"Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding."

Post Disaster 324

March 25th

Just over a month after defeating the Brewers, Tekkadan finally had the Dort Colony cluster within their sight. More importantly, they could see Earth. Their final destination. The Isaribi was abuzz with activity as the ship approached the Dort 3 docking bay. Various members of Tekkadan ran about trying to quickly finish their duties in time to see what life on a colony so close to Earth was like.

Among those eager to finish their work, Shino and Yamagi tirelessly worked to make the Brewer's commandeered Mobile Suits compatible with the Alaya-Vijnana system. So far, progress was slow. Each time a test was needed to see if it was hooked up properly, Shino would experience varying amounts of pain depending on how many things weren't connected in the correct fashion. This trial-and-error style of work was dangerous when working with Alaya-Vijnana systems, as it could easily lead to crippling damage if they weren't careful.

However, Shino and Yamagi weren't the only ones hard at work. Mikazuki, ever since finishing the fight with the Brewers, had been training every single day. He didn't want to forget what it was like to properly use the sword Barbatos had, nor did he want to be put in a position where he was an inadequate pilot for the task at hand. He wanted to be better. He wanted to pilot Barbatos, to fight with Barbatos on the same level as the visions he had been seeing.

Visions that he had continued to withhold from the others. He didn't need them to worry about him when he was their 'ace' pilot, as Lafter had called him. Thanks to all the training, though, he had outgrown his training partners. Azee, Amida, and Lafter together barely managed to keep him in check, and while Akihiro valiantly fought to keep up with him, he was also at the disadvantage of having a new Mobile Suit to learn how to pilot on his down time.

The star of the Brewer's long list of Mobile Suits, the very same one that Mikazuki and fought, ended up being a Gundam. It was certainly a strange coincidence if not completely poetic in an almost morbid sort of way. Akihiro had been chosen as its pilot, and after stripping the completely and utterly excessive armor away, the ASW-G-11 Gundam Gusion was in surprisingly good condition. They were in the process of retrofitting it to Akihiro's tastes, which was easier with all the spare parts they had acquired from the Brewers along with what the Turbines were willing to part with.

There was still no word on the mysterious third Gundam they had seen. Teiwaz as a whole denied any involvement, and according to Naze, they were telling the truth. Gundams were almost comically rare things that were usually thought of as museum pieces or something kept by the ultra-rich in a collection. But the one they had seen was no museum piece. It was outfitted perfectly for what it had accomplished, which spoke volumes of both the owner as well as the pilot. Yet, there hadn't been any more signs of the rogue Gundam.

Post Disaster 324

March 29

Setsuna smiled. He had finally gotten the chance to pilot Exia again, and now, in the new and improved state it was win, he understood the true depth of Ian's talents. Exia had been reborn into a Gundam that could truly keep pace with him and his quantum brainwaves. Exia Sṓzō was the perfect partner for him, and the additional outfitting Ian had made only made it better.

The new Exia could outperform the 00 Raiser in almost every conceivable way. On its own, it was stronger, faster, and more agile of a machine. Thanks to the four GN Condensers, the output in both regular operation and during Trans-Am was nearly double that of the 00's and, also thanks to the GN Condensers and the way they were installed, the diminished output after exiting Trans-Am wasn't nearly as bad.

Additionally, the flight pack and Bit technology made Exia equally deadly at both close and long range both in-atmosphere and in the vacuum of space. After several hours of test flight in an abandoned debris field, Setsuna was completely confident in the new Exia.

A sad thought about how he'd never get the chance to spar with Graham using the new Exia crossed Setsuna's mind. He would've been the perfect training partner. But, he wasn't there. They hadn't figured out what had happened to him, though Ms. Sumeragi had promised to keep searching for answers.

–

Sumeragi Lee Noriega looked at the compiled information on her tablet screen. They'd sent out pings to locate the missing Gundam units, but there were worryingly few responses. After pinpointing their locations, they did background research on those who had possession of the Gundam Frames.

Astaroth and Vual seemed to be in the hands of some kind of mafia that was smaller and less known than Teiwaz. Astaroth was in the possession of what seemed to be pirates and was in surprisingly good condition, though its Battle Anchor was still broken from its last battle against a Mobile Armor during the war. Marchosias was highly shielded, but a little digging revealed that it was in the hands of what seemed to be a disgraced Gjallarhorn nobleman.

