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Jun smiled a bit and bowed respectfully. "Though I will pilot whatever you assign me, ma'am, I must point out that I was trained in the operation of the Core Fighter, before the RX-78 was produced. I may need some time to adjust to the controls of whatever is being piloted these days." with that, she followed orders. After no more then thirty seconds inside the refurbished VF-1a she had been assigned, she smiled and turned the various systems on. "Jun Liana, VF-1a, ready, steady, go!"

---

Alex smiled and gently set her down in her suit, having already felt the same thing. "Andrea, is it okay if I go to Axis for a while? I have a feeling I might be needed there."

---

Zypher, after several minutes of wrap-up work, got some food and found Demitria. "Well you look great." He held out a watermelon smoothie for her, having one in his other hand for himself, but with strawberries as well.

---

Ciel held her head. "They're here... they're watching... you feel it too, don't you, Kazzy?"

"Foolish girl, you will bend to our will."
"Your resistance will only cause more destruction to those you pretend to help."
"This is your final warning."
"Submit, or die."

Kira was a bit shocked by Ryand suddenly calling a meeting, especially since he'd barely even met the guy. But he landed the Freedom Gundam back inside the Nemo, climbed out, and walked to the briefing room, regardless.

"This better be good, I hate random meetings."

==============================================================================

Andrea sighed a bit, but did not protest. Alex was a very busy person, always going to deal with people all over, and she knew that if he asked to leave, it was for a very good reason.

"To Axis? Okay...I know that if you are truly needed there, it is for a good reason. Just come back soon, okay?"

===========================================================================

Demitria took the watermelon smoothie enthusiastically, glad to get something back into her body after wearing herself out so much during that last battle.

"Thanks for not getting me strawberry, Zypher! How did you know I didn't like strawberries?"

=============================================================================

The Commissar certainly was impressed by her new comrade. She obviously was a very adaptable soldier, which was always valuable.

"Very well! Commissar Rei, launching! To the Macross!"

The Gaplant flew free of the hangar and flew off at high speed, with the Macross soon in sight...

==============================================================================

Haman nodded. She hated these Titans most of all.

"Yes, the Titans are a large threat. I've heard rumors of high-ranking Titans officials wanting to make an alliance with me. I do not support this...And I very much appreciate your respect, Char. However, it will take some time to arrange such plans, so I would like you to have intelligence gathered about the Titans so that we can arrange forces in correspondence with their military might."

She put on a sly grin for a second.

"By the way, what is the state of your crew?"

==========================================================================

Kaz screamed in pain, an immensely loud scream that could be heard outside of his Quebely.

"You SIRT bastards...Get out of my head! I won't submit to your evil!"

The pain was immense, and the thing he feared the most was true...

SIRT had found him and Ciel.

Alex appeared in a flash of white light, standing behind Casval, to his right. "Good day, captain. Madame Karn." He bowed his head respectfully to both and sat down. "Forgive me for being late, I'm juggling a lot of things right now. I'm here to advocate for reasoning with the Titans. As a pilot, I would have followed either of you with the same loyalty as the six hundred, but its still the wrong choice. You've got enough trouble on your hands without having to kill each other over something as stupid as a political position. I'm not saying to give in to the titans, but try for peace first. Peace, and technological advancement. The Persians are coming, and this time you don't have Thermopylae to help you. My advice is to get the entire weight of the army behind you before you go to war." He sighed, knowing that this wasn't going anywhere. "I'll go talk to Scirocco, you two play nice while I'm gone, okay? I'd rather not have a spacenoid civil war going on over a broken relationship." He bowed to the two commanders, and began to travel.

---

Zypher blinked, "I don't know either... I just thought you'd like it without strawberries..."

---

Ciel screamed loudly one last time as the final traces of SIRT's mental attack left her. "Kazzy... I want to go home..."

---

Jun stared at all the fancy controls. "Commissar, before we get into something more complex, may I play around with this thing? I've never been in one of these, and I would hate to not know what I'm doing in a real combat situation."

Kira was in deep thought in the Nemo mess hall. He had felt something...different when he was fighting that Gundam. He didn't seem to have any sense of fear or self-preservation. In fact, he'd nearly gotten killed by that thing.

