Barnett Belvedere's Story

Sir Eric Hansel and Lady Amelia Cross

After princess Viki’s vanishing Sir Hansel gave an exhausted sigh. Sitting in the pilot’s seat he quickly entered the coordinates for the Titan into the shuttles guidance system. He then walked over to a mini ship hatch prepped it for launching. All the while lady Amelia stood with her hands placed over her mouth in shock of what just happened. “Where in the world did she go? Oh dear Sir Hansel whatever shall we do?” Amelia said in bewildered tone.

“Where indeed Lady Cross. Don’t you worry, I shall find the princess. She does this often. Always by accident of course. I have a way of finding her pretty reliably.” Sir Hansel replied.

“Oh I do hope she’ll be alright. What must we do to locate her? Supplies on this ship for the wounded are limited. I must accompany these soldiers to a proper medical facility soon. However I would like to see to it that the princess is not in any danger.” Amelia replied.

“It’s quite alright Lady Cross. I have set the coordinates for this vessel to take you and the others to the Titan. I shall use the secondary ship to find the princess. I will contact the King when I find out more information or Viki herself. So if I may ask that you please not inform anyone of the princess’ disappearance?” Sir Hansel asked politely. He was always the gentleman.

“You have my word Sir Hansel. Do take care and please send word to me if you are in need of any assistance at all. This is my personal number. I can be of help if you need, trust me.” Amelia replied with a warm smile. She was indeed a very useful person to have in your company, even in times of danger, Amelia could hold her own to a certain degree.

Moments later Sir Hansel took off in the secondary shuttle and began to utilize his locator for Viki. The readings were quite shocking. The teleportation trail lead to an area that was not long ago occupied by enemy ships. It was now that Hansel knew where Viki teleported to. The princess was onboard a Benjlakki ship. Hethen began to track the residual heat signature of the vessal Viki teleported into. He had a trail and a match. Not it was a matter of following the trail and rescuing Viki. “I suppose I shall see a little action today. They had better not have wronged that dear young lady in any way. If I’m not careful I’ll start another international incident.” Sir Hansel said to himself. He set off to find the princess.


Amelia Cross

Amelia had arrived at the Titan and immediately made sure all that were on the shuttle were transported safely to the medical ward and properly treated. Aftera few hours she saw to it that everyone was settled. The other doctors and nurse were concerned about Amelia. She had been working so hard, it was easy to forget that she wasn’t a volunteer and mistake her for the head doctor. She was just as knowledgeable as the head doctor in fact. The two often collaborated on treatment ideas.

The other nurses, after a while, refused to allow Amelia to see to another patient. “Go get soe rest Lady Amelia! We mean it! You’ll be in a hospital bed yourself if you don’t mind your rest and be careful. Call it a day milady.” One of the nurses said.

“Alright, I will do as I’m told. I promise. But I will be back first thing in the morning tomorrow. Is that alright?” Amelia said with a smile.

“We wouldn’t have it any other way Milady.” The nurse replied with a motherly smile. “Alright, off with you now.”

Amelia gave a polite curtsey and left the med bay. She went to get a bite to eat and gave her brother a call. She figured he could help keep Viki’s disappearance under wraps from the official s back in Metargo. That way Sir Hansel had more time to rescue the princess. Percival agreed and was able to concoct a plan to serve the purpose. He soon made an announcement that the Princess would be going on a holiday to visit a relative. She would be back in a few days. This way no one would question the whereabouts of the princess.

Amelia, ended the call and eat her meal quietly. She was glad to have the warm meal and a glass of orange juice. She loved orange juice. It was much to her relief that she was able to inform her family that she was alright. The family was so grateful to the princess who rescued Amelia and the others on the med shuttle. After finishing her meal, Amelia headed to her quarters to get a nights rest. She wasn’t planning on attending the concert as she had had enough excitement for one day. However she soon received a urgent call from the nurse at the medical ward.
“Lady Cross I am so very sorry to disturb your rest but we have a serious emergency that we need your help with! There was an intruder onboard the Titan and she attacked two of the pilots and fled. She severed their hands milady!! The doctor is in the middle of performing a surgery and he can’t stop at this point or it’ll be fatal! You’ve the most knowledge next to him Lady Cross, Please help these poor young men!” The nurse pleaded.

