kaiju' might be just as apt -- for indeed, the intellect behind it seems more like a monster's than a human's. Could this be some new ZAFT remnant mobile weapon?

... The line between those two things gets blurrier as it pulls away for a moment. At first it looks like it's simply going to try to regroup -- but then that signal flares from its body, the world tinged in just a faint purple.

For those fighting the Balbadoro -- and even those not fighting it, if their will isn't focused -- reality, for just a few seconds, feels... wobbly. Junius 7, in particular, seems almost doubled-on-itself, images of its trajectory laid upon it -- all subtly different but all crossing the same path. Where before that feeling of inevitability was a whisper, now it's a scream, all but demanding that all forces turn their effort toward ensuring its passage, or at least avoid impeding it.

It floats there, in the abyss of space, seeming almost to watch expectantly.

KTS: Balbadoro targets Daba Myroad with Despirit!
KTS: Balbadoro targets Lilium Valerie with Despirit!
KTS: Balbadoro targets Aphrodia with Goad!
KTS: Balbadoro has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.

Maybe it shouldn't be a surprise that Nicol recognizes Flay in turn, thanks to her plan to take Lacus Clyne hostage all that time ago. "I did, and I was even serious about it," She admits. "But you know how it happened... it was all for nothing!" She adds, because at the end of the day - her empty threats were never able to save her father. "And he always hated fighting too, you know... but I'll do what he couldn't! I'll k-"

Mid-threat, her Rocket Anchors tear apart as the E-Phas jolts back, smashing them. "Coward!" Flay snaps, charging through the E-Phas's beam array, the Sword Strike only saved from the full extent of Nicol's fury by those twin shields the Rocket Anchors fired from. "Don't act like... you're any better either." She strains, reorienting the Strike.

To a certain extent, it's Rena and Sayla's words that are able to jolt herself back to reality, thanks to Al's hard work in patching the comms together. Rena's words reach her first, that this isn't the same as Rau le Creuset, that Nicol has... changed. "I think... we both changed," Flay says, eyes on the E-Phas. "But then, what am I supposed to do? If neither of us can compromise... what other choice is there?" She hopes that Rena, at least, might be able to come up with an answer.

Sayla on the other hand, doesn't tell her to let go of her anger - but to focus it. "Cold and focused? How am I supposed to... it's so hard to focus right now." She shakes her head. "But I think I get it. I might need your help to pull this off." She takes a deep breath, focusing on what she NEEDS to feel, and the Strike actually closes back from the E-Phas from its tight melee stance, knowing she can't win at point blank against Nicol. "I want revenge, of course I do... but I won't give him what he wants, either."

When the Strike goes for another hit against the E-Phas, it's much more coordinated with the other attackers, using Marian's opening to fly in, sending a Beam Boomerang hurling close enough into melee range to engage with the E-Phas. It's also fast enough to hopefully catch Nicol off-guard for others to follow up on. "Even if you can't forgive me... I still can't forgive you, either." She re-opens her comms. "Not for what happened then, and not for what's happening now!"

KTS: Flay Allster targets Nicol Amalfi with Midas Messer Beam Boomerang Single Strike!
KTS: Flay Allster has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Aphrodia accepts Balbadoro's Goad!
KTS: Balbadoro goads Aphrodia, reducing her Intuition drastically.
KTS: Best Defense! Aphrodia successfully reacts to Balbadoro's Goad, taking 0 damage!
KTS: Li Yao engages evade against Stella Loussier's MMI-GAU25A 20mm CIWS Dash-and-Fire!
KTS: [Mirage] Li Yao's GN Disruption activates, and he slips into a mirage.
KTS: Best Defense! Li Yao successfully reacts to Stella Loussier's MMI-GAU25A 20mm CIWS Dash-and-Fire, taking 0 damage!
KTS: Daba Myroad accepts Balbadoro's Despirit!
KTS: Balbadoro despirits Daba Myroad, reducing his SP drastically.
KTS: Best Defense! Daba Myroad successfully reacts to Balbadoro's Despirit, taking 0 damage!
KTS: Rose Tritten engages evade against Stella Loussier's MA-BAR71XE High-energy Beam Rifle Rapid Wildfire!
KTS: Best Defense! Rose Tritten successfully reacts to Stella Loussier's MA-BAR71XE High-energy Beam Rifle Rapid
Wildfire, taking 0 damage!
KTS: Kathras Fari has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus.
KTS: Kathras Fari fails to engage evade against Stella Loussier's MA-BAR71XE High-energy Beam Rifle Rapid Wildfire!
KTS: Critical Hit! Kathras Fari poorly reacts to Stella Loussier's MA-BAR71XE High-energy Beam Rifle Rapid Wildfire,
taking 4982 damage!
KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Stella Loussier's Trapped activates, causing Jam L1!
KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Stella Loussier's Obssessive activates, causing Nullify!
KTS: Lilium Valerie accepts Balbadoro's Despirit!
KTS: Balbadoro despirits Lilium Valerie, reducing her SP drastically.
KTS: Best Defense! Lilium Valerie successfully reacts to Balbadoro's Despirit, taking 0 damage!
KTS: [Spirit Defense] Lilium Valerie's Cognitive Dissonance activates, and her spirit endures.
Stella Loussier transforms to ZGMF-X88S Gaia Gundam <MA Mode>

KTS: Stella Loussier targets Serinas Nikola with ZGMF-X88S Beam Rifle & Cannons Raining Shots!
KTS: Stella Loussier targets Yuliana Kafim with ZGMF-X88S Beam Rifle & Cannons Raining Shots!
KTS: Stella Loussier has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Yuliana Kafim has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
KTS: Yuliana Kafim engages block against Stella Loussier's ZGMF-X88S Beam Rifle & Cannons Raining Shots!
KTS: Yuliana Kafim's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Yuliana Kafim poorly blocks Stella Loussier's ZGMF-X88S Beam Rifle & Cannons Raining Shots, taking 2700 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Sagiri Sakurai has posed.

Free of charge, Miss Sagiri? I'll take it.

The Tyranado's visual feed captures Sagiri Sakurai's wink and v-sign with VTX UNION-GUARANTEED quality.

<"You're darn right! Count your lucky stars -- I don't offer my special service to just anyone~">

<"... ma'am...">

<"Ma'am.">

<"Sakurai...">

<"-Ma'am-!!">

<"Wh-what? I'm being serious!">

<"We -know-.">

<"That's exactly the problem!!">

<"Fix your filter. It's deplorable.">

<"H-hey, c'mon--">

Maybe there's something to be said, for how even in the direst circumstances the manager of VTX's Special Section 3 refuses to let that trademark joie de vivre flag.

There is -also- something to be said for how the Tyranado's primary pilot falls into pure professionalism when the circumstances call for it, too: Beam Bayonets leave little potchmarks of their passing along the pristine white of the E-Phas; Sagiri has no time to celebrate, though. Not in circumstances like these. Eyes narrowed, she calls out "Hold on tight, Rami!" and -immediately- banks towards the Tyranado's right. She remembers the last fight with the E-Phas; how -fast- and -responsive- it was, despite its size -- and how well it performed even used by a serial pencil pusher. Which means--

Intuition pays off for Sagiri in more ways than one. The Tyranado's maneuver sends it jetting out of the initial volley of the E-Phas' Smasher; the end result sees the Tyranado unable to get -entirely- out of the mobile armor's path - the E-Phas is simply too fast - but enough to evade what might have been fatal damage, energy bursts ripping across the VTX prototype's darkly armored flank and leaving missing chunks glowing with superheated orange hues.

Within the cockpit, Sagiri and Rami lurch forward violently. Sagiri shakes her head, knuckles whitening tight around her controls.

"Whew! That thing still hits like a truck," she complains to no one in particular; she scans the battlefield, trying to predict where that far-too-sneaky war machine might end up next...

... which is when her gaze falls on that stuffed animal, drifting lifeless and mangled through the quiet bowels of space.

Stirred from her worried wonderings over the Lestrail, Rami's eyes widen as she catches the gutted shelter visible in the corpse of Junius even from this distance.

<"... That... that's horrible. All of this...">

Sagiri's eyes narrow.

"..."

And her jaw sets.

<"... You're supposed to watch out for me, huh? Then get a good look, and listen up.">

The Tyranado's thrusters activate. And it -blazes- off, phantasmal greens and blues rupturing beautiful, haunting contrails behind it as the Quark Drive ramps up as if in sync to the fervor of Sagiri's voice.

<"There's a lot of decisions in life you can hold off worrying about until the day after! How many carbs you're eating when it's not even your cheat day; whether you've had too much to drink or not; or even if a thousand dollar hair styling splurge is -really- worth the blow to your budget!">

--

just hang on a second--

<"But this? This isn't one of them.">

The Tyranado spins in through space, trying to make its trajectory more difficult to predict.

<"This is the kind of decision that'll haunt you forever. The all or nothing kind. The decision you'll always wish you had worried about when you could've.">

Others mount their offensives -- and the Tyranado blitzes past Sayla and her Qubeley, stray shots from its Beam Bayonets aimed at the incoming GINN-IIs to try to help draws some heat off of her.

<"This is the decision you need to think about -now-. Helping people who just want to profit off your misery, by making people as hurt and broken as you. So ask yourself, really ask yourself --">

And then it spins to a sudden -stop-.

Just above Nicol's E-Phas as it turns its wrath on Rin.

<"-- is this really where you wanna be? Meryl! NOW!">

<"Magna Beam Launcher, deploying!">

From the bowels of the Carriax, the Tyranado's beam rifle fires off into space at supreme speeds. It catches it in its right hand, and, swinging down, barrel charging with blazing green energy --

<"Eyes on me, E-Phas!!">

-- it fires directly downward, trying to bombard the E-Phas with a bolt of bright green aimed directly into the massive thing's center mass. She doesn't have any hope that her words will do anything.

But for good or for ill, Sagiri can't -not- say what's on her mind.

KTS: Sagiri Sakurai targets Nicol Amalfi with Magna Beam Launcher - Focus Shot!
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Serinas Nikola has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
KTS: Serinas Nikola's In the Zone activates!
KTS: Serinas Nikola engages evade against Stella Loussier's ZGMF-X88S Beam Rifle & Cannons Raining Shots!
KTS: Serinas Nikola poorly reacts to Stella Loussier's ZGMF-X88S Beam Rifle & Cannons Raining Shots, taking 4000 damage!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Nicol Amalfi fails to engage Intercept against Tavelle Adzvin's Blader Pincushion Formation!
KTS: Best Defense! Nicol Amalfi successfully reacts to Tavelle Adzvin's Blader Pincushion Formation, taking 4650 damage!
KTS: Tavelle Adzvin rattles Nicol Amalfi, making her next maneuvers more difficult.
KTS: Nicol Amalfi fails to engage Evade against Flay Allster's Midas Messer Beam Boomerang Single Strike!
KTS: Best Defense! Nicol Amalfi successfully reacts to Flay Allster's Midas Messer Beam Boomerang Single Strike, taking
3600 damage!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi fails to engage Block against Sagiri Sakurai's Magna Beam Launcher - Focus Shot!
KTS: Best Defense! Nicol Amalfi successfully reacts to Sagiri Sakurai's Magna Beam Launcher - Focus Shot, taking 3675
damage!

<Pose Tracker> Lilium Valerie has posed.

Lilium's cockpit is filled with a cacophony of warnings, alarm messages, hazard indicators and who knows what else. She's able to tune it out, though. Enough to register that the Balbadoro's regeneration has been hampered somewhat. at least. She also filters out most of Aphrodia's explanation--whatever a Generation System was, it'd be pretty far above an O-1 pay grade. Stolen code, stability, destroy the world--focus your will, and it can be destroyed. She keys her radio.

<<Valerie. I don't know if I understand, but I'll do what I have to. Movi--GYHHH!>>

The GN-X's pilot cries out as that signal returns, stronger and more consistent.

Reality starts to grow weaker for Lilium. Things shift. Things change. A throbbing pain fills her head as it feels like something is screaming at her to stop, to let Junius 7 Pass, to Let the World be Broken.

Breathing heavily in the cockpit, Lilium mumbles to herself. "I could... never stop this. None of us could. Nobody ever has without a miracle. It's just... fate. It's natural.. it.. it's..."

Not right. Something about this isn't right.

This isn't right this isn't right this isn't right this isn't right THIS ISN'T RIGHT

Clutching at her head with one hand and gripping one of her suit's control columns far harder than she should with the other, Lilium tosses her long rifle aside. <<THIS- ISN'T- RIGHT-!>> She yells.

Why else had she become a soldier but to prevent this exact thing from coming to pass? What point was there to her existence if she didn't do anything she could do fight against it? Was this not true justice? Is this not the path of a true Saber that protects Gaia?

Lilium, in hindsight, would justify her actions in that moment with something like that. In the moment, however, she simply screamed, deployed her GN Beam claws, and started thrusting towards the Balbadoro at full power.--Not so much having shaken off its demands as refusing to process them or anything else in the world, as if it had impacted some great block in her mind and both stunned and enraged her.

KTS: Lilium Valerie targets Balbadoro with GN-X Claws Penetrating Hand!
KTS: Lilium Valerie has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Serinas Nikola has posed.

        For a moment, they are perfectly matched. The Gaia Gundam's pilot can't hurt the Quadluun Rhea, and Serinas can't land a hit on the Gaia Gundam.

        Only death? <"No! the Earth Sphere could have peace, if not for people like you! Or... the... alien parasite controlling you, or whatever!">

        We speak for the dead. <"No you DON'T! They don't want THIS! They wouldn't want more pintless suffering and war! Oh wait, I guess you're just programmed to say that to annoy us...">

        <"...Did you just turn into a dog? What did you *to* to our gundam?! And how is that going to help?!">

        And it helps, the dog running faster along the Aion, getting enough distance to finally lay some beam shots into Serinas's suit. <"Gah! You... bad dog! For peace in the Earth Sphere... I'll put you down! C'mere!">

        The high-mobility Meltrandi machine chases after the... gundam dog, spraying fire with the claw gatling lasers and trying to grab it and tear into it with the lasers point-blank!

