AN: As I said in the last chapter, the real mechanized mayhem is about to begin with Orga's return to the Martian Union of Tekkadan forces along with Julieta deciding, against all odds, to stay by his side.

5: The Battle of the Iron Flowers

Pt.1 - Descent of the Hawk

Orga sighed as he looked in the mirror, his right hand holding his trademark bang out of his face as he took in his damaged eye. He could not longer open it due to the damage, which meant that there was no chance of a natural recovery.

"You could always go in for a cybernetic implant?" Julieta suggested from beside him, taking in his look of disappointment, "Just think about it, a big, red, glowing eye that'll scare everyone into listening to you!" She said, patting his shoulder in an attempt to lighten the mood. Orga cast a disbelieving look down at her, to which she withered slightly, "Or not."

Orga sighed once more, "It's not that," he said, frowning at the girl as he crossed his arms, "I just thought that most people from Earth were disgusted by the thought of mechanical enhancements or replacements?"

Julieta shrugged, "I'm trying not to think about it," she admitted, "Really, it's already hard enough when I know most of your forces are little kids that had the Alaya-Vjnana forced on them, but you're gonna need both eyes if your intend to fight again."

He smiled at her, reaching up to pat her head as he would one of the younger kids, "Nah, I think I'll just find myself an eyepatch," he smiled as she blushed under his treatment, "Much more macho, don't you think?"

"A little," she admitted, picturing the tall Martian pilot wearing such an article. The thought brought a small blush to her cheeks when he appeared in her mind with that wolfish grin, and his red uniform with those two large pistols at his sides.

Still, Orga disliked the look of the long upside down Y-shaped scar over his eye. "I hope this won't get in the way of the battles I'll have to fight in," he sighed, touching the skin beneath the damaged eye. He looked down at the girl once more, "You're just as important to me as anyone else back home...more even."

"We've known each other for little over a month," he said, smiling a little, using his left arm to drape across her shoulders, "But really, I didn't wanna let you go back either." He admitted, making her smile at him, "You're part of my family now."

Julieta sighed, "Yeah, but do you think this is gonna go over all that well with your men?" She asked, having spent the last week recovering at the Griffon farmhouse. "I can't imagine them being thrilled about someone from Gjallarhorn being around."

"They can deal with it," he told her, giving her shoulders a squeeze, "As long as you want to be down here, then you're welcome."

She giggled and gave him a light shove, "Come on, we're supposed to head over to the base today, and check out the new ship that you're going to be captaining, Fleet Admiral Itsuka." She smiled as they returned to their shared room where their new uniforms rested.

Orga's much to his pleasure, was black and white with the marks and badges of his station in place. Julieta, as an Ensign, had a green uniform. Orga picked something up from his uniform, chuckling, "Looks like someone read my mind," he said, showing her the piece. It was an eyepatch with the red flower symbol on it that Tekkadan favored as their insignia.

He stepped out of the room to allow her to dress in her new clothes while he stepped back into the bathroom.

In the week that they had arrived at the farm, the idea that he now had a woman aside from Kudelia, Merribit, and Atra in his life had finally sank in. And she wanted to belong to him. Him of all people. {I wonder what I did to deserve such a woman?} He wondered silently as he finished dressing, opening up his collar to allow himself a bit of breathing room.

Stepping out of the bathroom he found Julieta stepping out as well, smiling as she saw him, "Well, you look nice in that."

"Thanks," he smirked, "Are you ready to leave?"

"Do I get a Gundam, too?" She asked, placing her hands on her hips, "I'm not settling for a bridge crew job."

"We'll see what the old man has in store for us when we get there." He said, offering his arm to her. She smiled and looped her arm through his own as they walked out of the house.

Sakura and the twins were waiting for them on their way out, the old woman smiling at the pair, "It's going to be quiet without the two of you around," she said as the two stopped in front of them, looking at the young woman on his arm, "You be sure to keep this young rascal out of trouble, deary. He's prone to being reckless, as you well know by now."