“Yes indeed! I Shan’t waste another moment. I’ll please prep the cybernetics unit as swiftly as you can!” Amelia rushed over to the medical ward and there was chaos. The two men were in severe pain. Amelia arrived and found a quick solution to stop the bleeding and began to prep the anesthesia. She leaned over Kyle, “It’s going to be alright, sir. I shall have to put you to sleep alright. Everything will be okay, I promise you.” Amelia said before the anesthesia ha d begun to work. Her gentle smile was reassuring and calming. Once the two men were asleep she began to have them moved for the operation. If all went as she had planned, the two would wake up with cybernetic hands to replace their lost ones.


Barnett Belvedere

Barnett was shocked at the sudden attacker’s entrance into the room. She was looking a sword pointed at her face. Barnett kept a small pistol under her pillow just in case she needed to protect herself. Minmei had told her she was crazy for it but Barnett was always under the impression that something like what was happening could occur. During times of war no one could be too careful. Today was just another example of that. As the girl made her escape from the room, Barnett drew the gun and fired shots at her. She felt bad for firing at the young lady’s twin but war was war. Barnett knew that it was a kill or be killed situation.

After the girls left the room, Barnett lowered her weapon and exhaled deeply. “OH MY GOD… I knew it. I said her twin sister would be worried sick about her. So sick she went ballistic crazy and busted her out of here, a HIGHLY FORTIFIED ENEMY WAR SHIP. I need a shot of something strong… “ She said as she slumped down in bed. She then heard the moans, groans, and shouts of agony belonging to the wounded Kyle and Aaron. “What happened out there?! Who did she hurt?!” Barnett asked frantically. A few moments later Lady Amelia Cross arrived with the rest othe the medical unit and transported Kyle and Aaron to surgery. Barnett clasped her hands together in prayer, “Heaven help them, please.”

Scoar sighed. "I see. If that's the case then I don't mind piloting one of those mechs. However, I would like some changes in the armor so that the maneuverability percentage is increased. I don't know why but the girls just seem a little too slow for me. He then turned around noticing the noise from over top of him. He quickly ran up the stairs and caught a glimpse of two girls passing by. He made slight eye contact with one. He had hoped she had noticed but stared off sighing some more. Even if she did notice why would she stop. He was an enemy and this was a war. He kept his eyes off in their direction.
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Cain moved around the other side of Barnett shielding her from the danger of the girls twin who had found her way abourd the Titan. It seemed the girl could protect herself seeing as though she had shot first. Cain didn't know of allot of things to be attracted of when it came to women, but he had to admit, seeing her with the gun made him feel at ease about himself for some strange reason. It seemed the girl had bought her sister enough time and she was able to leave the room. Cain followed them on impulse but as soon as they hurt the other men he stopped. He knew that if he applied pressure here it would only worsen the situation for others around him. The safest thing to do would be to let the two of them go. Cain walked around to get away from the hectic environment. He wouldn't be of any help at the scene. Of course it was better this way. He found Scoar staring off into the distance. "What's wrong with you."
"Huh?" The man jumped looking behind him. "Oh crap. I must've been day dreaming or something. Hey. How did you let them escape?"
"I have two reasons." Cain shrugged leaning against the wall.
"I'm listening."
"Well. 1. If I fought those two here then we'd have casualties and repairs to be taken care of on the ship. More than before. Also I'd have to kill them this time based on the scenarios I put in my head. 2. I'm not a babysitter. Also it was a little weird being in there."