Marax, Andras, Dantalion, Kimaris and Halphas were all in the hands of Gjallarhorn nobility that had remained in the good graces of the upper echelon of the corrupt organization, while Bael remained within the depths of their headquarters on Earth.

Eventually, they'd take back every single Gundam Frame that had gone missing, but getting to them would be difficult unless it was on a battlefield. If their enemies tried to use their Gundams against them, they'd be in for a rude awakening when the Trial System was activated, which was buried so deeply into each of the Gundam's programming that removing or altering it without Celestial Being's help would render the Gundam inoperable anyways.

Getting to the Gundams when the vast majority were under lock-and-key meant they'd either need to infiltrate or they'd need to do a hard-knock to take back what was theirs. Infiltration was dangerous for obvious reasons, as there was no guarantee that the Gundams would be in operational condition. So, that really only left the most violent approach. That, or threats. If their first intervention went well enough, threat alone might get a few people to surrender their property.

Their first intervention was key. For it to be as effective as possible, they had to ensure as many people saw it as possible. If they chose the wrong place or wrong time, Gjallarhorn's absolute control over the media and narrative wouldn't do them any favors. Gjallarhorn, it seemed, had a record of distorting the truth when it didn't suit their needs.

That was why not only Setsuna, but all of Celestial Being's Gundam Meisters were testing our their Gundams. After Ian and the engineering team's herculean efforts, they'd managed to get not only Exia, but Cherudim, Arios, Archer, Virtue, and even the Arche Drei Gundams all battle-ready. While Fereshte was still short of operational Gundams, the engineering crew was still hard at work. For the time being, they'd have to make due with what they had. Their latest after-action report stated they'd temporarily intervened in the battle between Tekkadan and the Brewers, but since they used ASW-G-16 Zepar and kept it short for the sake of preserving both Barbatos and Gusion, it was a good call.

Now, their support unit was several kilometers outside of the Dort colonies, continuing to monitor Tekkadan and their actions. They had detected several encrypted radio transmissions coming from the colony cluster speaking of a 'revolution'. The general consensus was that, so soon after Tekkadan's arrival, there was little room to be a coincidence. Their charge, the Bernstein girl, didn't seem to be involved, but since she, too, was a revolutionary of sorts it was a safe assumption that sooner or later she'd be dragged into whatever was nearing the boiling point.

McGillis Fareed was digging through all the Gjallarhorn archives he had access to when, for the seventh time that day, he found a reference to someone or something he didn't understand. 'C.B' showed up again and again when talking about the Gundams but there was never any explanation on who or what they were. Furthermore, any attempt at searching for 'C.B' was met with zero results, when he clearly saw the initials in the reports he had dug up.

Most of the reports had to to do with the Gundams, or more specifically, the operational limits of them. The lead scientists and engineers of Gjallarhorn when these reports were filed didn't seem to understand how exactly the Gundams worked, despite the evidence saying they made the Gundams. McGillis grit his teeth in frustration. It wasn't the first set of initials that he hadn't been able to suss out, either. Both 'C.B' and 'G.A' were initials that lead to nowhere. If there was any report that went into detail on who or what they were, it was either completely buried or locked behind the Top-Level clearance archives. His own clearance level was several steps below what would be required to gain access to such files.

Somehow, it all had to be connected. That's what his gut told him. Gjallarhorn, Tekkadan, the strange occurrence with Bael, and now 'C.B' and 'G.A'. It all had to be connected, and he was out of cards to play to unravel the mystery. Soon enough, he'd be heading to the Dort colonies, but he couldn't simply put something like this on the back-burner until he got one step closer to his goal.

No. Continuing on like nothing was going on behind the scenes wouldn't be wise. He already had many people more loyal to him than to Gjallarhorn itself, but none of them were in a position he could be frank with. He was their commander, nor their friend. He wasn't anyone's friend. He has lived his whole life in pure, unfiltered anger. Friendship? Comradarie? He didn't know what those things felt like. He valued the lives of every person exactly the same. There was no person who stood out from the others in any significant way.

Except for one person. One person that, prior to these events, he was willing to sacrifice if it came to it. Now, however.. He questioned whether that would be the best thing to do. Could Gaelio be trusted? Would he be willing to help him, or at least look the other way? If the answer was no, and he told him about his plans, the results would be predictable. Gaelio would expose him and he'd be thrown in jail. McGillis had no intention of being incarcerated.