Julieta nodded, smiling at her, "Oh, I know." She said, stepping away from the man, and wrapping the older woman in a hug, "Thank you so much for all you've done for us."

Sakura chuckled kindly, patting the girl on the back, "Think nothing of it, child," she assured her, smiling, "And don't you be a stranger. Cookie and Cracker have taken a liking to you. And it'd be nice to see you again once in a while if those young lummox doesn't keep you too busy." She gave the girl a wink which made her blush.

"Yeah, we wanna see you again, Big Sis," Cookie put in, rushing in the hug the girl around her waist.

She was soon joined by Cracker, "You gotta come back and see us again!"

Julieta giggled and patted both girls on the head, promising to come and see them again. A car arrived a few moments later as Orga was saying his own farewells, and Kudelia herself stepped out to greet them.

"You're both looking well," she commented to the budding couple, noting that Orga was wearing the eyepatch she'd picked out for him, sighing, "I'm sorry about your eye, Orga, but the doctor said that he could have an implant - "

"Maybe later," he smiled at the girl, giving her a quick hug before stepping aside to let her meet Julieta, "Now, why don't you say hello to my new wingman?"

"Wing-wo-man," Julieta corrected him with a slight jab at his uninjured side, smiling at him, and offered the Maiden of Revolution her hand. "Ensign Julieta Juris, Ma'am," she greeted her, smiling.

Kudelia smiled in return and accepted the gesture, shaking her hand firmly, "Kudelia Aina Bernstein, a pleasure to meet you." She said, stepping aside to allow them into the car, "Shall we go? Everyone's waiting to see you again Fleet Admiral."

Orga grinned at her, "Yeah, let's go home."

.

Julieta found herself nervous as the car pulled into the Tekkadan base, seeing the grounds lined with Mobile Workers, and the new Gundam frames, the mass produced Strikes, and Busters. There were three full battalions of the units, each one led by one of the more infamous units, Barbatos, Gusion and Flauros.

Orga leaned over and whispered something to the blonde woman across from them, making her smile for a moment before nodding. A small hint of jealous hit the girl when she saw this, but squashed it immediately.

{Ease down, Julieta, Orga already told me that she's involved with the pilot of the Barbatos as well as another woman,} she told herself, frowning as she looked out the window and saw that the Mobile Workers weren't the only vehicles on the pad. Jet-like planes lined one side of the base, all of them large, and obviously made of high-grade High Hardness Rare Alloy from the sheen of the crafts. {I haven't seen those things before.}

The car pulled to a stop in front of a large assemble, which surprised Orga, "Where did all these troops come from?" He asked the girl.

Kudelia smiled, "The Dort Colonies," she said to the young man, "After the last battle, the colonies started another revolt when word reached them that we'd beaten Gjallarhorn back with Rustal Elion present." She said, gaining Julieta's attention, "The treatment of the work force hadn't improved since our visit there two years ago, and a large immigration from each of the colonies came in not that long ago, most of the men and women signing up to join the Martian Union as soldiers or members of the Admoss company."

"None of the little ones, I hope?" He asked, frowning, "It's bad enough that the youth group is still full of ten and twelve year olds."

"No, none of them were children," she assured him, much to his relief, "But a few of them were teenagers, and young men that didn't have families thanks to the fighting and riots going on in the colonies. So they'e no strangers to conflict."

Orga sighed, but smiled, "The next time the Earth forces come at us needs to be the last time," he said, looking at Julieta, "Whatever happens, they need to know that you don't mess with Mars without getting hurt."

Julieta nodded silently, but gave the older girl a small look of concern, "A show of force may not be enough, though," she said, "Rustal is determined to have Mars back under Earth's jurisdiction. And now that I know what I do, I have no doubt that some of the Seven Stars may resort to underhanded means."

Orga nodded, "That much I know. While we were resting, I had Eugene keeping an ear to the ground to make sure that none of the pirate syndicates are getting too friendly with Gjallarhorn." He said as the car door opened.