Scoar sighed, "Because of Barnett?"
"What... No." Cain retorted, turning away while blushing. "It's... you know... I'm not good with dealing with girls. Especially one who I... Well one that's Barnett and another who I kidnapped."
"I see. Makes sense. Although I think you're really lucky Cain."
"Why's that?"
"You can actually be with the woman you love and you have the freedom to pick any woman to love. I on the other hand, have to pick a partner that will help me be a good king once it's time for me to take the thrown."
"Huh? No. . . No. You're wrong. I don't deserve to be with anybody. Even if I could. Even though I want to. I don't have the right to have my own family. I don't have the right to live happily. I'm meant to do one thing and one thing only, and that one thing is to follow orders and .........."
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"Destroy." Axl snapped. "I keep telling you my hands aren't meant for sparring. They're meant for killing and destroying. Damn. Stop asking. I don't spar people." He said crossing his arms. "And don't say you don't categorize as a people, because you do." He looked outside and scratched his head standing up. He put on a fur coat and went to the door. "I get rid of aggression by going on walks. Fighting is to take out aggression. However, It never got rid of it for me."

While Saul conversed with Karen, the alarm sounded, which made Saul jerk his head around for any foes nearby as he kept his right hand steadily hovering over the holster with his handgun. Moments later, he received a message saying Jin-Giro was leading a group to intercept the fugitives. "What do you mean, 'fugitives', Lieutenant Aurelia!? There should only have been one Benjlakki soldier onboard! Are you saying someone came for her!?"

The response from Lieutenant Aurelia was, Yes, sire, it seems that way.

"Approach and ask questions to anyone whom has encountered them and give me a full report on what they saw and heard!" After concluding communications, Saul turned back to Karen and said, "It seems something always comes up when matters calm down. How annoying that is."

Julius, whom was in the middle of a conversation with Sailor Multi before the alarm sounded and had to get in a combat stance in case of trouble, facepalmed himself to his robotic head and chimed in with, "Tell me about it!"

---

Adira and Chemda were fired upon before their plan could even begin. Adira managed to get away from the first blast, yet Chemda decided to block it, instead, with the shield particles from her Eagle's left arm. Unfortunately, the impact caused the particles to explode and make her mech fly backwards because of the magnitude of the explosion. The other two blasts, Chemda dodged, yet the distraction was enough for her to not see the fighters incoming. several beams hit her Eagle where the cockpit was located, but thankfully, despite the heavy damage to the armor, the cockpit itself was safe. Once she finally figured out what was going on, she saw four fighters surrounding her and taking turns shooting at her.

Stay calm, Chemda... aim carefully... Without even using an auto-lock system, Chemda quickly calculated where the next attack could come from and aimed both beam rifles at those two possible locations. She was not far off; one of the fighters came close to where she predicted, so she changed her angle of aiming with one of the rifles and reacted swiftly as she pulled the trigger, the beam hitting right at the engines of the fighter. This sent it crashing into the ocean while the pilot ejected and parachuted safely onto the land of the island the ruins of the laboratory resided.

These fighters were fast, but not as speedy as the Eagle or its Metargo variant, the Falcon. knowing that fact, Chemda maneuvered diagonally-upwards away from the orbiting fighters and took aim at two more of them from a distance as they pursued. She waited until they open-fired with beam guns before she finally shot a wing each from two of the remaining three fighters, taking out the second on each, as well. Those two pilots also ejected and parachuted safely.

The final fighter, however, smartened up and, as the others had used repeating beam guns, fired missiles, instead. Chemda had to literally switch to fighter-jet mode and maneuver every which way but loose just to avoid being hit by the projectiles until, finally, she fire flared behind her and got most of the missiles. One, however, seemed to be guided by built-in AI and resumed the chase. Chemda realized, moments later, she had to draw it to her rear line of fire, thus she pulled up and accelerated to full speed as she gained altitude. Once the final missile was flying straight in its pursuit, Chemda fired the reared beam guns of the mech's jet-fighter mode and detonated the projectile right on time. The dogfight between her and the remaining fighter continued from high above Adira and Jin.

Meanwhile, Adira met Jin's charge with her own and locked blades with him. During the lock, she contacted him via radio, shouting, "Well, I've got to hand it to you: you're very persistent! You're too late, however, since any supplies and equipment that could have helped your 'Project Ghost' have been destroyed along with the laboratory where Chemda and I were genetically altered as children!"