"What am I? It's like I was in some kind of berserk state!"

He shook it off, hoping that it was just the heat of battle or something like that...

==============================================================================

Kaz was still clutching his head, his ears ringing with pain. But then Ciel asked to go home.

"What good will that do, Ciel? How do we know SIRT can't affect us up in space? And what about the others?"

He wanted to fight them. Destroy SIRT. Finally earn his freedom. But who knew what that would entail?

========================================================================

The Commissar flagged down the Macross, asking to be let in. But she almost forgot about Jun's request.

"Very well. You are free to do some testing. Meanwhile, I shall be landing on the Macross. Join me shortly, if you can."

The Gaplant transformed back into its Mobile Suit mode and came to rest on the Macross' Mobile Suit deck, with Rei shedding her helmet and landing on the deck below.

"The guests have arrived."

=========================================================================

Haman was shocked by the reappearance of that familiar boy. However, this time he was speaking to the both of them, something about trying to make peace with the Titans...But before she could respond to him, he left.

"Peace and technological advancement, he says...Personally, I think we should just hope that boy's meeting with Paptimus Scirocco goes well, otherwise we might have the Titans interrupt us."

===========================================================================

Demitria smiled as she sipped the delicious watermelon smoothie. Sure enough, she was aching EVERYWHERE...She made a mental note to have the feedback turned down a little bit.

It was weird being with Zypher, because even though she really didn't, she felt like she knew him...

Earth, near the Nemo

Approaching the Nemo in his brand new and shiny Sword Dagger, Joshua pressed the IFF signal button, sending his codes and orders to the bridge, hoping that the approval notice will arrive soon. His batteries were running low and he started hearing strange sounds from the joints in the legs - all of that jumping and landing, especially considering the soil that entered every small crack and cranny, probably damaged something in the small parts or whatever made the legs bend properly. The prospect of following the Nemo from the base and boarding it with nothing but his mobile suit did not seem like a lucrative task earlier and it certainly did not seem like that now. Especially considering the fact that he nearly got into the crossfire with the giant hulk of metal that attacked the ship earlier.

"Hey, you guys aboard the Nemo!" Joshua said in the impatient and loud voice he used when he was tired and annoyed by things, addressing the bridge through the comm link, "Mind opening the hatch so I can get through? I just spent nearly an hour chasing you from a far-away base and I want to take a nice long nap after this."

Katrine nodded to Ryand. "Its okay, Ryand, we all have pasts we'd like to forget." Her gaze turned to Sero when she said this, then looked to the girl clutching his hand with her scorched ones. Motherly instinct overpowered all reason, and she rushed to her daughter. "Katrine, what did you do this time? Your hands are... Katrine, you've cooked them to the bones!"
"Mother, I am fine. I had to perform some on-the-fly modifications to the reactor, and I was unable to use proper safety equipment. I will be fine in a few days," her daughter replied, letting her mother peel the charred flesh back, not even wincing. Pain wasn't a foreign feeling to her. Since she was eight, she had been constantly foregoing personal comfort in the name of some kind of improvement or another.
Leeva sighed and smiled. "Go to the infirmary, Katrine, I'll come see you when the meeting is over."
A half forgotten boy decided that this moment was best for make his comment,"I think the girl is well enough to stay for the duration, don't you think, Captain?" Sero kneeled down to meet eyes with the captain and her daughter, "I'll take her to the infirmary after the meeting."

---

Ceil was just beside herself with happiness. "Kazzy! isn't it cute? A mother and daughter together... I want to have a life like that one day."

---

Deep in space, a flicker of bright purple light began to spread as it took form. first a body, then two pincered claws, then a long tail that curved up into a stinger. this form moved about a moment, then dissolved into a comet of violet plasma. it screamed towards the Mcross at such speed that it nearly broke the barriers of space-time.

---

"Fly, Unit R."
"Rend your foes with your might."
"Destroy the aberrants."
"You are our sword. Cut down the traitors."

Kira was shocked by this strange man. The only thing that made him even remotely identifiable was the Ravens emblem he wore. A mercenary.