KTS: Serinas Nikola uses Hyper Reloader
KTS: Serinas Nikola targets Stella Loussier with LPG-30/3R Hand Gatling Lasers Execution!
KTS: Serinas Nikola has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Li Yao has posed.

         Yao is not really good at holding his tongue and as the Gaia pilot responds to his words he responds back, <"Insanity is losing over and over and yet continuing to try. "> The Yulong continues to pursue as the Gaia Gundam tries to get away, dodging and weaving to avoid the smaller machine gun fire. In some ways it is like the Yulong knows where the bullets are going to be, but truthfully it is just that Yao is paying particular detail to the direction the mounted guns are pointing.

        <"Insanity is watching everyone of your friends die and then choosing to continue to live."> Yao adds to his previous comment, continuing to try to keep up with the Gaia gundam. The Yulong does slow a little bit to put some more distance between the two when it transforms, unsure what is about to happen.

        Seeing the dog gundam Yao can't help but tilt his head which causes the Yulong to mimic the motion as well. The confusion is just a moment but he was certain on what to make of the situation, <"Insanity is turning into a dog in the middle of a fight."> Yao adds chuckling before speaking instead to Yuliana, <"Just saying 20 meter void tiger would come in handy right now.">

        The old man has seen a lot and is hesitating a moment but only for a moment this was the choice of the pilot so he was going to keep going. The Yulong's right arm glows with a heavy concentration of GN particles as the gundam moves in towards the Gaia and pulls back it's arm, before attempting to stab his arm straight into the Gaia Gundam. <"Insanity is thinking you are speaking for the dead.">

<Pose Tracker> Daba Myroad has posed.

Reality seems to twist, and Daba blinks at his visual readouts, at the mirage duplicates of the Junius Seven colony in its descent. Hand to his helmet, he lets out a strangled cry out of tune with the Balbadoro's screech as the whole world spins around him.

"Damn it...!"

"Daba!" Lilis cries out as L-Gaim founders. "Snap out of it!"

The disorientation seems to stretch out interminably, but, eventually, Daba's breathing slows and calms and he regains clarity, steering L-Gaim towards Balbadoro.

"Whatever this thing is..." He gasps out, as L-Gaim reaches behind its shield to throw a disc towards Balbadoro that splits into conical segments that impact upon its barrier and then detonate - S-mines, concussion weapons from Pentagona. "... It's got to go!"

L-Gaim gets in close, long saber lancer drawn with its double-ended emitters active. The Heavy Metal seems to dance in the void, saber blades twirling and lashing out at Balbadoro before Daba plunges the weapon into the i-Field barrier and draws two more hand launchers, following up with a barrage of slashes before pulling back and raising the twin power launcher under his shield once more and joining it with the single launcher mounted on the Heavy Metal's right arm. "TAKE THIS!"

The laser launchers open up at point-blank range.

KTS: Daba Myroad targets Balbadoro with Full Arsenal Attack Sequence!
KTS: Daba Myroad has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Kathras Fari has posed.

"Hmph," Lanra says on the bridge at this 'there is only death'. But Fari hears it in Yuliana's voice--not just the unhinged part, but the lesson she seeks to impart. Conflict makes them strong...

He finds it interesting that she would think so, anyway. "...The people who need 'strength' are here," he says over the comms instead. "The people who will defend that humanity you're concerned with. ...Let them forget. Let them go about their ordinary lives, without remembering the things that soldiers have to worry about."

"We'll protect them, that way."

The Aion's crew brace as the Gaia Gundam reaches them--but it doesn't attack them. It attacks the mobile suits still chasing it, and they chase it as best they can. While they can't catch the Gundam, they do follow... right up until those mbeam cannons and beam rifle start firing back. The squadron crashes right into it--the lead GN-X loses an arm to the beam fire. The secondary explodes outright, while the first tries to limp back away. "Disengage!" Lanra instructs the pilot, and maybe he'll get the chance.

Maybe.

"Zhukov," Fari instructs next. "If we can't shake our new friend, then let's let our other friends do it for us. Get me targeting data on that Gundam, and send it to everyone in range. Yes, the Shandor too."

"But what if they go at us while it's here?" Jayaissa asks, scowling at the idea of helping Yuliana Kafim.

"Then it's been an honor knowing you all."

Jakallo int he next moment wavers, wobbling visibly. "Ugh," he says. "...What is..."

he feels the strange thing, from the Balbadoro. But he doesn't really understand it.

KTS: Kathras Fari targets Stella Loussier with Designate L1!
KTS: Kathras Fari has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Li Yao has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Balbadoro engages guard against Lilium Valerie's GN-X Claws Penetrating Hand!
KTS: Balbadoro successfully guards Lilium Valerie's GN-X Claws Penetrating Hand, taking 4000 damage!
KTS: Balbadoro fails to engage guard against Daba Myroad's Full Arsenal Attack Sequence!
KTS: Balbadoro's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Best Defense! Balbadoro successfully reacts to Daba Myroad's Full Arsenal Attack Sequence, taking 4675 damage!
KTS: Kathras Fari has activated the Rouse Spirit Command targeting Yuliana Kafim
KTS: Li Yao targets Stella Loussier with Wu Xian Llu Long: Dragon's Claw!
KTS: Li Yao has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Rose Tritten has posed.

With dazzling skill, Rose rapidly weaves her ZAKU Blaze Warrior between the beams, not a single one managing to land a hit. She can feel the sweat soaking into her undersuit as some of them get too close for comfort. She watches as the Gaia lands on the Aion. Taking on this form made it essentially become a BuCUE, which was a dangerous opponent in close combat. Not that they had too much of a choice at this point.

"I don't have a shot anymore! Even if I hit dead on I'll punch right through the Aion!" Sushila called out over the radio.

Rose's ZAKU reached under its shield, grabbed the beam Tomahawk, and ignited it, before screaming towards the Aion. Targeting data from the battleship streamed into her computer. Time to hunt some wild dog.

KTS: Rose Tritten has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Rose Tritten targets Stella Loussier with Beam Tomahawk Combo!
KTS: Rose Tritten has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Nicol Amalfi has posed.

Piano Man - Billy Joel - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwVjTlTdIDQ

Flay keeps shouting at him, and he can hardly blame her, it's personal to her after all, but he can't stand being told that Kira Yamato hated fighting, he can't stand it, because as a Coordinator not from the PLANTs, he chose to side against his kind...

"You think I like fighting? I hate this! Maybe he could ignore Junius Seven on the news, but the people of the PLANTs didn't have the option!" But what really gets to him, under his skin is her accusation, a single word, "Don't you dare, CALL ME THAT!" A coward, just like Dearka and Yzak always did.

Al, well familiar with stealth systems from his time in Mithril, easily manages to predict Nicol's movements, one of the weaknesses of Mirage Colloid after all is that it still gives off a lower power heat signature.

All you have to know is what to look for.

Still, it's not reliance on such systems that makes Nicol strong. Rena at least will understand implicitly, that Nicol is even better than he used to be - it's not subtle for another Coordinator who fought him to pick it out, he's grown to be something truly dangerous. "So have I. Junius Seven. Aprilius Five." Nicol notes to Rena, "Which one will be next, because we decided to give your peace a try?"

Thanks to Al's help and renewed focus from the Gaia Gear, Rena's lance of blue light clips the side of the E-Phas, as the youth makes a noise of surprise, and a GINN High-Maneuever circles to Rena's side to try hit her with rapid fire from it's Beam Carbine, "Get away from him!"

The man inside shouts protectively, even as Sato, still trying to chase Rin's Gespenst II, answers her, "Why can't you understand that the Naturals will never stop trying to wipe us out!" He shouts, coming off of Nicol's statement with his own fervor, "For Coordinators to have any future at all, Patrick Zala offered the one and only correct path!"

Except Rin's Gespenst Jinks away from his pursuit, picking up it's Magna Beam Launcher, as Sato breaks off, and the Barrage of megaparticles score it's length, "Nothing." He answers her, "They offered me a lot - but I don't care about the money." The arrays on the bottom of both E-Phas winged arms begin to charge with prismatic light, before spraying long raking streams that try to take her out, no matter what debris she finds cover within.

"So long as I can avenge them... nothing else matters."

Tavelle tries to address Rudi, and for a while Rudi doesn't respond because it's a pitched battle, but then she finally does over a link to the Lestrail, "<I'm wounded that you think so! Honestly we're taking a giant loss with this one, but our new employees were quite insistent...>" She's definitely telling the truth, but it's hard to say how much truth is in this one,

Sayla confirms she's not ZAFT, coldly, and he seems puzzled for a moment, before his analytical brain works it out, "Doctor Sayla Mass, I heard they gave you a political appointment, but I couldn't believe it. Letting Naturals decide our future..."

The DRAGOONs launch and Nicol weaves around them at first, but faster and faster they come, and he's reacting slower to their presence as they saturate the whole area around the E-Phas, several parts of its armor growing red-hot and pitted before it rapidly cools.

What is that armor even made of!?

It gets to him at first, those words from her, because he was once someone who believed that - a gentle boy, "The people responsible. Everyone who let them do this." He understands however, it's a scale beyond what ordinarily even he can comprehnd, the weight of this sin.

"That's where you're wrong." Nicol tells her with a sense of conviction, "You don't get it yet, do you? Not really. The people in charge... they won't have time to flee this sinking ship. Just another Colony Drop, they'll think." There's a certainty there that might make Sayla's blood run cold. "Your brother's mistake. They could see the scale of what was coming in the sky."

The cannon on the E-Phas charges up a blast, then a long column of energy erupts, "This is Checkmate, Doctor Mass." He says to her, not of his attack- because as Tavelle's Lestrail pincers come at him, he tries to veer the beam to consume them, missing them as they latch onto the E-Phas, trying to slash through its armor and suddenly thinkinf better of it veers the beam towards the celebrating Tavelle's Lestrail, as he notes, "Yeah, you're right. Nothing personal."

Sagiri talks to him, about this kind of decision, if this is who he wants to be, and the young man tries to maneuever his blades to deflect the Magna Beam Launcher's powerful blazing gream energy, but when the blast fades, the whole mobile armor crackles, tortured from the blast.

"And what kind of son would I be if I retreated? Do you know how many times Aprilius Five was even mentioned on the news?" As he spies the Gaia Gear to say angrily, "The one missile that got through. Everyone was too busy celebrating the end of the war..." And now it's to Flay, "...My parents! All those people, they shouldn't be AFTERTHOUGHTS!" And finally to Sagiri, he does what she asks, placing his eyes on her, "Who would WANT this, want to be here? Who would want a world like this!? How am I supposed to set those feelings aside? You're the Natural with all the answers, so TELL ME!"

Marian comes at the GINNs, and one of them falls to her Beam Saber, the pilot within screaming as it explodes, as Sato shouts, trying to stop her advance, "I won't let you do any more damage to our plans!" And her next slash takes off the Katana Wielding arm of the GINN II leader's suit. For a moment he seems surprised, but then he says, softly, "Nicol. It's okay to run."

"I won't!"

Sato within allows himself the ghost of a smile, as he looks towards the pictures, "I wish I could have seen her grow up to be your age." He knows that if Junius Seven hits the Gravity Well, they win. He knows it. "Once this is over... maybe you'll be able to claim the future you deserve."

Which is when he grabs Marian's Inazuma Gundam, inside the range of her Beam Sabers with a single arm, and punches his thrusters, "I know you now, Hero of Orb-! You can't stop us! NONE OF YOU will stop this!" They hit full burn in short order, carrying her with him in a ram, and shoving her further, erratically, trying to outstrip the performance of even her Gundam with the sheer surprise and maneueverability of his GINN II. "NONE OF YOU can stop this! MY DAUGHTER'S TOMBSTONE MUST BE BURNED FOR THIS WORLD TO CHANGE!"

They can all see it coming, but it being telegraphed does not make it any easier, avoiding a grieving man's desperate last stand, this cry of defiance against a world that cost him everything. But that's not to say it gave him nothing. To be given the world, to lose it. That is the true cruelty of this age, a song repeated again and again.

"This time- this time for sure! We'll let you damned Naturals know EXACTLY how we feel!"

The stump of an arm is driven straight into his reactor, erupting into a nuclear explosion at close range of the Qubeley and Strike Gundam.

"SATO!" Nicol shouts, eyes wide as the blast wave clears, and within his cockpit he slumps. Flay's words stick with him, he changed, she changed. If neither of them can compromise, "What other choice is there? Mom... Dad..." His hands spasm on the control sticks, and the Anti-Proton Smasher charges up, and sights down the Tyranado.

"This is exactly where I'm supposed to be."

And just like with the Nazca, he hits the trigger, but this time without saying he's sorry.

KTS: Nicol Amalfi targets Rena Lancaster with GINN High Maneuever Type II Wing Assault Tactics!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi targets Rin Naujakaite with Aggressive Restructuring!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi targets Tavelle Adzvin with Mass Layoffs!
KTS: Stella Loussier engages evade against Serinas Nikola's LPG-30/3R Hand Gatling Lasers Execution!
KTS: Critical Hit! Stella Loussier poorly reacts to Serinas Nikola's LPG-30/3R Hand Gatling Lasers Execution, taking
8040 damage!
KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Serinas Nikola's Can't Catch Me! activates, causing Sparkle!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi targets Sagiri Sakurai with Anti-Proton Smash!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi targets Marian Cross, Flay Allster, and Sayla Mass with The Last Word!
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai has activated the Assail Spirit Command and and can now apply defenses across ranges!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Nicol Amalfi's I'm Afraid That's Not An Option activates Valor and Wall!

<Pose Tracker> Aphrodia has posed.

"It is enough that you heard, and know that it is a threat." Aphrodia replies, as Valerie says that she doesn't know if she understood.

Balbadoro pulls back. A retreat? No - Aphrodia knows better.

"Steel yourselves!" Aphrodia warns. The signal pulses, the world tinged in purple - and for a moment, reality feels wobbly. And then, it screams.

"You would attempt to use it against me!?" Aphrodia hisses. This is the madness she warned them of - that pull to allow this to come to pass...

Her eyes turn to Lilium. If she has to fight, she will, even if all these allies of convenience turn against her -

But, she seems to come to her senses of her own volition.

"You would do well to remember that. It twists the mind to its purposes." Aphrodia warns.