Using this moment to push Jin away from her, she continued with, "That massive clan of mercenaries from more than a decade prior to this moment tried the same thing, as well as attempted to wipe out the counter-project to Project Ghost so this squad of genetically altered men called the Ghost Team would go unchallenged! Yet, they ultimately failed due to the Benjlakki Armed Forces interfering under the impression said mercenaries posed a threat to the Gatwashiim Peninsula! You probably remember hearing or reading in the news about that same clan of mercenaries being sieged by the Benjlakki Republic Navy for months at some islands near the peninsula? Well, this is the same area that it took place! By that time, the laboratory was already abandoned!"

Pointing one sword towards Jin's Champ while her Eagle got into a melee stance, Adira still continued. "Whoever funded Project Ghost back at Metargo was extra careful to cover their tracks, because human experimentation of such caliber is illegal under international law! Just earlier, today, the pilot of a mech that fired a nuclear weapon fought Chemda and I on foot and managed to capture her, all by himself! No unaltered human being could even come close to that! The only conclusion I can come up with is that his abilities were the result of Project ghost, that same illegal project of genetic experimentation that was underwent in your own country, the same one countered with the one my sister and I went through before we could remember much of anything!"

Sure. I'm Kal, by the way." Shaking his hand, Benjamin replied with, "I'm Ben."

It was then Kal noticed Benjamin was part of Brown Wing Team and told him, "I heard you guys really gave it to those mangoes, out there."

Ben shrugged. "Thanks to my brother. He kept us from getting disorganized when the previous sergeant died to a stray blast, today. Zechariah even fought Aaron Lextu. We were mainly up against Lion Team. Kind of ironic that I, whom wanted to continue the Malachi family legacy, was outperformed in both training and the real thing by my younger brother, whom wanted no part of the military tradition and had to be drafted in order to be here. And now, he's the new Sergeant in charge of Brown Wing Team."

---

Chemda nodded to what Adira said and notice Jin, still seemingly drunk. "Was he drinking?"

"Yes, he was. Kind of a disappointment, to be honest. Who in their right mind would get wasted knowing they could go into combat at any moment?"

Chemda tilted her head sideways. "Maybe something happened to him?"

Adira shrugged. "He did mention a captain dying. And, you saw what I did to Aaron Lextu and that other person, right?"

"We actually encountered the Falcon of Fury, back there!?"

"Yeah. I doubt he'll be out of the fight for long, though: they may just replace that hand with a robotic one. Someone of his skill is quite an asset to the Metargo Royal Navy." Adira brought out an extra set of clothes. "You should probably change out of that medical gown, for decency's sake."

"Yeah, you have a point, sis."

---

Ealirer, before the surgery, Kyle had only opened his eyes when he heard a sweet voice telling him everything would be all right. Once he did, he saw a beautiful lady, possibly of noble birth, giving a reassuring smile. He had calmed down right there. There was something odd about his reaction in his head: before, whenever he met a girl he found attractive (like, say, Minmei), it usually coincided with inner fantasies that could get perverted. This time, however, it was not like that. For some reason, it was more like a puppy crush, where he simply wanted to give a hug and kiss, if any sort of affection. He could not register much after that due to falling fast asleep.

After the operation, both Kyle and Aaron woke up to find robotic hands where the ones they lost once were. Of course, neither man could move them that well, initially. Bibi was watching from behind the medical staff; her help contributed to the speed in getting the cybernetics to function. The head mechanic then came up to Kyle with an explanation.

"It'll take a while for your nervous systems to adjust to your new hands. Until then, you will need an additional electricity source."

The moment Bibi brought out the nuclear power chip, however, was when Kyle grabbed her wrist with all manner of disgust and anger in his eyes, using the hand he did not lose. "Get that filthy thing away from me, Bibi!"

"What the hell!" Bibi did not take to the sudden grabbing in the slightest. She may have been a noblewoman, yet her demeanor was not completely like one. In fact, she was more rough than anything. Using her free hand, she broke free from Kyle's grasp and glared in a hostile manner. "Look, here, Private Scipio! This is the only sort of power cell we could find that could work with what you got! You know that nuclear energy...