Kira walked along to the meeting, thinking. He'd heard of people called Berserkers, who became unstoppable killing machines when in battle...He quickly perished that thought in terror. He knew that he wasn't any kind of Berserker.

During the meeting, he saw the mercenary again. Except this time, he revealed himself. Ryand said something about how he was from the Titans.

"Wait! I thought the Psyco Gundam was a Mobile Suit designed for Cyber Newtypes! Are you saying this guy is..."

If this new character WAS a Cyber Newtype, they were in for a lot of trouble.

========================================================================

Kaz couldn't stop thinking about what had happened. All of his prowess, all of his power, and he was easily turned into a screaming mess by those SIRT scum. He knew they'd given him life again, but they were too easily willing to take it away.

A sudden word from Ciel broke him out of his mental raging. Something about wanting a family.

"Ciel...I...I would love to have a family with you. Because I love you very much. But until we can free ourselves, that dream may not come true..."

He turned away again, trying to hide the tears on his face.

==========================================================================

The Commissar was glad to see a welcoming party. She hadn't seen anyone who wasn't on Pluto in quite a while, and now she was back on the Macross again.

I wish that I could get on a ship like this and leave Pluto behind forever...

"Very well. Lead the way, please."

She motioned for Jun to follow, eager at the prospect of discussion with higher-ups.

"Alright, I'll get there as soon as I can." '...assuming there will be someone to tell me where the damn place is.' He continued the line in his mind, while navigating the Dagger into the Nemo's interior, hoping not to collide with anything on the way - he was not particularly fond of entering battleships by himself on earth, the thought that he might damage a multi-million dollar machine by accident was not making it any easier to him either.

As soon as he "parked" the Sword Dagger in it's designated spot, he promptly walked towards what he believed to be the room he was asked to go to. The experience of boarding a Space Noah-class ship was not in his resume and he had absolutely no idea where he was supposed to go. The lack of a simple sign to tell him which room was what also didn't help, so he spent a few minutes getting to the right place.

"I assume this is the second debriefing room?" He said as he entered the room, trying to guess who was the important person he was supposed to meet. His hand still went over towards his head from habit, as he said the things he was used to saying now; "Lt. Joshua Emerik, reporting for duty."

Ceil hugged Kaz and quickly wiped away his tears before anyone besides her could notice. "That is why we're going to win, Kazzy... we have too much to lose."

---

the creature stopped in front of the macross and then, after a moment of indecision, flew at it. the plasma was deflected with some difficulty by the armored hull of the battle fortress. After the initial attack ended, the creature gathered into its true form: a scorpion made of hot plasma.

---

Sero shuttered when he felt the creature, and sighed, standing up. "Another is here... I need something to pilot." He gave Ander a quick glance, then started for the hanger without a moment's pause.

Kira found the amount of Newtypes around positively dizzying. His brother and Ciel were Newtypes, that other girl who came with them was a Newtype, and now this new girl.

"Jeez, am I the only pilot left who's NOT a Newtype?"

He laughed a bit. It really did seem that the entire crew of the Nemo was becoming Newtypes.

Maybe a Newtype is something someone can become, not just be...

======================================================

Kaz sighed uneasily. Too much to lose was putting it mildly. They stood to lose EVERYTHING. Not just their lives, but the lives of their friends and potentially the lives of many more people.

"I can't stand to risk that loss. But how do we fight against gods? Are they even able to be fought?"

He sighed and looked down at the floor. These weren't just aliens or war-bent humans. These were something different...

Something much harder to kill.

=================================================================

The Commisar laughed off her partner's fears. What was there to fear, on board one of the most powerful ships around? The Macross was alien technology, and truly strong stuff. This ship was designed to take on entire armadas, what enemy could possibly shake it?

Then she felt a bit of a tremor, not seeing the cause.

"What was that?"

Katrine turned around. "Captain Leeva, someone is stealing Freedom Gundam."
"Kira! get yourself a unit and go re-capture your friggin' Gundam! NOW!" Leeva immediately barked, then proceeded to shoo her adopted daughter to the infirmary.
Ceil smiled and hugged Kaz's arm. [hr]We should help Kira, right Kazzy?[/hr]
Suddenly, a flash of light blinded those in the room, and when their vision cleared, Sero was gone.