"This has gone far enough... Balbodoro! Disappear!" At her command, Halphas Boese's Mega Beam Launchers extend. Four of them, centered around the Gundam's torso. Halphas Boese extends it arms, massive beams erupt forth from each of the Mega Beam Launchers - and then it places its hands together, thrusting them forward, emitting a fifth, even greater beam to join them together as they rush to swallow Balbadoro!

KTS: Nicol Amalfi has activated the Daunt Spirit Command targeting Flay Allster
KTS: [Spirit Defense] Sayla Mass's Stalwart Heart activates, and the spirit endures.
KTS: Nicol Amalfi has activated the Daunt Spirit Command targeting Sayla Mass
KTS: Nicol Amalfi has activated the Daunt Spirit Command targeting Marian Cross
KTS: Aphrodia has activated the Enable Spirit Command.
KTS: Aphrodia targets Balbadoro with Cross Mega Beam Cannon!
KTS: Aphrodia has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Flay Allster has activated the Rouse Spirit Command.
KTS: Rin Naujakaite has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
KTS: Rin Naujakaite has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
KTS: Flay Allster fails to engage evade against Nicol Amalfi's The Last Word!
KTS: Critical Hit! Flay Allster poorly reacts to Nicol Amalfi's The Last Word, taking 7680 damage!
KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Nicol Amalfi's And That's... Check~mate~! activates, causing Control Bonus!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi anchors Flay Allster, preventing her from Evading the next attack!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi rattles Flay Allster, making her next maneuvers more difficult.
KTS: Rin Naujakaite engages charge against Nicol Amalfi's Aggressive Restructuring!
KTS: Best Defense! Rin Naujakaite successfully reacts to Nicol Amalfi's Aggressive Restructuring, taking 4050 damage!
KTS: Tavelle Adzvin fails to engage Evade against Nicol Amalfi's Mass Layoffs!
KTS: Critical Hit! Tavelle Adzvin poorly reacts to Nicol Amalfi's Mass Layoffs, taking 6710 damage!
KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Nicol Amalfi's And That's... Check~mate~! activates, causing Control Bonus!
KTS: Tavelle Adzvin has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Tavelle Adzvin has activated the Trick Spirit Command.
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai has activated the Focus Spirit Command.
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai has activated the Focus Spirit Command.
KTS: Stella Loussier fails to engage Evade against Li Yao's Wu Xian Llu Long: Dragon's Claw!
KTS: Critical Hit! Stella Loussier poorly reacts to Li Yao's Wu Xian Llu Long: Dragon's Claw, taking 7200 damage!
KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Li Yao's Pin Point Accuracy activates, causing Insight L1!
KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Li Yao's Qi Injection activates, causing Jam L1!
KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Li Yao's Follow-up Strike activates, causing Nullify!
KTS: Marian Cross has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
KTS: Marian Cross engages evade against Nicol Amalfi's The Last Word!
KTS: Critical Hit! Marian Cross poorly reacts to Nicol Amalfi's The Last Word, taking 7920 damage!
KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Nicol Amalfi's And That's... Check~mate~! activates, causing Control Bonus!
KTS: Balbadoro engages charge against Aphrodia's Cross Mega Beam Cannon!
KTS: Balbadoro's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Balbadoro's Beam Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Best Defense! Balbadoro successfully reacts to Aphrodia's Cross Mega Beam Cannon, taking 3904 damage!
KTS: Aphrodia roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable.
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai engages evade against Nicol Amalfi's Anti-Proton Smash!
KTS: Critical Hit! Sagiri Sakurai poorly reacts to Nicol Amalfi's Anti-Proton Smash, taking 7920 damage!
KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Nicol Amalfi's And That's... Check~mate~! activates, causing Control Bonus!

<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.

        Yuliana doesn't sense the Balbardo's influence at all -- but Jadgit and Boris, fighting on the edges, certainly do. "Oracle... heh... or should we call you Captain, out here?" The Masquerion radios in, and Boris is evidently under more strain. "There's something... out here."

        "'Something'?" Yuliana shoots back, her scowl audible. "If you're going to address me as a Captain, be specific!"

        "Something's coming," the Feios cuts in, and Jadgit's faring no better. "Something... has to come here. No -- it's --" he's silent, for a moment, as he shakes his head. "Hey, uh. My console's screaming about 'Debran', what's..."

        "Enemies," Yuliana translates the Zentradi -- which Serinas might notice, too, in the radio chatter. "Tch -- look -- what I need you to do is find your 'degilts' toggle."

        "Uh... what's that?"

        "Escape -- disengage," she translates, as she watches the Gaia Gundam move. "It'll break your targeting so the computer won't interfere. I don't have time to figure out what you're on about," she's audibly irate, "but it's not like I don't believe you haven't felt something. You'll be liabilities if you get jacked, so just --"

        "You are read, Captain!" Boris confirms, as he begins to break away. "We're going."

        Maybe this world really is insane... if she's actually looking out for the Cyber-Newtypes she's flying with.

        When the Gaia Gundam reaches the Aion, though, Yuliana snarls. "You think I'm scared of hitting you now?!" She yells, as she brings her Cleave Axe up to try and defend against that hail of beam fire. (It's... well, it's something, especially with her eldritch shields.) "If you want to speak for the dead, I'll gladly send you along to them--!!"

        But there's that targeting data, and...

        "Tch... too bad," she says, to herself, as she receives it. "Lettu, check this firing arc for me, would you?" She passes it over, and Wendy looks it over before she sends it back -- with some corrections.

        "If you don't want to hit the Aion, use this angle," is Wendy's advice.

        "Fine, fine," Yuliana grumbles, as she fires a plasma salvo which might miss the ship the beastly Gaia Gundam is perched on.

        A brief pause, and -- "Sokrova is a house cat," she reminds Yao, with a sniff. "This is far too much danger for him!"

KTS: Yuliana Kafim targets Stella Loussier with Infernal Arachnid Injector Stinger Salvo!
KTS: Yuliana Kafim has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Rena Lancaster engages evade against Nicol Amalfi's GINN High Maneuever Type II Wing Assault Tactics!
KTS: Best Defense! Rena Lancaster moderately reacts to Nicol Amalfi's GINN High Maneuever Type II Wing Assault Tactics,
taking 0 damage!
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
KTS: Sayla Mass has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus.
KTS: Sayla Mass engages evade against Nicol Amalfi's The Last Word!
KTS: Critical Hit! Sayla Mass poorly reacts to Nicol Amalfi's The Last Word, taking 7920 damage!
KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Nicol Amalfi's And That's... Check~mate~! activates, causing Control Bonus!
KTS: Stella Loussier accepts Kathras Fari's Designate L1!
KTS: Kathras Fari designates Stella Loussier, making her easier to target and opening her to indirect fire.
KTS: Best Defense! Stella Loussier successfully reacts to Kathras Fari's Designate L1, taking 0 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Tavelle Adzvin has posed.

Well, Tavelle *thought* the thought-pattern device was working.

The weird ripple from Junius-7 distracts Tavelle at a critical moment. The blast carves through one of the Lestrail's legs, shearing it off and getting Tavelle to shout in panic, all thoughts of celebration abandoned. She can fly with four limbs, sure, but that came too close for comfort; she can feel the heat in her cockpit, or thinks she can (it's probably all in her head, because if it's not she's about to die). Sweat beads on her forehead.

But she's not out of it yet. "<I don't believe you,>" is Tavelle's response to Rudi, trying to sound defiant but mostly sounding panicked. "<If you were taking a loss you wouldn't be trying this hard.>" They might be taking a loss on *paper*, but they're still getting something out of it, or they wouldn't be here...

She looks up at Nicol. Well, what he gets is obvious. Poor bastard, she thinks. Earth Sphere politics are still distant to her, not personal; she's here for the Company, but she still feels something for Nicol. It's empathy. She forces it down. She can't think about that now. Otherwise she might start thinking he's right, and that's no way to live.

Tavelle switches her comms to wider range. The other people in close combat can hear her. Rena (and Al), Rin, Sagiri, Sayla, Flay: "<Listen up! I don't know what this exact unit is called, but it's gotta be the evolution of something called an 'E-Bit'. These units are usually real specialized so with this one focusing on shooting everyone - >"

The E-Phas erupts in an explosion. Tavelle waits it out before she charges in, all ten of her Bladers releasing and surrounding her in a rough circle before blasting out in front of her. They form a tight V of blades, the tenth 'leftover' right behind the point to cut in where it fails.

They all aim at about the same point. That armour is tough, but when it takes a blow, it brightens, starting to melt before cooling. Tethelle drives the Bladers against the same point again and again, without thinking about it - if she thinks about it she will fuck it up, she knows it, this is the kind of thing she can do ONLY on instinct.

"<Cut it!>" Tavelle draws a heavier-looking blade. This one she doesn't launch - she wields, the L-shaped hilt forming a huge cutting edge that she slashes into the point in the armour she's hopefully made weak, just below one of the arms.

She bails out about as fast as she can after that one. That's not the kind of blow you stick around after.

KTS: Stella Loussier fails to engage Evade against Rose Tritten's Beam Tomahawk Combo!
KTS: Best Defense! Stella Loussier successfully reacts to Rose Tritten's Beam Tomahawk Combo, taking 3825 damage!
KTS: Tavelle Adzvin has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Tavelle Adzvin targets Nicol Amalfi with Blader-Sword Combination!
KTS: Tavelle Adzvin has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Al has posed.

'How am I supposed to set these feelings aside!?', Nicol screams, a man in anguish.

The words are dutifully heard, recorded, remembered, and interrelated. A man in his shoes might have felt his stomach turn or his blood run cold. Al has no such features. Still...maybe Rena detects the way his support lapses for just a few moments.

"I know," Al for some reason replies to Rena's assurance that she's counting on him. "Quantum brainwave interface detected and online. Connecting psy-com drivers. Connected."

Tavelle's call catches his attention before he says much else. "....understood. Captain, the recommendation is to force your way in close. I will recommend a flight path."

KTS: Al has activated the Foresee Spirit Command targeting Rena Lancaster
KTS: Al has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Al's Where Are We Going activates Alert and Valor!

<Pose Tracker> Balbadoro has posed.

The battlefield shifts to Balbadoro's will -- if it indeed can be said to have a will -- but the defenders start to push back on that, in turn. Something in them still wants to fight against this inevitability.

So be it, then.

The World Signal, carrying with it that Code, ceases again. The gargantuan mobile armor will have to ensure the world breaks the old fashioned way.

It boosts toward those defenders it's chosen to assault, and meets Lilium's attack head-on; it gouges deep into armor, claws ripping into the mobile armor. The nanoskin can't hold up against such a deliberate assault, and it becomes clear that -- while quite powerful -- Balbadoro can be overcome.

The hole is still waiting for Daba, as he closes the distance with weapon after weapon. Despite its strength and seemingly infinite capacity for self-repair, the Pentagonan weapons bite in the way anything does.

Aphrodia's beams, though -- those are among the attacks most known to Balbadoro, and its I-field... barely... holds, sparking as the beam crashes into it. A small trickle of beam fire still blows through -- but this, the nanoskin reinforces against preemptively, leaving only scorch marks.

The monstrous mobile armor aims 'up,' relative to the primary axis of the battle, going into a roll as it ascends before stopping and pointing its body straight back down. The central cannon finally begins to charge, pulsating red-purple-red-purple as energy from the wings flows into its center. A bright purple light emerges from the machine, accompanied by a deep black darkness shading at last to electric-white light yet again. It looks more like concentrated hellfire than a conventional beam, as it streaks forth and seeks to engulf Earth's defenders in its blast.

It can't be much longer to the gravity well, now.

Let the perishable perish and the flammable burn.

KTS: Nicol Amalfi fails to engage Charge against Tavelle Adzvin's Blader-Sword Combination!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi successfully reacts to Tavelle Adzvin's Blader-Sword Combination, taking 6480 damage!
KTS: Tavelle Adzvin completes the Formation attack!
KTS: Balbadoro has activated the Enable Spirit Command.
KTS: Balbadoro has activated the Enable Spirit Command.
KTS: Balbadoro has activated the Enable Spirit Command.
KTS: Balbadoro has activated the Enable Spirit Command.
KTS: Balbadoro targets Aphrodia with Compressed Blaster Cannon Full Power!
KTS: Balbadoro targets Lilium Valerie with Compressed Blaster Cannon Full Power!
KTS: Balbadoro targets Daba Myroad with Compressed Blaster Cannon Full Power!
KTS: Balbadoro has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Stella Loussier engages evade against Yuliana Kafim's Infernal Arachnid Injector Stinger Salvo!
KTS: Critical Hit! Stella Loussier poorly reacts to Yuliana Kafim's Infernal Arachnid Injector Stinger Salvo, taking
6664 damage!
KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Yuliana Kafim's Mortal Wrath activates, causing Control Bonus!
KTS: Lilium Valerie fails to engage block against Balbadoro's Compressed Blaster Cannon Full Power!
KTS: Critical Hit! Lilium Valerie poorly reacts to Balbadoro's Compressed Blaster Cannon Full Power, taking 7700 damage!
KTS: Lilium Valerie has been defeated!
KTS: Aphrodia has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
KTS: Aphrodia has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
KTS: Aphrodia engages guard against Balbadoro's Compressed Blaster Cannon Full Power!
KTS: Aphrodia's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage.
KTS: Critical Hit! Aphrodia poorly guards Balbadoro's Compressed Blaster Cannon Full Power, taking 6825 damage!
KTS: Aphrodia has been defeated!
KTS: Daba Myroad engages evade against Balbadoro's Compressed Blaster Cannon Full Power!
KTS: Critical Hit! Daba Myroad poorly reacts to Balbadoro's Compressed Blaster Cannon Full Power, taking 7700 damage!
KTS: Rin Naujakaite has activated the Rouse Spirit Command targeting Sagiri Sakurai

<Pose Tracker> Stella Loussier has posed.

        <"T-This Gundam has become our tool. To make sure that the world will never forget.> Did the man's voice just falter for a moment?

        The Queadluun-Rhea's gatling lasers drill into the Gaia's body as it manages to grab hold of the mobile armor. They blast inwards farther than any of the attacks thus far have been able to penetrate. Of course, the Gaia's pilot isn't just going to sit there and take it. The machine crouches to one side and then pushes against the Aion's hull with all its might, smashing its body into Serinas's unit.