Kyle interrupted by shouting, "I don't care! It's just another reminder of how I lost my family!"

Aaron finally interjected by posing calmly the query, [color]"What do you think your sister would say about this scenario, if she were alive?"[/color]

That was when Kyle's hostile attitude disappeared. Any mention of how his sister would react to anything was the one thing that could pacify him. He could hear sweet little Erika in his head, saying to him, It's okay, big brother! They're only here to help! Everything will be all right! Tears came down Kyle's eyes and his non-robotic hand was shaking. At last, he nodded.

Aaron told Bibi, "It's okay, now." While Bibi got the nuclear power chip installed without Kyle resisting, Aaron looked up at Amelia and said, "Kyle lost his family to a meltdown, milady. The explosion killed his parents instantly, while his younger sister, Erika, received a terminal illness from the whole ordeal. He could not pay for her treatment in time. I was there to see Kyle and her at a medical room. Even though she smiled in her last moments and told him not to cry, it did not take long after her death for him to burst into tears. Kyle literally sobbed over his sister's corpse for an hour nonstop. Since then, his life pretty much went downhill as he turned to life in the streets. He did not have much left. The main reason he is in the military is because of an incident where he fought a group of thugs and literally tried to kill them with his pocket knife. He and the others were arrested, but when it was realized Kyle went berserk back there to save a high school girl from being raped, he was offered a chance at amnesty in return for service in the Royal Navy. He agreed, and here now he is, a member of Lion Team, the most prestigious mech squadron our country has to offer."

After Aaron's attention left Cain, he decided to sneak away from the area. Leaving the medical area and stepping outside, who would have thought he'd see his friend again. He sighed and rubbed his face. "Couldn't eat huh?"He asked.

"Not really. Something came up, so I decided to gather information again. Hehehe." Scoar chuckled mischievously.

"What?"

"Nothing...... Acting team leader Numi." Scoar said with a wide grin.

"You were eavesdropping. Seems you're learning how to here through walls."

"You taught me." Scoar rumbled through a couple pieces of paper before handing one to Cain. "Well, since you're the lead for the time being and in good health, I have a job for you." Scoar's face dawned a serious look as he spoke.

Cain on the other hand gazed wide eyed at the information on the paper. "W-What is this?"

"That's a questionnaire for a few people. Mainly the ones I think you should get close to the most on the team."

"There's only one name here." Cain stated turning his gaze towards Scoar. His eyes slowly formed into a glare as he did so.

"Well, I don't want you to hurt yourself out there. You're a strong guy." With the words came a small cough that seemed to be an attempt to hold back laughter.

"You're just trying to...."

"Oh yeah, you can do this one too." Scoar said happily handing Cain another paper. "Good hunting my friend." He said before disappearing into the room.

Cain sat in shock at the questions on the papers. There was no way he could ask someone the question's on the papers. No way.
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Inside the ER medical room, Scoar walked in on a very interesting conversation between Aaron and Kyle. Smiling he walked into their area. "Well if you ask me it doesn't matter if the woman is nobility or not." He said, looking through his papers. "Mostly because, if you like someone and want them to like you back, you shouldn't be cautious around them. Put yourself in their shoes for a minute. Wouldn't you want a partner that sees you as an equal and not as someone lower or higher than them? Just food for thought. Lady Cross is a kind woman. I'm sure you can slowly get to know her. So don't be nervous around her because of nobility okay?"

Having said that, he decided to get back to business. "Here they are. Okay. So. I need to know both your name, ranks, heights in feet and inches, weight, how you're feeling right now, ages, and any other information that I can write to make this a whole entirely filled out paper." Scoar glanced at Kyle and smiled. "Don't worry Kyle. Yours will be easy, Like....Lady.....Cross. Hehe. I'm just kidding." The man jested as he erased what he wrote. "Now before you guys say anything else, I'd prefer you call me Scoar. No honorifics needed okay? It makes me uncomfortable if you don't hehe." Scoar really enjoyed talking to the Lion's, after all, Cain wasn't the only one who either had social issues or was entertaining to hang around in some way.
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Cain Looked at the door in front of him. Then he looked at the time.