But, if he could be trusted, and if he would be willing to help.. That would make things easier. He wouldn't have to rely on establishing a working relationship with Tekkadan. Gaelio commanded the same amount, if not more respect among the common man within Gjallarhorn. Gaelio's influence would even draw more people to their side, and it might help avoid a battle with the Outer Earth Orbit fleet. That would bring the corrupt part of Gjallarhorn's fighting power down to half. An even fight. Better, if they managed to sway Tekkadan.

It was a big gamble. Perhaps the biggest one he'd ever make.

McGillis turned to the intercom. "Gaelio, there's something I'd like to talk to you about."

Post Disaster 324

April 6th

The situation on the Dort colonies had reached its boiling point. Protests that had started out peacefully grew into a disorganized mass of angry, armed people that were being cheered on by agitators and militant revolutionaries. Gjallarhorn's provocations only making the situation worse, the first shot had been fired.

Mikazuki had been too late to reach Kudelia before her maid, Fumitan, had been shot. He didn't entirely understand the situation, but from what he did understand was that Fumitan had offered Kudelia up to Gjallarhorn. However, she then got in the way of what had appeared to be a sniper shot. She was bleeding quickly, and the injury was close to her spine.

Kudelia was incoherent at best, and the smoke around them continued to dissipate, revealing dozens of bodies from Gjallarhorn's firing squad. It was a miracle neither of them were hit in that initial burst. Mikazuki pulled at Kudelia, trying to get her to come with him, but she refused to leave Fumitan behind.

"We can't go without Fumitan. Fumitan, you're coming with us, right?"

Mikazuki looked at Kudelia's maid, who laid on the road just a few feet from where he had managed to drag Kudelia. If she didn't die in the next few minutes from blood loss, she'd probably die from infection or an inability to operate in zero G. Either way, she probably wouldn't make it. They'd be slowed down making to back to the ship if they had to carry her.

"We have to go." He said, tugging on Kudelia's arm. Yet, she didn't budge. First it was Atra being kidnapped and beaten, and now it was Kudelia nearly being assassinated. The only two girls he had ever thought anything about. He was no stranger to anger, but he always knew why he was angry before. Now, he didn't understand why.

Mikazuki furrowed his brow and marched over to Fumitan. Acting quickly, he wrapped his large jacket around her wound tightly, immediately soaking it in blood, but stemming the flow by a good bit. They were a few miles from the ship. If he contacted Eugene, he could get them some fast transport. He turned to Kudelia, who had walked back towards Fumitan, and grabbed her jaw roughly, making her focus on him.

"Contact the Isaribi. Tell Eugene we need a ride. I'll carry Fumitan."

"You know, when you first told me what your plans were, I thought about having you arrested." Gaelio said, looking at a screen showing live footage from the Dort colonies. Unedited, it showed the amount of carnage being carried out by Gjallarhorn's hands. He was there on the colony with McGillis, safely on the ship they had used to stay anonymous.

"I know you needed proof. This is only one example of what Gjallarhorn does behind the scenes. Dealing with pirates and mercenaries, protecting the public at large. The truth is that they'll do anything to keep everyone under their control." McGillis said, watching the screen with his closest friend.

Gaelio turned to McGillis, doubt still in his eyes. "It took you this long to tell me what you were planning. If everything works out, it'll just be you replacing the Seven Stars. I wonder, where did I, or Carta, or Almiria fit into that vision of yours?"

McGillis said nothing. He had decided to be honest with Gaelio, and he truly didn't know the answer to his question. Was a he a pawn, or a bishop? Deep down, he felt like he knew the answer to that, but unless it came to that, he didn't want to think about it.

"Don't answer. I don't want to know. I never knew what you were thinking, but always wanted to find out. Now I don't. Reforming Gjallarhorn is all well and good until you start becoming just like them. At what point is the price of power too much? How many lives are you willing to sacrifice for your ambitions?"

McGillis remained silent. Not one year ago, he would've had the answer to that question. As many as it took. But there were mysteries about Gjallarhorn he couldn't resolve on his own. There were events in motion he didn't have a good grasp on. He knew what he was. He was a sociopath who had identified power as the ultimate tool, and Gjallarhorn as a workbench. But he was finding out that he didn't know who he was.

"I'll sit this one out. Those space rats will probably get themselves blown up before reaching Earth, anyways. But I haven't decided on whether or not I'm going to turn you in. Not when I don't know you'll be better than what currently exists. Prove that to me and I'll make my decision." Gaelio said, walking out of the room. Just before the door closed, McGillis called out to his only friend.