        At the very least, the move frees the Gundam from the Queadluun-Rhea's grip. Just as Li is charging in. The Gaia bounds across the Aion's hall, straight towards the Yulong, leaping at it at the last moment in order to meet it head on. The Yulong's arm cuts a gash across the Gaia Gundam's underside. In return, the Gaia Gundam kicks at the mobile suit, adding insult to damage as it uses it as a launching pad in the direction of the charging ZAKU.

        The ZAKU swings its axe, looking to take off one of the Gundam's legs. But the Gaia Gundam uses its thrusters and twists its body to the axe only manages to slice through part of the shoulder. In a repeat of before, the Gaia then kicks at the ZAKU, lauching itself away from Rose and the others and back into space again. The thrusters in its wings fire, accelerating it forward as plasma bolts from Yuliana's machine whizz past and splash against its frame, melting through the already damaged armor with ease. The damage is clearly starting to add up.

        But as the mobile armor blasts away from the Aion, beam blades ignite across the front of both its wings. Its thrusters take it towards the Xukong, apparently fixated on it as a target. A pair of the the Aion's squadron are in the Gundam's path, but it doesn't stop as it charges through them, the wing blades threatening to cut them down if they don't move.

        Finally the black wolf Gundam streaks in towards Yuliana, the beam blades glowing menacingly.

KTS: Stella Loussier targets Serinas Nikola with Gaia Body Blow!!
KTS: Stella Loussier has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus.
KTS: Stella Loussier targets Li Yao and Rose Tritten with Gaia Springboard Smash Combo!!

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.

"Y-Your special service?" Rena stammers. She frowns, as she considers. "That's--um--that's very..."

A beat.

A sigh.

"You might want to listen to your subordinates."

She shakes her head again -- and then hits the accelerator, sending the white and teal Mobile Suit rocketing after the E-Phas.

"Roger that, Dr. Mass," Rena says, with a little tightness in her voice -- not with anger, but with the gee forces of acceleration pushing her back in her chair. "I'll hold you to that. A mutual acquaintance would expect no less."

Leina, of course. She isn't going to mention her daughter over the comms, though.

"I'd say you both did... even if I didn't know you back then," Rena tells Flay. She hesitates, for a moment. What can they do? "We try to get through--but it's like Dr. Mass says. He can't be allowed to do this. Focus, and--"

She watches the Strike tear off again, but with more focus. "--Don't forget who you're fighting for, Miss Allster. It's not just who've you lost, right?"

Rena's eyes narrow, as Junius 7 seems to shift. It's as if something makes two versions of the colony appear atop it, in her vision; there's a scream in her mind. Her fingers squeeze the controls tighter, for a moment, until the feeling passes. Focused as she is on Nicol's E-Phas, she can't quite connect it to the Balbadoro.

Her voice shakes, a moment of distraction that passes, as she answers Nicol. "Those were terrible. If I could undo them, I would. But I can do everything in my power to be sure it doesn't happen again. To you--or to the people down there!"

The GINN High Maneuver swings about, beam carbine firing at the Gaia Gear Alpha -- and the wing binders fire, thrusters sending it it backward just before those blasts can rip through the Gaia Gear Alpha. The head of the machine turns; the eyes of it flash a brilliant sea blue.

"This isn't what your daughter wants for you!" she snaps back at Seto. "Can't you see that? And this--"

Her eyes widen. His parents, who died at Aprilius Five. It makes a certain, terrible sense now. The missile that got through. They narrow again.

"I'm sorry," she says. "But your parents... do you think this is what they want for you? To take other people's parents!? Do you think that will put your soul at peace? Your parents aren't afterthoughts. Any good parent..."

She tenses, for a moment. It hits a little too hard, what she's saying. "...would want you to decide your own course, and look to the future!"

She stares as Sato's GINN goes up in a fireball. Then, she looks back at Nicol. She sucks in a breath. Then, she nods. "Got it, Al. Up close," she affirms. The beam rifle is slid back onto the backpack, and she draws out a beam sabers.

The Gaia Gear Alpha goes flying in, trying to close the distance. Rena looks ahead -- and then the funnels, already deployed, shoot ahead of it. They open fire. Beams slice through debris flying off Junius 7; a car, thrown loose, is slashed in half and the Gaia Gear flies through the gap cut into them.

And as Rena closes in, the funnels fire, shooting blasts for the E-Phas.

KTS: Nicol Amalfi's Work-Life (Im)Balance activates!
KTS: Rena Lancaster targets Nicol Amalfi with Funnel Pod!
KTS: Rena Lancaster has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Stella Loussier targets Kathras Fari with MR-Q17X 'Griffon 2' Beam Blades Two For One!
KTS: Stella Loussier targets Yuliana Kafim with It Came From Behind!!
KTS: Stella Loussier has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Kathras Fari has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
KTS: Yuliana Kafim has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
KTS: Yuliana Kafim has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
KTS: Kathras Fari fails to engage guard against Stella Loussier's MR-Q17X 'Griffon 2' Beam Blades Two For One!
KTS: Best Defense! Kathras Fari successfully reacts to Stella Loussier's MR-Q17X 'Griffon 2' Beam Blades Two For One,
taking 4350 damage!
KTS: Yuliana Kafim fails to engage parry against Stella Loussier's It Came From Behind!!
KTS: Yuliana Kafim's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Yuliana Kafim moderately reacts to Stella Loussier's It Came From Behind!, taking 4050 damage!
KTS: Li Yao engages evade against Stella Loussier's Gaia Springboard Smash Combo!!
KTS: Li Yao successfully reacts to Stella Loussier's Gaia Springboard Smash Combo!, taking 4050 damage!
KTS: Rose Tritten engages charge against Stella Loussier's Gaia Springboard Smash Combo!!
KTS: Rose Tritten poorly reacts to Stella Loussier's Gaia Springboard Smash Combo!, taking 4500 damage!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi fails to engage Block against Rena Lancaster's Funnel Pod!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi successfully reacts to Rena Lancaster's Funnel Pod, taking 4160 damage!
KTS: Rena Lancaster anchors Nicol Amalfi, preventing her from Evading the next attack!

<Pose Tracker> Lilium Valerie has posed.

To say Lilium had 'come to her senses' would, perhaps, be a little generous. Although she had avoided working to ensure the colony's fall, she had instead wound up blindly engaging an opponent she was not eqiipped to handle, at a range she wasn't particularly adept in, with a weapon she had very little actual practice operating. The claws tearing into the nanoskin do seem to be surprisingly effective, but when Balbadoro pulls out of her range and starts charging, Lilium manages to start <<GET BACK HERE YOU->> before she registers what she's suddenly staring down the barrel of.

Caught in the metaphorical headlights of what seems to be the focused and directed fires of hell, Lilium throws her suit's arms up to protect herself in a moment of not-entirely-sensible desperation.

It doesn't work.

Her GN-X's cockpit block ejects... mostly successfully, and can be seen spinning off into the distance with a slight trail of smoke. It'll be recovered later, probably, although she's... definitely going to feel this one in the morning. Not necessarily tomorrow morning.

KTS: Lilium Valerie's GNX-603T GN-X has been disabled.
KTS: Serinas Nikola engages guard against Stella Loussier's Gaia Body Blow!!
KTS: Serinas Nikola poorly guards Stella Loussier's Gaia Body Blow!, taking 4050 damage!
KTS: Kathras Fari's The Loyal activates!
KTS: Kathras Fari has activated the Rouse Spirit Command.

<Pose Tracker> Kathras Fari has posed.

Two of the Shandor's units break off. Jayaissa scowls. But Yuliana doesn't hit the Aion in the process, and everyone involved is happier for it. Except Yuliana, maybe. But the Gundam has become a tool...

The Aion's hull is strong enough to stand up to the punishments of mobile suits battering against it, but the beam blades are another story; they carve deeply into the armor, powerfully weakening the hull in a way that requires--

"Seal off affected decks," Lanra instructs. "Keep at him. Achilles Squadron..."

"...Break off. Rescue that cockpit block," she instructs. She's reluctant to have them break off--btu they're clearly outmatched by this Gundam, and recovering an additional pilot will help with their losses already.

So Lilium will soon be brought back to the Aion!

Jakallo says, "Captain! I have a firing solution on the Gundam!"

"Take it," Fari says. "...But don't hit Kafim's unit."

"Aye, sir."

The cannons closest to the Gaia Gundam swivel towards it--and start blasting away, pink fire erupting from their barrels in a powerful assault.

KTS: Kathras Fari has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Kathras Fari targets Stella Loussier with Heavy Ship Fixed Beam Turrets Focused Assault!
KTS: Kathras Fari has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        Hard to focus? It could just be the girl's anger... Sayla's focus, even overtaxed as she is by this mobile suit is still crystal clear. But maybe it's because of what she's confronting. "...Right." Sayla says, keeping her own focus. "What's your revenge, Pilot Allster? Hurting him, killing him, or stopping his plan?" Sayla's voice returns to that steady, practiced, often unnatural calm. "Don't think about it, just tell yourself which of those options is most important in your mind. Then follow what's most important- and make it efficient and clean." At no point does she entertain telling Flay not to. Some things are unforgivable. If Nicol Amalfi can be convinced to change his path... or is granted some miraculous second chance, Flay can make the choice again. But right here, right now... The path is through the E-Phas, one way or the other. "And once you pick your revenge, stick to it. Got it?"

        Sayla can't help but grin. "...Damn straight she would. Let's not disappoint her, hm?"

        There's a sudden surprise as the Tyranado bursts past her QUBELEY, the machine a burst of speed and power. "...Thanks for keeping him busy. I'll try and return the favour." It's a quick message to Sagiri, but... even if it's not purposeful, Sayla isn't one to forget help.

        "...Do you really think the Space Assembly League is just the PLANTS?" Sayla calls back to Nicol. Something is off here, about this pilot. "I'm not here to decide the Coordinator's fate- I'm here to help spacenoids who are suffering, coordinator or otherwise!" The way Nicol changes his presentation so quickly is concerning- but that is lost to the wayside when her brother's 'mistake' is explained to her. Sayla's eyes go wide. "What..." Not an ordinary colony drop... does he mean the distortion field that that Mechanic from the Nadesico announced...? "...Do you really think they can't, Pilot Amalfi?" Sayla says, firmly. "The 'people in charge' are spread between Earth and Space already. Most of them live on the ring. They'll be moving already. Do you think the Axis Shock made them less vigilant? Or do you think they reinforced they escape methods? Developed faster, quicker methods?" She gives a mirthless grin that Nicol likely can't see. "...After all, not even the Devil Gundam was sudden enough to stop Neo-Britannia and Neo-Hong Kong." Get him angry again. Get him talking. Get him to say something that reveals more-

        But that leaves her open, as Nicol declares checkmate. The QUBELEY requires more than she has- and the only reason she isn't simply wreckage in space is the warning given from her awakening. The heavy armour that covers the QUBELEY is burned through in many places, and one of it's enormous shoulder pauldrons is broken in half. "...And Nergal have already worked out your 'distortion field' trick. They've got countermeasures activating already." A barefaced lie, but Sayla Mass lies as well as any Deikun. "So tell me again, Nicol Amalfi. Who does this hurt? Does your checkmate kill Charles vi Britannia? Or does it kill poor people who don't have shelters? Sick people in hospitals that lose power? People living on the deteriorating coastlines who get flooded?" Her tone shifts, harder then ever.

        "Will you blame this on the misfortune of their birth, Nicol Amalfi?"

        And as she says this, her DRAGOONs burst to life. All 36 of them. Sayla's breathing heavily now, struggling, but she's focused, more than ever. The funnels moving to surround the E-Phas burst into a sphere of beam fire, constantly moving and shifting and adjusting angles, to surround and overwhelm and shred apart. That armour is strong, obscenely so- but maybe, just maybe, she can help make it break with enough small blows. A death of a thousand cuts.

        "And I won't give up on the people here, earthnoid, spacenoid, coordinator, natural, newtype, oldtype- whoever they are! My brother's mistake wasn't letting us see it coming- Char Aznable's mistake was the same as Master Asia's- giving up, just like you have!" As Rena locks down the E-Phas, Sayla grins in a fashion that could be slightly manic- it's been a long time since she's been pushed this physically far, not even piloting the Shuffle Heart took this toll on her. She's going to have to practice. "Thanks for the opening, Pilot Lancaster!" The 36 DRAGOONs fire at once, in one concentrated blast, difficult as it is to keep up, to help keep it pressured. "Pilot Allster! Have you come to a decision?"

[OOC] Kathras Fari says, "bluray* As for Achilles squadron--as they break off, it's because the Gaia Gundam carves
through another of them like butter.  Two remain to rescue Liilium.  "

KTS: Sayla Mass has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Sayla Mass targets Nicol Amalfi with 'Andromalius' DRAGOON System All-Range Formation!
KTS: Sayla Mass has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.

Sagiri's words make Rin snort as she continues maneuvering. It isn't Nicol who comes for her but another man, Sato, and he makes his appeal. Rin could have probably cut him down if -- well -- she's mourned the lack of a Beam Saber already.

But what Sato says makes Rin's head turn.

"No," Rin tells him.

She maneuvers the Gespenst as she does, the rifle coming up as she jets backwards and tries to draw a bead.

"You're wrong," she continues. "I walked among a thousand Naturals on another planet and nobody gave a fuck. The only people who gave a single solitary shit were ... were my friends... because I'd been lying to them for years! I had to! Because do you know where I lived, you maniac?!"

Rin's voice lifts. "BRITANNIA! You want to be Britannia?! Maybe you can pull it off, but if the Zabis couldn't, how are you gonna, huh?? Get on a ship with a drive, get the HELL out of -" But he's breaking off AND unleashing a barrage, the beam weapons intercepting Rin and --

Scorn, who spreads his wings outwards. They are severely mangled - destroyed, on the lefthand side, but still attached - but after this heroic moment, the drone's head swivels and begins to self-amputate the wing. Scorn is not a romantic bird. And he can tell there's no air here.

(This may make Amies unhappy. Wings don't grow on the mechatronic macro-wing tree, after all. Not any more.)