---

The purple mass turned only a moment before it began its attack. RIght before it impacted the unready opponent, a shield of blue flame engulfed him. The first monster recoiled away as Alex sat down in captain Gloval's empty chair, took out a pipe, and quietly chewed on the tip. He had brought Sero to face this opponent. "Captain, this creature is made of plasma. recall your flight teams, Sero must face this enemy, and he must do it alone."

---

Zypher sat next to Demitria and smiled at her. "So... how are you?"

---

Jun stared out a window at the two forces colliding. She was mortified. "Kommisar, the spirits of two great warriors are colliding... one against us, the other for us..."

Kira was not happy. Someone had managed to steal the big fancy Mobile Suit he was supposed to be piloting! While it didn't seem like a big loss to him given that he really didn't like the thing, he still had to go get it back.

"Roger that, Captain!"

He ran into the hangar...Only to find his Guarlion was GONE!

"Where the hell is my Guarlion?"

The techies looked up and sighed.

"Some techies from Isurugi came and took it a bit ago to use your combat data, don't you remember?"

Kira went from being not happy, to enraged. "So you're telling me there's NOTHING I can launch in?" The techies sighed. "Afraid so..."

"Damn it, Leeva's going to have my-Hey, what is that?"

He looked out the open hangar door to the strange glowing object approaching the Earth. Specifically, a spot a few feet away from the Nemo.

"Is that...a mech? Maybe it's for me!"

The Sieguarlion came to a stop in its designated landing position, the entry equipment falling away and the AI control switching off.

"Yeah, it's for me! Here I go!"

He attached a vernier pack to his pilot suit and jetted out to the Sieguarlion, which already had the cockpit opened. That could mean only one thing, the mech was for HIM. So he jumped into the cockpit and took a look around.

"Whoa, this thing has the same controls as the Guarlion! But what's this "BD" button for..." He pressed it, and the cockpit door closed, as restraints tightened around him and the Sieguarlion launched with the kind of speed Valkyries could only dream of.

"Wait...BD...Boost Drive! This thing has a Boost Drive? Kick-ass!" He got control of the machine back and flew back to the Nemo, grabbing the Shishio Blade from its wall hanger and launching towards the Freedom at massive speed, easily catching up with it.

"You aren't going anywhere, Gundam thief! I'm Kira Katamuki, the Sword of Victory!"

He held the sword out in front of him, mimicking the pose inside the cockpit.

"There is nothing my Colossal Blade cannot cut!"

=========================================================================

Kaz was glad to see Ciel being affectionate. While she had been able to calm down after the incident with SIRT, he'd still been high-strung about it.

"No Ciel, I can't go help him every time he runs into a problem, he won't ever be able to take care of the ones he loves by himself. Let's see how he does."

I won't let you fail, Brother.

======================================================================

Demitria smiled and put aside her emptied smoothie.

"I'm fine, still getting used to the Gundam's control system. I'd been training for months, but it still needs fine tuning. That's why I'm not moving so much now...Aside from that, I'm feeling pretty good."

This was good, Zypher wasn't shutting down or talking about how he'd killed her in the past. Demitria was glad to be able to have a normal conversation with Zypher for once. And if she kept this up, perhaps he'd finally stabilize...

============================================================================

The Commissar looked on with the same kind of fearful hesitation as her inferior officer. Whatever was fighting, it was not anything she'd ever seen, and it was most likely dangerous.

"Jun...We should flee as soon as possible."

"Kira, stop acting like you're in some child's anime and get your ass in gear, or I'm going to have the Nemo open fire on both you and the Freedom Gundam." A slightly irritated captain Peotraska barked as she bandaged her daughter's burns.

---

Ceil stared out the window. "Your brother needs our help, Kazzy... he's acting like a little child."

---

Jun shook her head. "Forgive me, commissar, but this is our place. this is the front line and this is where we are needed. You may leave if that is your wish, I will find another way to serve my duty, but I am going to stay and do my part. I sense the power of God here... and it wants me to aid the Macross."

---

Zypher started holding his head. "My meds are starting to wear off..."