"Gaelio. As few as possible. That's the answer to your question."

Things had gotten completely out of hand. The entire colony was on lockdown and under martial law, and getting back to the Isaribi had been a handful of trouble on its own, not to mention the news crew they picked up along the way. Meanwhile, a Gjallarhorn fleet was waiting outside the colony. The entire situation was a mess.

Kudelia, after seeing the brutal suppression of the Dort citizens, found her resolve and came up with a plan to get them away from the colony cluster with minimal bloodshed. But that didn't mean they would just stand still while the enemy decided whether or not to fire at them, so every Mobile Suit at their disposal was being prepped for sortie. But they'd be doing it alone, as Teiwaz couldn't get into such a plain confrontation with Gjallarhorn, which meant Naze wouldn't be helping them.

As the Dort workers were being slaughtered by Gjallarhorn due to what appeared to be sabotaged equipment, Mikazuki floated towards the rendezvous point where he'd be delivered his partner, Barbatos. He found her strength to carry on while her only confidant, who had betrayed her, barely clung to life in Isaribi's medbay, quite amazing. It was more than he expected from someone like her.

Coming to a stop at the designated point, he floated quietly as he watched the delivery ship get closer to him. The carnage around him was on a level he'd never seen before from outside a cockpit, yet he didn't feel anything. No sorrow. No remorse. No fear. He knew that he was different, but it was one of the few times he recognized that, if he were normal, he'd be feeling something significant at that moment.

Gaelio stood in the hangar bay of the Montag Company ship, next to his family's heirloom, Gundam Kimaris. McGillis had told him to bring it with him if he wanted to have the option to forcefully bring him in, and he had done just that. He still wasn't sure what to do, but he hadn't expected the answer he had gotten to his question. It was a textbook answer, though, so it was hard to tell if McGillis was being genuine or not. He didn't know what to think about the man he called his closest friend. Was everything a lie? Was he unable to see McGillis for what he was? Or had he been seeing the same man this entire time and just trusted in his friend's character? He didn't know.

He stood there watching a screen showing a live feed of the battle occurring outside the colony. McGillis had no doubt hacked into their systems to get said feed. He watched in contemplation as the space rats – Tekkadan, as they called themselves – fought desperately to reach Earth. He had to admit, even he could see that the small boy who had manhandled him back on Mars had become an excellent pilot. If he were to face him with Kimaris, it would be a close fight. But what he was fighting wasn't a duel. He was facing an entire fleet. A single, dilapidated ship and a small handful of Mobile Suits, Gundams or not, wouldn't beat an entire fleet.

McGillis had told him his plans. If Tekkadan fell here, he'd bide his time and wait for another 'worthy' entity to ally himself with, whatever that meant. If they somehow succeeded, he'd throw everything he had into supporting them so long as it served the 'greater good'.

He couldn't imagine it. Mars was a colony of Earth. It had always been that way. Economic independence simply wasn't in the cards for them. Mars was still mostly uninhabitable land, and it required a massive amount of resources to continue to terraform. But, he did understand their plight, if only a little. Gjallarhorn was, obviously at this point, oppressive to an extreme degree. Getting beaten for requesting a fair wage wasn't justice. Doing the beating wasn't something he had signed up to do. Slaughtering dozens of workers to control a narrative was disgusting. On that, he and McGillis agreed. But even so, Tekkadan would die today. They simply didn't have the means to break past the entire Arianhood fleet that was heading towards them as they regrouped with their ship.

Dozens of Mobile Suits were seen launching from the Gjallarhorn ships, all of them with one purpose: To crush dissidents like Tekkadan and the Bernstein girl. They might have the strength to take a good amount down, but that was it. Eventually their ship would be destroyed and their Gundam Frames would be overwhelmed by sheer numbers. With this, Tekkadan died.

Then, a transmission was heard, and a smaller broadcast popped up on screen showing a well-dressed, but obviously distressed young woman. It was her. Somehow, she had gotten through the jamming.

"I am Kudelia Aina Bernstein. Right now, through this television screen, I'm calling out to all of you. Is my voice reaching you? I want to tell everyone about what is happening at the Dort colonies in the corner of space. The truth about the people who live there."

On a secure channel, Gaelio heard Gjallarhorn scrambling to figure out how she was broadcasting to shut it down. Somehow, the broadcasts were reaching Earth. They didn't want her to be heard. They didn't want the truth to reach Earth's citizens.