Someone speaks to her. Rin glances to the side, where Tavelle's signal has a mark-up pane from UNKNOWN UNIT. "Huh? -- Wait, it's weak up close, you mean? Then-- --gotitTHANKS"

There's something else out there. It isn't Rin who looks at Balbadoro; Rin has greater threats in front of her, and perhaps that ethereal plain of humanity's destiny is isolated from her. She certainly was talking some trash a minute ago. What does look up towards Balbadoro is Rancor. The lupine mechanoid says nothing - cannot say anything -- at least not in the world.

In this chaos, Rin's accelerated eyes flick down, just in time to see the eruption as Sato's mobile suit ruptures and explodes, and --

"... dammit," Rin says, very quietly.

"... I guess... this is what being in the military does to you, huh?" Rin continues, to Sagiri and the Carriax. She's forcing a joke. Except:

She's 'above' Nicol, more or less, and he's going for the Tyranado, and Rin's eyes widen. One hand grasps the control stick and holds down the reticule adjustment button with her ring finger while the other one reaches over to tap a short assembly of codes - telling Rancor to converge on her location.

Silently-shrieking streaks of ultramagenta light snap downwards like luminous arrows, aiming to smash into the E-Plas as the words actually reach Rin's throat and mouth - "Oh no you don't--"

Another couple of buttons depressed-- and Rancor's accelerating form dips down, the twinkle of light accelerating and then executing a pilot-crippling pivot and lunge upwards, contorting in space to rise from 'behind' and 'up' to try and sink his forelimbs into the E-Phas's torso while the back legs kick upwards, aiming to try to punch the weapon module!

"The engines! Get the engines!" Rin shouts aloud, pleadingly.

KTS: Rin Naujakaite has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Rin Naujakaite has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Rin Naujakaite targets Nicol Amalfi with Team Up Combo - Press The Attack!!
KTS: Rin Naujakaite has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Nicol Amalfi fails to engage Intercept against Sayla Mass's 'Andromalius' DRAGOON System All-Range Formation!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi successfully reacts to Sayla Mass's 'Andromalius' DRAGOON System All-Range Formation, taking 5100
damage!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi fails to engage Block against Rin Naujakaite's Team Up Combo - Press The Attack!!
KTS: Best Defense! Nicol Amalfi successfully reacts to Rin Naujakaite's Team Up Combo - Press The Attack!, taking 3900
damage!
KTS: Rin Naujakaite begins a Formation attack!

<Pose Tracker> Marian Cross has posed.

Marian was caught off guard when her momentum was suddenly stopped. What's more surprising to her was that the man within the GINN recognized her. "You-" She attempts to push him off, even cutting one of the GINN's legs in her struggle and leave an explosion behind them. It was a tiny explosion. Not like the one that's soon to catch her off guard once more.

The Inazuma was about to land a piercing strike at his cockpit... It would be easy, at this range. A fist pushing against its chest, and activate the beam saber. Just like that. But then he yelled resolutely about his daughter... And her heart skipped a beat. This man has lost his daughter to a freak terrorist attack, while she lost the ability to have one in battle. But for him to wish for the destruction of the Earth... Is this who she'd become, if she becomes just as desperate as this man...?

She hesitated, he could still turn back. He could still stop this from happening. "Hey! Stop this!"

She yelled back. The GINN still pushing her Inazuma back towards the others. "You can sti- Tch!"

And her screens goes white. A huge explosion envelops her Gundam. She shakes violently in her cockpit and alarms going off non-stop. Her armor is just barely holding on as she gets thrown off.

"God- Damn it!" She uttered. Is this what's going to become of her? She never regarded her own life highly after everything was taken away from her, but this man... His sacrifice for something he believed in so resoundingly, misguided as it is... Really puts some things in context for her...

She gave him a silent moment. Fingers running over her screens and assessing the damage. She can still fight but she has to stay at range for now with the damage she sustained. She turned the Inazuma around, finally having cleared the GINNs around the immediate vicinity.

An arm retrieving her Railgun from the Gundam's skirt plating. It raises and targets the E-Phas. The barrels extending and combining into one as it charges over its limits. Electricity arcing across its barrels. A cold look as she remained silent for the man in the GINN... Focus. And fire.

KTS: Marian Cross has activated the Trick Spirit Command.
KTS: Marian Cross has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Marian Cross targets Nicol Amalfi with Type 72F3 'Tenka' Multi-barrel Railgun Overcharged Shot!
KTS: Marian Cross has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Serinas Nikola has posed.

T-This Gundam has become our tool. <"So you make it your beast?!"> A beast Serinas is beginning to rip apart, just as she hoped!

        The gundog's pilot isn't having it, and braces on the Aion to SLAM into Serinas! She sees it coming, but all she can do is brace for impact and attempt to hold on tight.

        <"I. WILL NOT. Allow Humanity to be plunged into eternal war! My ancestors have been fighting things like you for millenia! And my other ancestors... wanted me to be better than they were!">

        <"You who want to reignite the war between Naturals and Coordinators... The *truly* better ones are the ones who won't fall for your tricks! You're not better than either of us... you're worse!">

        Okay, maybe it's not the best speech, but she backs it up with steel, lasers, and Meltran kung-fu! Perhaps her fists can communicate better than her words!

<Pose Tracker> Daba Myroad has posed.

The world turns white as the burning core of the Balbadoro's beams engulfs L-Gaim. Daba and Lilis scream in unison as the Heavy Metal tumbles away from the blast.

...

...

...

After a while, the ringing in his ears subsides, and he manages to get his hands back on the controls. "Lilis, are you okay?"

The tiny winged girl on his shoulder recovers consciousness, holding her head - well, her tiny helmet, at any rate.

He checks the battlefield - the other units engaging the Balbadoro have been forced back as well, neither in any condition to fight. He tests the throttle, feeling it jerkily, half-heartedly respond, and grits his teeth. "I don't think L-Gaim can fight this," he says to Lilis, before opening comms. "<Tavelle, I have to retreat. The Turner is nearby if you need pickup, Leccee can cover you.>"

He takes another long look at the Balbadoro. Something about it...

He shakes his head, clearing out the cobwebs, and transmitting a wide burst: "<L-Gaim, falling back. ... I'm sorry.>"

<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.

        "You call it a 'tool'," Yuliana spits vitriol, "but a Gundam's a 'weapon'! Don't sell me your petty euphemisms! Who's 'us', anyway?!"

        When the Gaia Gundam bounds towards the Da Xukong 0, that scorpionoid wanzer responds to the beastly challenge, jet thrusters on its eight legs allowing it to manuever in unnerving ways in open space. Yao's warnings have been flooded from her brain by all the blood rushing to her ears, and --

        Yao isn't the only one keeping an eye on Yuliana, here.

        Someone's been doing it... for six years, now.

        "CAPTAIN!" Wendy cries out, as she jets forward, still in GERWALK form, because she at least can see the way the Aion's squad is carved through by those wings. The Nightmare Plus brings up its Dragunov rifle to get between her, and them, and Yuliana --

        -- and the wings cut through the sniper rifle, and then they cut through the sniper, and it's only because of that sharp stop in the middle that Yuliana has the warning to get out of the way before they cut through her.

        "Shit!" She barks, as she jerks to the side. "Lettu? Lettu, do you read me?!"

        "gh," a wet noise transmits through the radio, followed by a horrible silence.

        "N--nnnnnhhhh," something between a moan and a cry comes from the Da Xukong's radio, as her own words, from years ago, ring in her ears. (Forget it! ... his normal suit's already breached.)

        "YOU -- ZEON DEVILS!" She screams for a second time, her voice raw, as she orients towards the mobile armour, and a horrible black light alights across the spires jutting out from her wanzer's shoulders. The beam which fires at the Gaia Gundam, from the centre point between them... is not a beam weapon. The Void magics she pours into her are unlike any other weapon on Earth or outside it.

        And all Serina's hopes of war being turned aside...

        She can't help that it hurts.

        (In the background, the Salamis Kyo creeps closer, one of those horrible tentacles slithering out to wrap around the shattered Nightmare Plus and pull it back into its hangar.)

KTS: Yuliana Kafim has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
KTS: Yuliana Kafim has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Yuliana Kafim has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus.
KTS: Yuliana Kafim targets Stella Loussier with Abyssal Coil Dread Charge!
KTS: Yuliana Kafim has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Rose Tritten has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Serinas Nikola has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
KTS: Serinas Nikola has activated the Alert Spirit Command.

<Pose Tracker> Rose Tritten has posed.

Her swing only hitting the shoulder, Rose is violently tossed in her cockpit by the Gaia Gundam's kick, bouncing off the hull of the Aion. Warning alarms ping as she shakes her head to regain her senses, but one of her sub verniers is forced ignited and her ZAKU starts spinning wildly. Aspyn's ZAKU grabs hold and counter spins, giving Rose enough time to purge the vernier's fuel tank and shut it off. The trio of ZAKU Warriors regroup and try to reassess.

"That Gundam's really tough!" Aspyn said, her ZAKU Slash gripping its beam axe.

"I know, but we gotta keep at it. If we keep trying to force it away from the Aion and prevent it from using cover we can keep nailing it with Sushila's beam cannon!" Rose said, the monoeye of her ZAKU looking over to Sushila.

She could sense something was wrong.

Sushila's ZAKU seemed to be transfixed on the falling space colony. Rose had been doing her best to ignore the mad ramblings of the Zala loyalists trying to destroy what was once the rallying cry of the PLANTs. But Sushila...

Was watching her home, and the tombstone of all her family and friends hurtle towards the Earth. "Sushila?" Rose asked, looking towards the ZAKU Gunner.
%"Why...why mine?" Sushila's voice whimpered over the radio. "Can...can we stop it?" The flashes of combat lit up once more again around them, and Sushila's ZAKU seemed to snap out of it, raising its beam cannon once more.

"C'mon girls, Delta Formation!" Rose ordered, and as one the trio's engines ignited once more. Low output but rapid beams of Sushila's cannon began to lance around the Gaia, in an effort to dazzle and confuse the pilot once more. Rose unleashed yet another salvo of missiles against the Gundam, before giving it a swift kick into a spin, where upon Aspyn screamed in, the beam axe hefted high and ready to deliver a blow.

KTS: Serinas Nikola targets Stella Loussier with LPG-30/3R Hand Gatling Lasers Execution!
KTS: Serinas Nikola has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Rose Tritten targets Stella Loussier with Ace Attack Formation Delta!
KTS: Rose Tritten has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Aphrodia has posed.

The light of the Cross Mega Beam Cannon clears... and Balbadoro is still there. The I-Field holds, letting only a little through. Aphrodia clicks her tongue disapprovingly. She isn't given much time to retort, however - for Balbadoro descends. The central cannon begins to charge, and even she starts at the sight of it.

Halphas Boese braces itself as hellfire rushes forth - that terrible beam consuming everything in its path. When it clears, it is still standing... but it is weak, its regeneration just enough to save it - but not by much.

"You...!" She starts - and she casts her eyes toward Earth, and then toward Junius 7. A frustrated frown crosses her face. She will remember this wound to her pride.

"...It would be... foolish, to continue this battle further. I must... make preparations, should the worst come to pass." Aphrodia states. The rest... she will have to leave to them.

A bright light erupts around Halphas Boese, obscuring it - and when it clears, it is gone.

KTS: Stella Loussier has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
KTS: Stella Loussier has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
KTS: Stella Loussier fails to engage evade against Yuliana Kafim's Abyssal Coil Dread Charge!
KTS: Stella Loussier successfully reacts to Yuliana Kafim's Abyssal Coil Dread Charge, taking 4960 damage!
KTS: Yuliana Kafim roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable.
KTS: Stella Loussier fails to engage guard against Kathras Fari's Heavy Ship Fixed Beam Turrets Focused Assault!
KTS: Best Defense! Stella Loussier successfully reacts to Kathras Fari's Heavy Ship Fixed Beam Turrets Focused Assault,
taking 5175 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Li Yao has posed.

        The Yulong goes flying back as the sound of scraping the metal and sparks fly from being a springboard for the dog gundam. It takes a moment to right itself as well as Yao has to not give into the nauseating from the spin. As Yao's vision returns to normal he notices the target of the enemy but Yao is too far to catch up and interrupt the attack on Yuliana.

        Instead he watches something horrible, the nightmare plus is cut into by the dog and Yao's smile drops. Another life is potentially lost in front of him as he hears the lack of response over the comms.

        The Yulong speeds forward as Yao himself loses a grasp on his emotions, he was supposed to be protecting Yuliana and instead he failed and others paid the price. Yulong's GN particles continue to increase their output as Yao pushes the gundam to its limit as it rushes towards the other side of the enemy. Yulong punches forward with both its hands aiming to strike with both fists at a single spot, making sure to keep Yuliana's blast of void magic on the other side of the Gaia Gundam.

KTS: Li Yao has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus.
KTS: Li Yao has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Li Yao has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Li Yao targets Stella Loussier with Wu Xian Llu Long: Dragon's Bite!
KTS: Li Yao has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Stella Loussier engages evade against Serinas Nikola's LPG-30/3R Hand Gatling Lasers Execution!
KTS: Best Defense! Stella Loussier moderately reacts to Serinas Nikola's LPG-30/3R Hand Gatling Lasers Execution, taking
0 damage!
KTS: Stella Loussier fails to engage Evade against Rose Tritten's Ace Attack Formation Delta!
KTS: Stella Loussier successfully reacts to Rose Tritten's Ace Attack Formation Delta, taking 4860 damage!
KTS: Rose Tritten anchors Stella Loussier, preventing her from Evading the next attack!

<Pose Tracker> Balbadoro has posed.

Balbadoro lingers even as its foes start to retreat. Its assessment, for the moment, is that nothing it does will change the trajectory of this place over-much; at the current trajectory, all outcomes seem to meet whatever the monstrous mobile armor has deemed 'positive.'

Its thrusters flare, and in a moment, it is gone -- traveling at the sort of speeds reached by the Phenex as it flitted from battlefield to battlefield now-years-ago.

History may not repeat, but often rhymes; just what is it this mobile armor intends to accomplish, by accelerating the Earth Sphere's apparent demise?