He stepped out, and was met by the sounds of applause when his original forces saw him, which started the new recruits up. He grinned widely as he saw Mikazuki, Akihiro, Shino, Ride and Eugene at the front.

Next to them were Naze, and Amida, both of whom were smiling at him a bit tearfully while McMurdo just grinned at the boy. The last of the group, the one that could have meant the most to him, was Nadi. The man came forward with Merribit on his arm, smiling at the boy and clouted him on the shoulder, "Welcome home, Son."

"Good to be back, Old Man." Orga grinned right back.

(*)

Above the Red Planet, a small force of two Armored Assault Ships was drifting lazily in the Martian space territory.

"This is Brooks," said a large, rotund man with a flat nose, "We're right over the base location. You ready on your side, Mossa?"

"More than ready," the voice of Galan Mossa-La Flaga said from inside his Mobile Suit. "Remember, these brats are stronger than you think."

The man snorted, "I've dealt with them before, Mos," he said, "The only thing I wish is that I could ring their leader's neck myself."

Galan could understand the meaning, but for entirely different reasons. "Alright," he said over the come to his men, "grab your arms, and reentry shields. We're moving in on the planet." He said, his Mobile Suit moving to grab his shield, and assault rifle. "This is Galan Mossa, ZGMF-1017 GINN Red Custom, moving out!"

As the red GINN launched from the Assault Ship, it was soon followed by four more machines, two green variations of the GINN, and two UGY-R41 Landman Rodi frames, all of them armed to the teeth, and descended to the planet's surface.

From the Brewer's ship came five green Man Rodis, bringing the assault force to ten Mobile Suits in total under the command of the former Seven Star of Gjallarhorn.

(*)

Orga couldn't help marveling at the three warships in front of him as they were all being loaded up with the latest frames and Armors. The LMH-BB01 Minerva was a massive ship built for heavy combat, and was equipped with some frightening armaments. The cannons were impressive, as well as the missile launchers hidden beneath the armor. But what made the ship, and the two smaller ones, Archangel and Dominion, special, was the fact that each one of them had a weapon long forgotten. A bow-mounted positron cannon.

"And she's all mine," he grinned as his new Gundam was being loaded, "Hey, Old Man," he hollered to the man as the machine was slowly, and carefully put in place, "Is that the one you based the Strikes off of?"

Nadi grinned at the boy, "Sure is," he said proudly, "Found this beauty in one of those bunkers about two hundred miles out, near perfect condition," he said, handing him a data pad, "Say hello to the ZGMF-X10A Freedom, a real monster," he said smiling as Orga went over the specs, "It took a bit of doing, but we got all the weapons up and working once we installed the two Ahad reactors."

"Two small positron cannons and two railguns," he smiled looking at the devastating weapons, "Damn, Old Man, where the hell has this thing been all my life?"

"Collecting dust," he said, frowning as he noticed Julieta staring at another Mobile Suit, "Orga, you sure you should let her wander about?"

Orga glared at him, "Drop it, Yukinojo," he said, somewhat harshly, "she saved my life, remember, and she's refused to return to Gjallarhorn."

Sighing, the man smirked, "Alright, alright, I get it." He smiled, "The one she's looking at is a bit more complex. According to the data I fished out of that old bunker, that one was to be the next step in the Freedom's evolution called the Strike Freedom. It's wicked fast, and the railguns are nearly twice as powerful as the Freedom's, but we didn't have enough material to complete its beam weapons while we were getting the X10A up and running. And I'm not really sure how that stuff works. You've have to get one of the Turbines to look at it. We did get the Dragoon system up and running, as well as the propulsion system, so its on par with the Freedom in terms of speed, and the firepower's not bad either for a long-range machine."

"If the Freedom gets too heavily damaged, you can use it to complete the Strike Freedom," Orga said, smiling as the girl came strolling over to them, "In the mean time, have a Strike assigned to Julieta here, she's one hell of a pilot, and probably gonna be unstoppable with a machine like that."