"I have acted with the wish to save the people of Mars, my home. But I was much too ignorant. The people being oppressed my Gjallarhorn existed all around space. At the Dort colony, I met people who stood up to change their situation. They chose to have a protest, but that was merely to negotiate with Gjallarhorn for fair wages and equal rights to people living on Earth."

Gaelio heard the Gjallarhorn audio feeds go from urgency to panic. It sounded like the Regulatory Bureau was silent on how the broadcast was still going on.

"However, when they started their protest, there were mysterious explosions nearby as if it had all been arranged. They weren't set off by the people of Dort. Without taking any time to investigate, Gjallarhorn started attacking the workers. And that battle... No. That massacre is still continuing."

"Right now, my ship is surrounded by Gjallarhorn's fleet. I want to ask Gjallarhorn. Aren't you supposed to be the ones standing for justice? Is this what you call justice? If so, I will not approve such a kind of justice. If you think what I'm saying is wrong... That is fine. Shoot down my ship right now!"

That was bold of her, but it wouldn't be enough. When facing a situation where they would either appear weak or appear tyrannical, Gjallarhorn's playbook was always to 'show strength'. They didn't care if they were feared or respected, just so long as it was one of those to the common people. They didn't want to risk losing any bit of the control they had.

But the shots never came, and a series of confused transmissions started bouncing around Gjallarhorn channels. There was a response from the Regulatory Bureau in the form of orders. A ceasefire. The only way that would happen is at the request of a major political faction. The girl's message reached Earth and someone powerful heard them.

Gaelio wasn't sure how to feel other than shocked. He wouldn't watch a ship full of children – though they were space rats – be destroyed, but at the same time, he knew what came next for McGillis. If he was going to stop him from continuing this mad crusade of his, it would have to be now or never. The next time McGillis would be this close to Tekkadan, he'd be actively fighting against Gjallarhorn. That meant likely killing people who would otherwise be on the same side. Not just support from the shadows. Not acting would be the same as condoning his actions. He had to choose a side.

Galio lost himself in thought as he absentmindedly watched the Tekkadan ship float past the halted Gjallarhorn fleet.

Post Disaster 324

April 11th

Sumeragi Lee Noriega sat in the Commander's chair of the Ptolemaios 2 Kai, Celestial Being's upgraded warship, watching the bridge crew go through the final pre-flight checks. There was a lot on her mind, but she had to remain focused on the mission at hand.

"Pre-flight checks complete. All systems green. The Ptolemy is ready to launch." Came Feldt Grace's voice, brimming with confidence.

Ms. Sumeragi nodded. Their ship was in tip-top shape. Their Gundams were pristine. They had enough supplies and spare parts. They had all the information they needed. For three hundred years, Gjallarhorn had been stepping on the neck of the people it once fought to protect from demons masquerading as angels. For three hundred years, they waited for an answer to the injustices committed against them for the sake of 'keeping the peace'. For three hundred years, Celestial Being had slept in cryostasis, waiting to be awakened. They'd all waited long enough.

It was time to begin the operation.

"Alright. Ptolomaios.. Launch."

Gjallarhorn Top-Level Archives, Entry #01120

Graham Aker's death brought an end to living peoples previously connected directly to Celestial Being. However, due to the nature of his death there was no way to retrieve his body to study the proper Alaya-Vijnana system designed by Celestial Being. All attempts at reproducing the Alaya-Vijnana system without a viable sample of a working Celestial Being implant have resulted in disfigurement, and often death upon linking to the Gundam Frames. All viable results have been mothballed underneath Gjallarhorn Headquarters on Earth, as it began to resemble the war machines that nearly brought an end to Humanity.

After much deliberation, Gjallarhorn leadership officially outlawed any further attempts to manufacture Alaya-Vijnana systems and implants. As of P.D 99, this has been met with limited results. Despite all known research notes and data being confiscated, various outlaws, most notably pirates and paramilitary operatives have been witnessed using and operating Alaya-Vijnana systems, albeit the results and performance do not match the same data drawn from Celestial Being, indicating a truly inferior product to the original and the results produced by Gjallarhorn that remain in mothball as of P.D 99.

A/N: A bit of a shorter chapter, but there's obviously going to be a lot of things happening next chapter. The storyboard for it is already written and that alone is four pages long. It's going to be one hell of a chapter, and that's all I'll say about it. As always, thank you for reading and reviewing.