KTS: Stella Loussier fails to engage Guard against Li Yao's Wu Xian Llu Long: Dragon's Bite!
KTS: Stella Loussier successfully reacts to Li Yao's Wu Xian Llu Long: Dragon's Bite, taking 5200 damage!
KTS: Stella Loussier has been defeated!

<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.

Within the Salamis Kyo's hangar, a black and green spread of energy appears, a dark portal through which Elisa Kafim herself steps. She is guarding the Castle, right now--so it is something very important that sees her leave. And so it is.

"No," Elisa's voice echoes through Yuliana's cockpit, and the Shandor, and perhaps elsewhere, too, for any within range of her hasty spell and close to the Da Xukong 0. "Darling! Be sharp. Remember your mission, and leave her to me."

"...I will do what I can."

Elisa's expression shifts, her eyes sweeping out over the battlefield. Inevitability itself is out there...

"There is no more time."

At this point, it is obvious to those in the hangar at least that Elisa is macronized, and she reaches into the wreckage of the Nightmare Plus.

She and its occupant are gone. The dragon inside the Salamis Kyo roars in recognition of its mistress.

<Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.

Nicol insists that he hates fighting just as much as Kira did, but that the people of the PLANTs didn't have a choice. "And you still don't have any choice, but to make the people of Earth suffer the same way?" Flay still doesn't know exactly what Nicol's fighting for, that it's at its core, not that different from her reasons. "Is this supposed to make the PLANTs happy, is it supposed to make YOU happy?!" But it's being a coward that upsets him the most... "If you're planning to die to achieve your mission... I can't say if that's brave or cowardly."

Flay's focus gradually begins to return - the Balbadoro's strange afterimages fading away certainly helps, but it's once again Rena and Sayla who are able to reach out to her, and Flay grasps onto their words as if they were a lifeline. Even Tavelle's purely tactical information helps her keep a grip on reality...

Don't forget who you're fighting for, Miss Allster. It's not just who you've lost, right?

"It's a big part of it, but it's not just that..." Flay agrees, grasping at the Strike's controls. "I don't want anyone else to suffer from this... horrible series of tragedies. Because there's a future we have to protect, right?" She takes a deep breath. "Then let's do it by our own hands."

Sayla on the other hand, asks what her revenge will look like. And Flay... honestly doesn't know anymore. She was certain she wanted nothing more than to just kill Nicol so she could finally move on, but beyond her personal stakes against Nicol... the entire world's weighing on this. And will she really be able to move on when she does?

She closes her eyes, "Pick my revenge? I'm sure... I'll know it when I see it, Dr. Mass. I know can't do anything except to follow my heart. But I'm going to make that decision, first I need to survive. And I refuse to let someone like him kill me!" She answers, with some newfound resolve, as Sayla tells her that her path to revenge, no matter how it looks, is through the E-Phas.

But Nicol finally spells it out for her - it's his parents, they, along with so many people, died along with Aprillius Five. The Strike Gundam once again pauses, freezes in its tracks, as the Beam Boomerang returns to it. "Your parents? You lost yours, too..." Her eyes widen, hearing Nicol's resolve to refuse to let them be afterthoughts. "I can't expect you to let go of those feelings, so maybe we really are the same." She's beginning to understand, even pity Nicol. "But I still won't let you-!"

She's once again interrupted by Sato, determined to prove just how committed they are to their cause. She can TELL he's going to self-destruct, but at that range, what can she even do about it? "You're insane! Don't do it!" She shouts, only to be silenced by the flashing light of a nuclear explosion. It's only thanks to the Phase-Shift that the cockpit even survived an explosion like that, but the Strike can barely even function anymore... "Why...?" Is all she can ask.

But the weight of a life lost in front of her eyes to that extremism hits even more, telling her this needs to end now. "And what kind of daughter would I be if I retreated, Nicol Amalfi?" She breathes in, brandishing the Anti-Ship Sword, the only weapon she's got left, making one final step, a hefty underhanded swing into the E-Phas's armour.

"I've made my decision." She says, to Nicol, to Sayla. She just doesn't say what she chose.

<Pose Tracker> Stella Loussier has posed.

        The Gaia Gundam continues forward through space, the Nightmare Plus falling away behind it with its pilot's dying cries echoing over the radio.

        The voice answers, <"We are Phantom Pain.">

        The Gaia Gundam doesn't manage to reach the wanzer, blocked as it was by the VF's sacrifice. And as a result it is facing a large beam of darkness rushing out towards it. The Gaia Gundam twists its wings, trying to spiral around the beam. But it still manages to catch one of its legs, tearing the limb apart within a matter of moments.

        It then has barely a moment before it finds itself under further harm as beam cannon fire comes rushing in from the Aion. This is quickly joined by the strikes from the Queadluun-Rhea. Then moments later, multiple bursts of light from the Pixie Team. Finally culminating in the blow from the Yulong.

        The Gaia's pilot tries to manuever the mobile armor around the various attacks, some attempts proving more successful than others. But coming out of the concentrated assault, the Gaia Gundam is looking like it's barely hanging on.

        In the cockpit, Stella is breathing rapidly, sweat clinging to her face as she quickly turns her head left and right. Eyes dart over the various screens showing her surroundings and the various monsters that are trying to kill her. There's so many of them, she's having trouble keeping up with them. And her machine is slowing down... There's too many...

        She's not going to make it...

        She's going to...

        "Stella."

        The sound of Neo's voice in her speaker calms her down. He continues, "That's enough. We're leaving."

        Stella feels relief as she looks at the mask of Neo on one of her screens, "Did... Did Stella do well?"

        Neo smiles, "Yes. You did well. Now come home." Stella grins brightly at the praise as she turns her machine around. The Gaia Gundam quickly transforms back into mobile suit mode. Its thrusters light up, rapidly accelerating it away from the battlefield and the planet, off in the direction of deep space. Its attackers could give chase, but they have a more important mission right now, don't they?

        On the bridge of the Girty Lue, Neo ends the transmission to the Gaia Gundam. The other two Gundams are already returning, which means their mission here is over. He stares at the sight of the PLANT remains getting closer to Earth's atmosphere. In this situation, Neo can't commit to a re-entry should it come to that. This is the extent to which they can delay the defenders' attempts.

        Feeling a pair of eyes on him, Neo turns to look at his second in command seated beside him. Looking at him, Commander Lee asks, "What was with all that rhetoric?"

        "Ah." Neo turns to look back towards the battle still taking place in the distance, "It was the role we have been tasked to play. A radical extremist group with its sights set on all within the Earth Sphere."

        It doesn't take the Commander long to realise the meaning, "A distraction."

        Neo nods, "The less they know about our true intentions, the better." He returns his focus to the sight of the falling Junius 7, "Now... Given our hand in this. It's our responsibility to watch this memorial to human ingenuity wreak devastation on the world..." How many will die today? More blood on his already bloodied hands...

KTS: Flay Allster targets Nicol Amalfi with Schwert Gewehr 15.78m Anti-Ship Sword Revenge Strike!
KTS: Flay Allster has completed their actions for the round.

KTS: Nicol Amalfi fails to engage Block against Marian Cross's Type 72F3 'Tenka' Multi-barrel Railgun Overcharged Shot!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi successfully reacts to Marian Cross's Type 72F3 'Tenka' Multi-barrel Railgun Overcharged Shot, taking
6030 damage!
KTS: Marian Cross completes the Formation attack!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi fails to engage Guard against Flay Allster's Schwert Gewehr 15.78m Anti-Ship Sword Revenge Strike!
KTS: Best Defense! Nicol Amalfi successfully reacts to Flay Allster's Schwert Gewehr 15.78m Anti-Ship Sword Revenge
Strike, taking 4950 damage!
KTS: Flay Allster roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable.

<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.

        What Elisa collects from the Nightmare Plus may yet still be dying, not yet dead... but there's no force on Earth which could save her, the metal of her own body betraying her flesh.

        "DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!" Yuliana screams, chanting in abandon as she pours more and more power into her Abyssal Coil. She doesn't just want to destroy its legs -- she wants to crush it ALL --

        But her agonised panting is interrupted by the one voice which could reach her, right now. Her breath shudders, and hitches, as she gasps: "Elya...?"

        Her mission...

        This blue Earth...

        "That's right," she murmurs, as she flexes her fingers and releases her tentacles, breaking her white-knuckle grip on her controls. "It's still falling."

        She draws in another, pained breath.

        "Li Shifu," she calls through her radio, and she's addressing Yao, now. "I need... your help. There's no miracle, this time. We have to... stop it. Junius Seven..."

        She does not pursue the Gaia Gundam, though part of her still, desperately, would like to.

        She can't even feel the fear -- for what might happen to Wendy -- when her wife does what she can.

<Pose Tracker> Sagiri Sakurai has posed.

...Thanks for keeping him busy. I'll try and return the favour.

Purposeful or serendipitous, Sagiri Sakurai's response to Sayla remains the same:

<"Any time! Just make sure you get out of this in one piece so you can repay me, huh?">

Full of that seemingly endless confidence -- in herself, and the woman she's literally just met.

The Magna Beam Launcher sparks and sputters; the Quark Drive is a powerful thing, but crafting weapons that can handle its output is still very much a work in progress.

Sagiri ignores it for now. She's fought the E-Phas once before, now. And even in a neophyte's hands, it was extremely deadly.

Used by someone actually -trained- for this? ...

She just hopes they can manage to break past him and this bulwark to stand a ghost of a chance at averting another atrocity the Earth can't afford to bear.

Tavelle's advice, at least, is helpful. She chews it over, seemingly (-seemingly-) oblivious to the way Rami frowns in thought at the Lestrail pilot's hails.

<"... we've gotta close in then, huh? Alright. Thanks for the tip, Ms. Stranger. I owe you one--">

What happens next, like many things on the battlefield, seem to unfold within the singular blink of an eye: Sato, Nicol's ally, makes a desperate, suicidal move. Sagiri's pastel green eyes widen as they dart in the direction of the Inazuma Gundam and the GINN.

<"No--!">

There is a blistering bloom of light. And then...

... rage.

She knows what's coming. It doesn't do her any good. Nicol's words are still filling her ears as the E-Phas turns its attention on the Tyranado, massive cannon lens crackling with mounting might.

<"Ma'am, the enemy unit's energy levels are spiking abnormally high!">

<"Sakurai! Evasive maneuvers! Rami--!!">

They try to warn her. But it's too late. Amies' and Hirosuke's voices are lost in the blinding bloom of the Anti-Proton Smasher. Rami and Sagiri's eyes both widen. Rami's hands fly to the controls--

It's a twinkle of light. And then a burning blaze, jettisoning outward into the unfathomable depths of space.

The little sparks of blue-green go lost in the harrowing depths.

In the aftermath, Meryl and Amies' voices ring out, calling for - demanding - a confirmation of the Tyranado's status. Within the haze, though, there is only silence. Until...

... until...

<"... Sorry... I really wish I could tell you what you want to hear.">

Sagiri's voice crackles over the open comms, disrupted by brief bursts of static. The Tyranado hovers there, in the epicenter of that horrific blast. It -should- be demolished, by all rights. And it is, indeed, barely hanging on, large portions of torso armor simply -melted-, its head burned half-off, one of its legs rendered entirely useless.

But it's still functioning.

Sagiri, frankly, doesn't know how they're alive. But she doesn't hesitate to seize the miracle of opportunity when she has it.

As the manager of Special Section speaks, behind her Rami Amasaki exhales in quiet relief, slumping back into her seat and rubbing her face.

<"... but I'm not the gal with the answers. I barely have answers for my -own- life. I really shouldn't be responsible for others. You're hurting. I can't tell you not to hurt.">

<"... but...">

The others mobilize, launch their assault. Amies is already tracking them and feeding coordinate data to the Tyranado -- and Rami, reacting to them. The output of the Quark Drive rises; Sagiri doesn't say a word to her, just lifts a hand and offers three little gestures.

Rami nods once, and immediately gets to work.

<"... I know what my parents would want from me, at least. They'd want me to be happy. They'd want me to do everything they couldn't do.">

<"They'd want me to -live-. And this? There's no living with this, kiddo.">

The Lestrail slashes at weakened armor. The Gaia Gear launches its funnel arrays. Rin and her drones dive straight into the proverbial heart of the beast.

And the Tyranado -blasts- off, straight into the cataclysm's tempest.

<"Chief! Requesting approval, Combination KLW!">

<"Request approved. Carriax, Tyranado -- launch Combat Pattern - Kanzai Linear Works! ... And Sakurai... thank you for keeping Rami safe.">

Sagiri has no time to correct Hirosuke, in the heat of the moment. She just -launches- towards the E-Phas. And as she does -- the Carriax blazes forward -ahead- of the Tyranado, launching off a full volley of missiles. Warheads explode, one after the other -- and through the haze, blast after blast of green-blue energy -punches- through the smokescreen they create, the Tyranado bombarding the E-Phas with shot after shot from its Bayonets as it closes the distance.

It's only once its close enough -- once thrusters hit max burn -- that the Bayonets suddenly shift modes, blazing energy blades igniting off the bottoms of the barrels as the Tyranado swoops in to cleave at the damaged portions of the E-Phas' armor already targeted by Tavelle, banking around to slice into it again and again and again, until--

The engines! Get the engines!

<"Express delivery coming right the hell up, my precious part-timer!! Meryl! Now!">

--Sagiri answers the call.

From the Carriax, another Magna Beam Launcher is jettisoned out into space, and the Tyranado catches it --

-- right in time to try to literally ram the barrel straight into the engines of the E-Phas.

<"I'm sorry,"> Sagiri repeats, sincerely.

<"But I don't think any parents should want anything like this of their child. And I think you know that, too.">

The barrel of the Magna Beam Launcher glows furious and bright as Sagiri pulls the trigger.

KTS: Sagiri Sakurai targets Nicol Amalfi with Combination KLW!
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Nicol Amalfi fails to engage Evade against Sagiri Sakurai's Combination KLW!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi poorly reacts to Sagiri Sakurai's Combination KLW, taking 6600 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Li Yao has posed.