Julieta smiled at him, but the large man was frowning as he checked his pad, "I just gave the last of the Strikes, and Busters over to Naze," he said, frowning, giving the girl an apologetic look, "Sorry, kiddo, but the only one we have left is the X20A, and I don't wanna send you out there with a half-built machine."

"Then she can have my X10A," Orga smiled at her, "I need to be on the bridge, so this works out well. If push comes to shove, I'll take one of those new Mobile Armors you're so proud of out, and fight with that."

Julieta looked at him in surprise, "Are you sure about that?" She asked, "I mean, the Freedom look incredible, but - " She was silenced when he reached over and patted her head again.

Nadi chuckled, knowing that he'd picked up that little habit from watching him and Merribit. "Don't try arguing with him, he's way too stubborn to risk it."

"I know that," she smiled warmly, her cheeks burning.

Orga chuckled lightly when the alarm started blaring overhead, "What the -?!"

"We're being attacked!" Nadi scowled, looking at the young Admiral, "What's the plan, Orga?!"

Orga growled, then started grinning viciously, "Scramble all available Mobile Suits that haven't been assigned to the warships, and get them situated around the base. have Mobile Armor pilots in the air on the double! No close-range shots, and tell them to stay well out of firing range." He called out and started barking out orders to the others. "Someone get these birds in the air! Ride, you go up with Kudelia in the Minerva! Find Mika and tell him to get into orbit, and find out where those damned invaders are coming from!"

Julieta watched in bemusement as the pilots started moving about like mad to get everything ready for the oncoming attack. She looked at the mechanic, "How many are coming?" She asked, "And how long until they get here?"

"Ten, and not long," he said, checking the incoming data, turning about, "Hey, Yamagi! Find a Strike and get it ready for Orga!" He roared to his assistant, then looked back at the man, "You're fighting, right?"

Orga grinned at him, "Damned right I am."

.

As predicted, ten large, bulky machines landed in the base's territory. Orga sat in the cockpit of his Strike, shield and assault rifle in hand, but he could already tell that they wouldn't be enough to deal with these machines. Seven of them he recognized as the Rodi frames, but three others were totally new to him as two green units and one red unit out front glared across the field.

"Orga, those three weird ones, they're in the system under the code GINN." Nadi's voice crackled over the com, "These things were CE Mobile Suits, and pretty damned quick despite their bulk, keep your guard up."

"Right," he said, looking to his sides as nine machines of his own alighted beside him. "Hush, you be careful now, these guys mean business. Azee, Lafter, thanks for coming out here."

"Don't you worry about us, Orga," Azee said, smirking over the link.

"Yeah, I totally owe you an ass-kicking for scaring me like you did, you jerk!" Lafter giggled from her Buster, licking her lips, "And these guys look like just what I need to vent a little rage on."

Across the field, Galan was surveying the ten Mobile Suits in front of him, "So this is what Rustal's been dealing with," he said, looking at the lead machine, smirking, "Alright, ya Gundam frame knock-offs, time for a little payback for my girl!"

The Red GINN rocketed forward in a burst of speed that caught Orga by surprise before his instincts kicked in and the Strike shot forward, the rifle blazing. The GINN raised a shield of its own, hefting an ax from its back. Orga holstered his weapon in favor of his unit's long sword, forcing him to discard his shield at the last moment as their blades met in a shower of sparks.

Galan was surprised when his machine was steadily pushed back by the smaller Gundam frame, "Well, well, now!" He grinned, speaking over the com, "Just what the hell do we have here?!"

A face appeared on the monitor, the last face he expected to see, and one that made his blood boil as the scarred face of Orga Itsuka appeared on the monitor, "The name's Orga Itsuka, you Brewer trash!"

Rage bubbled up in the former Gjallarhorn pilot's chest as he pressed his attack, "Take these Space Rats down!"

"Yes, Sir!"

Orga growled in response, "All forces attack!"

"Right!"