        Yao was ready to give chase to the enemy as the Gaia gundam transforms and begins to retreat. He would rip that gundam apart piece by piece and bring the witch a spare soul to use to save Wendy. Yes, and she was already on the scene. Even Yulong agrees , he could hear it roaring in agreement. There is certainly a darkness radiating from Li Yao as he begins to move after the Gaia Gundam.

        It is actually Yuliana who gets through to him and causes him to remember the bigger picture. <"Roger that Mrs. Kafim."> At the moment Yao couldn't call her a child, or even her name, instead there is a distant professionalism put into his voice instead.

<"Regrouping at Junius Seven.">

<Pose Tracker> Sagiri Sakurai has posed.

In the mayhem of combat, one of Rin's drones severs its own wings. It's necessary. It helps Rin, which in turn increases the probability of Rin surviving, which is objectively a pro.

-Would- this make Amies unhappy, knowing all that? Could it possibly--??

The bespectacled woman's calm features blip onto Rin's viewscreen, just out of the way so as not to deathly distract her in a fraught moment.

<"Rin, two things:">

<"One: please, get out of this alive. I don't care what you have to do.">

<"Two: once you do, we are going to have a long talk about avoidable maintenance costs. I'll drag your ghost back to do it if I have to.">

The answer--

REPLY HAZY. TRY AGAIN LATER

<Pose Tracker> Serinas Nikola has posed.

        Phantom Pain? <"I thought you were 'The Company'! You can't even keep your story straight, parasite!">

        She's so close to finishing it, millenia of instinct screaming to rip and tear and kill the enemy, and that focus that found the Void so anathemaic coldly determining that eliminating the foe's ability to influence anything in their light cone ever again will lead to a brighter future...

        and it *leaves*!

        Serinas looses a salvo of high-mobility missiles after it, before Junius 7 enters her field of vision and she remembers she has (literally) bigger problems. The Queadluun-Rhea, beaten and battered, turns briefly to those who fought at its side today as if regarding them from behind the 'mask' on its head. <"Thank you, everyone.">

        <"...If anyone wants a push, let me know."> If asked, she *will* fly over to a slower machine and *push* it towards Junius 7; otherwise she speeds away.

        How do I stop this...?

<Pose Tracker> Rose Tritten has posed.

Rose breathed heavily as she watched the Gaia Gundam disengage and retreat. It was severly damaged. Weakened. This was the opportunity they'd been waiting for to recapture the unit. She keyed the command net once more. "This is Pixie Lead!" she said. "The Gaia's on it's last legs, I'm going after it!" But the response from the One Fine Day was to let it go. Junius 7 was the priority. They were to regroup with any other surviving NUNE assets to try and stop or break up Junius 7.

"Command needs us to rally at Point 2-4-Delta!" Rose radioed her teammates.

"Roger that!" Aspyn replied.

Sushila was silent.

"Sushila?" Rose said, scanning around rapidly"Sushila, acknowledge!". Her gunner was nowhere to be seen. There was no response.

"Sushila, what are you doing?!" Aspyn's voice screamed out over the comms. Rose turned her ZAKU around, to see Sushila, Gunner Wizard pack floating nearby, rip off the Blaze pack of a destroyed ZAKU and dock with it. Her ZAKU, determined, unresponsive to hails, grabbed the Gunner pack, before its powerful thrusters ignited and the ZAKU screamed overhead, ignoring everything around it. Determined to go to only one destination.

The falling mass of Junius 7.

"Sushila, NO!" Rose screamed, unable to hail her friend. Aspyn had already swapped her Slash pack for another discarded Blaze pack, and still holding the beam axe, screamed off in pursuit. Rose was close behind.

<Pose Tracker> Nicol Amalfi has posed.

"Aw. You don't think my work ethic is just this strong?" Rudi replies to Tavelle, "I'm actually very dedicated to my job."

Tavelle points out to everyone the existence of E-Bits that this unit evolved from, and in the background everyone gets to watch a massive Mobile Armor through a Virginia-class MS carrier with a Ray Cleaver.

Call it a visual aid!

The E-Phas lurches through, trying to charge past the cutting edge of the Lestrail's Heavy blade, but it comes down with an impact strong enough to stop it short, below one of the arms, as it comes back up, cutting one of the Anti-Proton blasters off the bottom of the array.

Is this what his parents want of him? "They were always so proud of me, for choosing to fight the Naturals." But Rena's other words cut deep, "Don't... this is my path! The one and only correct path!" He clings to these words desperately, the same way Sato did racing in and out of those funnel shots, as beams slice through the debris, he rushes through the pieces, firing - and firing - and FIRING from what antiproton blasters are left, "There is no future for Coordinators... if the world doesn't change!"

Flay's relentless in her interrogation of his motives, and Nicol answers her, "It's supposed... to keep them SAFE!" Nicol answers Flay, shouting at her really, upset, "It's supposed to... protect them! That knowledge that noone can ever do that to them again... gives them a chance at happiness!" Before he asks, "How long? How long will it be until you're just another person pointing a Bazooka at us? Won't you think the same thing too?!"

But in those words, he damns himself, because - within them, a realization.

Sayla though, her words seem to back him into a corner, making him more desperate, "No - there's no chance, no countermeasure is enough if it makes it. No miracle can save you this time!" The poor people, who don't have shelters, sick people in hospitals that lose power, coastslines that get flooded, "Shut up! You don't get it! You don't-!"

'Will you blame this on the misfortune of their birth, Nicol Amalfi?'

His eyes grow wide for a moment, then suddenly they fall dull with despair. He was a pianist - not a fighter, he saw the beauty in music, not war and violence. All the Dragoons fire at once, and he responds too slow, as his blasters try to intercept the DRAGOONs, only for the armor of the E-Phas to get punctured again and again.

"I'm not..." A coward, he wants to say, but now it's harder for him to believe it instead changing to, "... giving up." Whether it's someone who doesn't fight, or runs away, or gives up... are these the actions of a coward?

It's only then that he hears Sagiri speak to him.

'... Sorry... I really wish I could tell you what you want to hear.'

He's taken aback, by that word - 'Sorry', like he never expected a Natural to say it, but, what she says next, "I..." It's easier to believe that there's a united front of hatred, but she's just as messed up as he is, right? "... I don't think any of us ever expected to live with this." He admits, his own cowardice, in those words to her, "Just... if they could understand how we felt."

Rin however jolts him back into awareness, with her attack to try and lunge, to sink its forelimbs into the torso, 'The engines! Get the engines!' And he looks in alarm, "You think you have me?!" Like a cornered animal Nicol's engines suddenly screech forward, slamming the E-Phas into the Gespenst II, as anger returns through shock in his grief in the moment.

"Sato never wanted to be anything but-" He crashes the Gespenst and the E-Phas through a piece of Nazca hull, "-a FATHER AND A HUSBAND! Don't you DARE EVER compare him to Britannia!" And right into an intact Virginia Class MS carrier, trying to pin her, as it charges up a blast, and fires at point blank, the stream of Anti-Protons detonating the ship it's behind, catching them both in the explosion.

However, that's the smaller explosion, compared to what happens next, as Sagiri acts upon it - following up, with those Magna Beam Launchers, and she says it again.

'I'm sorry,'

The detonation is so bright that all of Junius Seven sees the fireworks reflected within it's Distortion Field, and for a moment, The E-Phas vanishes.

Sagiri doesn't have answers, does she? And neither does he. They're both messed up - and even if he's grieving. He knows... his parents, even when they contributed to the war effort.

It was for him.

They just wanted him to be happy, him to have a future. What is he doing here, except throwing it away, for what he believes he ought to do to honor their memory?

As the blast clears, there is the shadow of the E-Phas, now partially blackened by it's white paint, most of its wings melted off and arrays gone, being struck by Marian's railgun shot as it knocks off one of the wings, in the moment, all Nicol sees is the mobile suit that Sato died trying to destroy, and despite the moment of clarity, fury spikes at the sight of her.

"How are you STILL STANDING?"

It feels like an insult that she's left, and he responds accordingly, with the Anti-Proton smasher charging, before slicing in a sharp diagonal to try and scour her through existence, disintegrating rainbow light of Anti-Protons trying to catch her, before, understanding the damage, he activates the Mirage Colloid again to fly away and just let himself regroup, let himself think.

However the Gaia Saber and Cathedra forces are rallying at this point, and it's not long before an E-Bit detonates, pierced by three GN lances.

Kati Mannequin calls out, "There's enough holes in their line! Begin bombardment of Junius Seven!" And indeed, the ships and vessels that are still present and within range do try, but - are there even enough of them? The Distortion Field flashes with each shot, but it doesn't so much as ripple.

However in the field of debris that's formed over the battlefield, horror dawns at the realization of the lack of significant firepower left. "We don't have any positron cannons left in range on this side..." Rudi's voice sounds over the comms, "And that's... Check~mate~!" She winks at Kati, waggling a finger at her.

Is it?

In the distance, another E-Bit is taken out, this time by a Green Zaku Warrior flinging it's Beam Tomahawk, sheering through it's reactor, as even Rudi marvels, "This guy is really good!" She'll have to look into who he is... but that ZAKU warrior is flying past the Company Forces like a man possessed, "Out of my way!" With one, singular goal in the distance...

Ignited - Piano Version - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYR_x1eTSoM

Nicol takes several long moments just to breathe under the crackling haze of stealth, one after another, how has the world scarred this once gentle teenager, that when given leeway by his parents to do whatever he wanted, he always chose to play the piano, but his eyes find the damaged Strike Gundam, as if to look at her - truly look, for the first time. A horrible clarity in these moments.

Sato had told him that he had a future ahead of him, and in this moment Nicol realizes how many futures he has stolen away, how many he was going to steal away. He was a part of taking this girl's father away from her. She then joined the Gaia Sabers, the successor organization to those that tried to destroy the PLANTs.

"I can't let those feelings go, and neither can you... can you?" Flay feels someone looking at her, and perhaps understanding in just that shared experience, that awful knowledge.

The cyclical inevitability of hatred is like a cold bucket of water, soberness in the heat of battle, giving way to awful clarity. The understanding. He remembers reports of Commander Rau 'going crazy' at the end of the war, but now he sees it too, that whirlpool of hatred, and he is a man being drawn deeper and deeper within it by his own feelings, growing and feeding it until it becomes a great maelstrom that may now consume the entire Earthsphere, as a result of what he's done.

"It's like you said, right? I won't retreat - and you won't either. There's no compromise. If that's how it is, then..."

He understands it now, as a result of knowing how these Naturals feel, these Naturals that are supposed to be so different from them, different enough that they can discard their lives. He realizes that there's really not much difference between Naturals and Coordinators - she understands exactly how he feels, he did that to her. And even if his parents would want him not to throw his future away, the sight of Junius Seven makes it clear.

He's taken away several billion futures, he doesn't deserve one himself. The mauled E-Phas makes an appearance again out of the stealth of the Mirage Colloid effect, and Flay Allster finds it has lined up the Strike Gundam between itself and the Distortion Field encompassing Junius-7.

It speed at her, it's cannon charging a final time, alit by horrid prismatic light as he whispers. "... one last song. Our finale..." Despite the despair, there is determination in his eyes.

It is the only way out he can see. The only way to balance the scales. A coda for his life and hers.

"Let's end it together."

The E-Phas is so massive, even a glancing blow will send that Gundam against the Distortion Field, where it's Variable Phase Shift Armor will be poor protection, one last gambit, to sandwich her between Junius-7 and him, before punching right through them.

And if his momentum sends him into the Distortion Field too after, it really is just by design.

KTS: Nicol Amalfi targets Rin Naujakaite with Termination!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi targets Rena Lancaster with Resilience Training!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi targets Marian Cross with Mass Layoffs!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Nicol Amalfi's I'm Afraid That's Not An Option activates Focus and Strike!
KTS: Rin Naujakaite has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
KTS: Rin Naujakaite engages evade against Nicol Amalfi's Termination!
KTS: Best Defense! Rin Naujakaite successfully reacts to Nicol Amalfi's Termination, taking 0 damage!
KTS: Rena Lancaster engages evade against Nicol Amalfi's Resilience Training!
KTS: Best Defense! Rena Lancaster successfully reacts to Nicol Amalfi's Resilience Training, taking 0 damage!
KTS: Marian Cross has activated the Focus Spirit Command.
KTS: Marian Cross has activated the Focus Spirit Command.
KTS: Marian Cross has activated the Focus Spirit Command.
KTS: Marian Cross engages evade against Nicol Amalfi's Mass Layoffs!
KTS: Best Defense! Marian Cross moderately reacts to Nicol Amalfi's Mass Layoffs, taking 0 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.

Rena has to pay attention to the fire coming in on the E-Phas. The Gaia Gear jukes to the side, to make room for Marian's rail cannon; then she ducks low, as the DRAGOONs open fire, lest she get in too closer. "Glad it worked!" she answers Sayla.

Then, she looks at Flay -- and there's a nod. "Yeah," she says. "Agreed. By our own hands."

Even if, she thinks, she is angry. But given that she lost her father -- how she lost her father -- and all that Nicol has said... Rena can't quite blame Flay for being distracted. The Gaia Gear sweeps in closer, the funnels backing off. The beam saber burns a brilliant blue, as she lifts it.

She expects the combination of the Tyranado, Rin's drones, and the Strike's anti-ship sword to keep the E-Phas in place in turn.

"This isn't your only path!" Rena shouts back at Nicol. "You're hurt, you're angry, and you're letting that blind you!"

She sucks a breath in, as her thrusters fire. And he realizes the E-Phas is not pinned down. It smashes the Gespenst backward, tearing through a Nazca-class ship, and hurtles onward towards Flay. Rena's eyes dart between them.

The E-Phas speeds up. "Al," she says, her voice level. "Keep an eye on the thrusters."

Then she slams back into her chair, as all of the Gaia Gear Alpha's verniers fire. She arcs down, underneath the splitting hull of a shattered Nazca-class ship, and then rockets up over a chunk of a skyscraper floating in space. The funnels fly after -- one slams into the skyscraper, exploding in a fireball.

Rena's teeth grind together; she clamps her mouth shut at the intensity of the acceleration. Her eyes dart to the Strike; she does the math in her hand. One blow, and it hits the Distortion Field. She looks at Nicol, and she does a different kind of math.

Rin couldn't take out the engines. The DRAGOONs couldn't cripple it. The Tyranado couldn't overwhelm it.

And she couldn't reach Nicol. Her jaw sets, her brown eyes feeling a sting of heat, but she pushes that back.

'There's a future we have to protect, right?'

"Allster!"

Someone once protected Rena Lancaster's. She can't protect everyone, but she can protect someone's. The Psychoframe flares to light. Blue light EXPLODES around it, until space is alight with it; that lets the Gaia Gear Alpha rocket up between the Strike Gundam at the E-Phas. It whirls, motes of light trailing after.

It's in the right place, to strike at the one spot that they hadn't tried yet.

"I'm sorry," Rena says.

The Gaia Gear's hands grip about the cylinder of the beam saber; the dark blue mega particle field extends outward, and with a two-handed thrust, slams up for the E-Phas's cockpit.

KTS: Rena Lancaster targets Nicol Amalfi with Arc Impulse!
KTS: Rena Lancaster has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Rena Lancaster has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
KTS: Rena Lancaster has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Rena Lancaster has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus.
KTS: Rena Lancaster has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Rena Lancaster has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus.
KTS: Rena Lancaster targets Nicol Amalfi with Arc Impulse!
KTS: Rena Lancaster has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Nicol Amalfi fails to engage Charge against Rena Lancaster's Arc Impulse!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi successfully reacts to Rena Lancaster's Arc Impulse, taking 5580 damage!
KTS: Nicol Amalfi has been defeated!

<Pose Tracker> Nicol Amalfi has posed.

'I'm sorry,'

Nicol's amber eyes grow wide at the glare of the Gaia Gear's Beam Saber in his optics as the Coordinator who chose to fight against them gets in his way, and slams it into the cockpit, but in one last moment they fall low in acceptance.

Maybe even a Coordinator who wasn't from the PLANTs from ZAFT could understand too...

The Beam Saber from the Gaia Gear cleaves into the E-Phas's cockpit easily with that kind of momentum of the two handed swing, a gradual journey, until he finds it settled into the front of his rib cage the faceplate of his normal suit shattering from the massive two handed impact mauling the cockpit, the pain is unfathomable.

It isn't as bad as he thought it might though, burned nerves do a lot for it. The consoles spark and sputter around him, as he tastes blood in his mouth, looking ruefully amused and disappointed in his final moments, "Looks like- looks like there just isn't any way to balance the scales."

"NICOL!" The ZAKU Warrior slams past the Gaia Gear as if it weren't there, towards the E-Phas, just as it's white armor splits open with a sliver of light. The smile falls away from Nicol's face, into sorrow and regret at the sound of his friend's voice, "I'm sorry... Athrun. They were right about me."

Hey Nicol, why did you volunteer to join the military?
Ah, I'm sorry, that's none of my business.

It's okay.
I felt that I, too, should be fighting.
I couldn't help but feel it after I saw the news about Junius Seven.
What about you, Athrun?

"I was just a coward... after all."

For the same reason, Nicol.

Then another crack appears over the reactor, spasming, and rupturing as the Zaku WARRIOR's pilot shouted no matter the futility of the effort to try to reach him at this point, "NICOLLLLLLLLL!" The E-Phas splits apart into a riotous detonation, that sends all away from it, blaring a spherical detonation like a miniature star that went supernova, pushing away all from it from the concussive force of it's passing.

Upon the battlefield, as one young man dies, that sinking feeling of inevitability is felt again, that intrinsic quality to the universe. No matter how long this young man's song continued onward, no matter the notes it was always a requiem for a life that would be cut short.

Over and over and over again.

And the longer Flay Allster stares upon it, she too may feel just as doomed by the inevitabilities of her existence.

The other E-Phas on the field halts for a moment to look upon it, "Looks like he didn't have much of a future at the Company after all." It's not said with malice, just matter of fact, "Credit where credit is due kid, you held them off just long enough."

It's then that they all see it, Junius-7, even against the glare of the spherical shield, it's beginning to turn bright orange, trailing heat like a comet from it's tail. It's not just hit the Gravity Well, that point of no return...

... it's entered atmosphere.

"It was so good to see all of you again. Special Section 3 - we'll be in touch." Rudi doesn't even bother keeping up the defense at this point, as the Impulse Gundam slices through an E-Bit - then another, "YOU'RE RUNNING AWAY?" She smiles at him, "Can it really be called running away when we've met all our goals here? There's no point in committing more resources in this endeavor,"

As Shinn charges her with the anti-Ship sword, "YOU'RE GONNA LOSE MORE THAN JUST RESOURCES AFTER WHAT YOU PULLED HERE! I'M MAKING SURE OF IT!" Space ripples in front of her, and there's a strange noise, causing Lunamaria to shout a warning, "SHINN STOP!" He does not stop, trying until the last possible second to bring that sword down upon her.

But the Blade strikes... something strange, as the E-Phas seemingly ripples out of existence, and Shinn feels it being sucked in, sensing danger, he tries to tug it back and retreat, only for the Impulse Gundam to rip itself away, having lost both arms to midway up it's elbows.

"Damnit." He says, before he sees it, the orange hued Junius-7, and even he realizes what's about to happen as he screams to the heavens, "DAMNIT!"

In this moment, Shinn Asuka might speak for everyone...

[Big-Scene] Kathras Fari> if so, I have one to bluray above it
[Big-Scene] Kathras Fari> ok then I'll bluray mine up higher

<Pose Tracker> Kathras Fari has posed.

Yuliana loses a friend. And she screams of Zeon devils. Jayaissa on the bridge is faced with the uncomfortable reality of her enemy's suffering... and maybe she decides that it serves her right. Maybe that rings hollow in the moment. She doesn't say. She just stares into her console with a tight expression.

Instead, she stays at hr station, doing her work. Fari says, "Phantom Pain," as he hears the answer. "Zhukov. Commander Gavarre, remember that for later."

The Gaia Gundam leaves. They could give chase... but Fair lifts a hand to forestall, "Let it go. No more fire. We need all our resources to deal with Junius Seven."

They do not hear the voice of the Witch. Gavarre leans back into her seat, as their enemy disengages. But the real enemy lies before them...

"This 'Company', and the Coordinators who can't let the war go..." Lanra shakes her head. "Do you think, Captain..."

"Yes?" Fari answers, as Zhukov awaits instructions from the fleet commander for Fari. And so Lanra continues, "...Do you think mercy is a mistake, Captain? That it just means that our enemy will strike at us again, and again?"

"..."

Mercy. Kathras Fari remembers it well. He remembrs the way Enba Rezza could've come down on him harder.

And now, here he is...

"...Letting your enemy live is always a risk," he says instead. "Is that risk worth it...?" He shakes his head. "For today, that's above our heads."

"...And tomorrow, Captain?"

"We'll see."

He watches as Nicol int he E-Phas does his last maneuver. He gives the nod, when the order comes to bombard the Distortion Field, and his ship, too, does her part.

But Fari is quiet, when he sees it not working. He is quiet, when he sees that Junius Seven is still coming.

[OOC] Kathras Fari says, "bluray* above nicol's last two"

<Pose Tracker> Al has posed.

Living up to the will of the dead.

Al can only watch and catalogue as Nicol's resolve falters and then his machine begins to fail him, hit after hit. He highlights sections of the E-Phas as he detects hits and attempts to categorize them. Two ships lost. Hundreds of crew each. Tuatha de Danaan. A kind captain, dead at sea. People he doesn't know, lost to this abyss. Tallied and counted - shipped dutifully to command as part of his immediate casualty estimates.

Nicol goes to grab Flay, and he lets himself note another machine lost. Another life stolen. Alster, was that the name? Review the logs. Flay, that's it.

Rena speaks. Watch the thrusters. It pulls him out of the digits and compiled spreadsheets and into the roaring reality of it. "Pardon?"

Then she guns it, and he has a whole other task to focus on. Light explodes around him, pulled from some other thing and place, but he knows this power and bends the system into it, allowing Rena to safely release every particle of her will upon the turning of the world.

A person dies. But only one, in that moment.

"Ah. Of course," Al says, of nothing.

Then he adds: "Captain," and highlights a section of the Gaia Gear's cockpit in red.

"I have detected a problem," he says, as Junius-7 begins to burn.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.

"Ehheh," Rin answers Amies, a little huskily. She's being scolded. It's almost... refreshing. "Yeah... I didn't expect him to - heh - ah, get back to you -"

Because Amies is a familiar person, and so is Nicol, but one of them is familiar in a good way. The E-Phas turns towards the Gespenst and Rin takes a deep breath. She can see Rancor already disengaging from the curiously-shaped machine and thrusting away, moving to lope around and -- harry him?

Rin kind of wonders what he'd do, what he could do, if she just let it happen. But doing that...

As Nicol gets closer the Gespenst-II discards its weapon again and brings up the damaged arm, which crumples on the impact. To his question, his demand, Rin answers, "Why not? He sounded like them. YOU sound like them. I know what they sound like, man. I *grew up among them*."

Rin's eyes flick momentarily towards Rancor, whose trajectory is shifting. The Gespenst-II shifts itself forwards, raising up to a horizontal posture relative to the E-Phas, and Rin says, "... I'm sorry. But you can-- just bail out, I'm serious," she says, voice cracking, growing faster as the Gespenst continues to wiggle and, finally, *sheds* its heavily damaged forearm thanks to a sudden dip-slash in from Rancor, who had started running along pieces of the floating wreckage.

"You don't have to do this! Just -- leave! Scram!! Go to the colonies, get on a fleet ship, sell ice cream cones at Space Land, you don't have to DIE here, you don't have to KILL people!!" Rin steers to reclaim the Launcher, turns around --

Rena's coming in with the Gaia Gear.

Rin sees it in slow motion. The blade into the cockpit. Someone's screaming his name. It's happening so quickly.

He's gone.

The beast-machine turns his strange head to look at the dying E-phas. A second later, as the sunrise plasma glow gets too bright to be ignored, Rancor -- and shortly thereafter, Scorn -- maneuver to positions on either side of Rin's Gespenst.

"... damn it," Rin all-but-whimpers.

<Pose Tracker> Marian Cross has posed.

The terrifying beam comes Marian's way and her eyes widen. She's dead. Is the last thing she thought. But her body jerks to motion on reflex. The Inazuma twists and leaves a bloom of light behind her as the thrusters fires up, narrowly evading the rainbow light.

She doesn't have anything to retort when an answer was demanded from her. 'How is she still standing?' What is she supposed to say, that she doesn't want to die? Maybe she did want to die, she's relented to that fate a long time ago... Or so she thought... But her body wouldn't have forced her to move if that's the case... So why is she still standing?

Like something got caught in her throat, she couldn't speak. Her body seizes up after having narrowly evaded death. She wanted to stop him. What a young child. One who should've never experienced the horrors of war like he has. One who have such a bright future ahead of him. And soldiers like her couldn't protect him...

And once more a soldier like her failed to protect another child as she watches the E-Phas turn into a bright light.

<Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.

"How is THIS supposed to do that? How are you protecting anyone if all you're doing is make more people like us... with nothing else to live for? What do you think will happen next, Nicol?!" She demands, and then doesn't push further... because it almost seems like he comes to the exact same realization himself.

And in the end... she couldn't really carry out her revenge against him the way she came in intending. The E-Phas appears before her, the only thing between her Strike, and Junius Seven. "Together?! You can't mean... no! Stop it! I don't WANT to die with you!" She yells, trying everything she can to push away... but by then, it's too late, and that rejection gradually fades into something resembling acceptance. If this is the only way to make things right...

The Anti-Ship Sword falls from the Strike Gundam's hands, hurtling into the depths of space, burning up in the Distortion Field that surrounds Junius Seven - and in the Gundam's condition, even the Variable Phase Shift Armour fails it, colours fading into a dull grey as Nicol plays their final swan song. Flay closes her eyes, assuming for the last time, as this horrific piano waltz comes to a close. "Finally. We'll both be able to see them..."

It never comes, though, her eyes jolting opening to see a glimmering blue light on what remains of the targeting monitor, hearing Rena's voice on her comms. "Ms. Lancaster..? What did you-" The realization she's still alive seems to hit all at once, and she pushes the Strike to link its hands with the Gaia Gear's. But if she's still here, and the E-Phas is gone...

"I don't know why you did it... but.. thank you," She manages to get out, as the blue light fades, along with Nicol's life. "...This isn't how I wanted it to go at all. I didn't want you to have to-" She tries to say, feeling this unexplainable, overwhelming dread, no matter what angle she looks at it. But in the end... by Rena's own hand, she lived to see it, and Nicol didn't. Whether it's fair or not.

"I'm sorry, Nicol. Neither of us could ever let go until the very end, but as long as I'm still alive... I promise I won't forget about your song."

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.

Rena is quiet for a moment, as the E-Phas is blown backward from the Gaia Gear's beam saber. The white-and-teal Mobile Suit sweeps it out to the side, clear of the E-Phas. Rena looks at the E-Phas, her expression heavy.

She has killed people before. She didn't get through the Bloody Valentine War with her hands clean.

It never really gets easier.

"We'll find a way," she tells Nicol, though she doubts she can hear him. Her eyes widen, then, as the ZAKU Warrior rockets past -- and the E-Phas goes up in a ball of fire. The Gaia Gear's other hand grips the Strike Gundam's, keeping it from falling into the distortion field.

"It's all right," Rena says. Her voice is calm, but there's a tremor to it. "It's... it wasn't right. To decide to take you with him. And..."

She looks back at the brilliant flash of white, where the E-Phas was. "...Nothing else we tried worked."
%
'Captain, I have detected a problem.'

Rena's eyes blink, slowly. She looks at Junius-7, seeing the fiery plasma glow across the hull of the shattered colony. It takes her a second to process it. She swallows, hard, when she does.

"No," she says, her voice finally cracking. "No, no--damn it!"

KTS: Aphrodia's GGH-01C Halphas Boese has been disabled.
Aphrodia teleports out.

KTS: Balbadoro's GNC-666 Balbadoro has left
Balbadoro teleports out.

KTS: Marian Cross's ORB-02 Inazuma Gundam has been disabled.
Marian Cross teleports out.

KTS: Stella Loussier's ZGMF-X88S Gaia Gundam <MA Mode> has been disabled.