The red GINN kicked his Gundam in the chest, and bore down on him with its ax, easily blocked by the larger blade of the long sword, but the GINN was quicker in its movements as the blade flashed across the Strike's abdomen, scraping across the armor.

As the forces engaged each other, Galan took note of a force of air crafts zooming in on them. {Shit,} He broke away from the Strike, and fired off his vulcans, clipping one of the crafts' wings, sending it spiraling away from the fight.

Orga took the chance and slammed his machine's shoulder into the GINN, sending both of them crashing to the ground before his was up again using his boosters to get some distance between himself and the attacking force.

.

Kudelia and Julieta boarded the Minerva with hesitation, but Mikazuki was quick to give the girls a good shove in his haste to get them on board so he could get to his Barbatos, "I don't like leaving Orga out there any more than you guys do, but he told us to get these ships in the air and into space to take care of the ones sending these assholes after us."

"I know, I know, but still, Mika!" Kudelia yelped as she nearly stumbled when came face to face with McMurdo, "Oh, I'm sorry Mr. Barriston!"

"That's alright, my dear, but you should really get to the bridge," he informed her, "We're counting on you to guide us out of here."

"Right," the girl frowned.

"Where should I be?" Julieta asked.

Mikazuki took hold over her sleeve, "This way to the hangar," he told her, "Your Gundam's been loaded, right?"

"Y-Yeah, but - "

"Then go, and wait for orders," he told her, giving her a shove in the right direction, "I need to get to Barbatos, too."

"Akihiro's with Eugene and the Archangel, right?" Kudelia asked.

"Yeah, and Shino's over on the Dominion with Naze and the girls," he told her as he ran down the halls, "See you later!"

Kudelia shook herself and headed for the bridge.

.

On the Archangel, Eugene was doing a systems check as Chad and Dante took up their positions alongside the rest of the bridge crew. "Alright, we're first in line, so let's get this show on the road, and get our asses up and out!" He told his crew, "Have the missiles ready to fire as soon as possible! We might be in for a firefight as soon as we're in the air, and have Akirhiro get the Gusion ready to go!"

.

The Dominion was abuzz with activity as the Turbine family set to work with practiced ease getting the ship ready to launch. Naze had to smile as his girls got to work, "Gotta hand it to our adorable little brother," he said to Amida, who stood at his side, "This ship is one hell of a beast."

"Just like the rest of us, my dear," she smirked, looking down at Eco, "How long until we're out of here?"

"Eugene's launchin in T-minus three minutes." She said, "We're all ready and waiting on our end, but we have a thirty-second wait before we can launch after the Archangel!"

"Pretty tight," Naze said to himself, "How are Lafter and Azee doing out there?"

A screen displayed the battle taking place outside, showing Lafter's pink Buster, and Azee's dark blue Strike. The two units were doing well against the invading forces as he watched Azee stab one of the Rodi frames with her combat knife right through the cockpit while Lafter blasted another's head off, rendering it useless.

"They're doing pretty good," he smiled, looking for Orga's unit, and saw it being pushed back by the red unit on the field, "Brother doesn't look like he's doing all that well. Bilt, see if the girls can help him out?"

"Negative, they're currently engaged with the two other horned units." The dark-skinned girl said, "What about having Big Sis go out? The catapults are still free."

"Good idea," Amida nodded, heading out of the bridge, "We have one minute before launch time. Have the main guns primed and ready to fire on those Rodis." She told her sisters. "What's my unit called again?"

"It's the Lightning Strike, Ma'am," Eva spoke up, "The unit with the segmented railgun attached."

Amida smiled as the door closed behind, "Well, now, won't this be fun?"

AN: Galan's forces have moved in, and things are looking even between the two sides as one fights to save their unit, while the other is out for blood, not even knowing the object of their feud is minutes away from taking flight in Tekkadan's new warships.

Here's what I wanna hear from ya'll if you're gonna review. Julieta's Gundam, should it remain as the Freedom, or should she have another and let Orga take the machine when the time comes?

Please review!