How could I be doing this three times in one day.

He looked down on the notepad with the questionnaire and on one of the papers was written 'Third times the charm.' Of course Scoar would be the only one to write something like that. He couldn't tell whether today was a serious day for him or if he had lost his mind completely. It wasn't really inconvenient seeing as Cain wanted to know more about Barnett anyway, but the questions were really personal. The female ones always were, at least in Cains mind. Why did Scoar check up on people? He wasn't a nurse.
Cain sighed and shrugged his shoulders. He would have to do it sooner or later. He pressed the button to the sliding door and walked inside. "Ex-excuse me. I hope you're not sleeping." He said as he walked in. "Um.... Well due to some circumstances, I was assigned temporary lead to the Lion team and I was told I need to question some people who are tied to the team and...... Well I was thinking that I could ask you questions." He said nervously glancing back to the papers in his hand. "But you know you don't have to answer me. It's okay, I can just have someone else come in and do it." He was really thinking at a fast rate at this time. He really didn't want to do this, but, at the same time, he sort of did. It was confusing, even for him. Suddenly a thought crossed his mind that seemed good enough to say out loud. "Oh yeah. For each question I ask about you, you'll get to ask one about me. That sounds fair right?" He said. Realizing that he didn't look like he was doing a professional interview at all, he lowered his head and shut up. The worst she could say was no, although that just meant that he messed up an order, which he had never done before. That alone was enough to get rid of his nervousness. "On second thought." He said with a determined look in his face. "I insist that's what we do." His determined face wasn't that much different from his normal ones, but the eyes that stared at Barnett were the ones of a man on a mission, at least to him they were.
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Axl laughed at Ben before saying, "Well, I saved lives didn't I. So tell me, would you rather I just.....Oww.." He exclaimed after Viola hit him. "Hey what the..." He started to say before being cut off by her words. "Oh yeah... Well Ben, it seems she's right. We shouldn't fight each other. I have nothing against you. You are fun to mess with though." He laughed. He was going to walk away after that before Viola mentioned how she would have to leave the current area to go to her father. If he played his cards right then he could enact his plan. Yes, it was a good opportunity. "Hmm. I think that if I met a scientist like her father then I could have him work on the Black Shadow. He might be able to form enough data from it to make another version of it. That could be pretty detrimental to the war. With the right people it would only take three months to make one. What do you say Ben. You think it's a good idea?"

Axl had the situation under his control by putting it under Bens control. Even he knew that people can't help but to trust situations they're in control of. However, it wouldn't matter if the answer was yes or no. He could easily just sneak off with the artificial woman and pass it off as an attempt to help Benjlakk. However, he'd prefer things to be easier.

Amelia Cross

As Amelia listened to Bibi’s mention of her husband she began to think of her situation. She was always so busy pursuing her interests, she rarely thought about relationships. ‘Why haven’t I sought love out for myself?’ she thought to herself. She peered down at the floor as she decreased her walking pace. Amelia brushed it off and returned to her usual graceful disposition.
As they were walking, Bibi spotted a member of Lion Team, George, holding his forehead in obvious pain. At least, she thought it was George. "Hey, George! What's up with your head?"

The person thought to be George replied with, "George? I'm not George, I'm Emesto."

Bibi raised an eyebrow. "Why are you wearing his uniform, then? You look just like him. Are you brothers?" She recognized something odd about the man's voice right away: he was speaking with a Benjlakki accent. "And, why are you sounding like a Benjlakki, with that accent you are using?"

Emesto gazed at Bibi with an equally questioning glare as he switched to the Benjlakki language. "I am Lieutenant Emesto Andrew, 92nd Republic Fleet, Blue Angel Team, Benjlakki Mech Ace. I only have a younger sister, named Catrina. Did Metargo ally with Benjlakk so to deal with the mercenary problem, by any chance? Did it escalate that much?"

Bibi gave a stern look. "The Benjlakki Siege on Mercenaries was thirteen years ago."

Emesto's eyes widened in disbelief as he froze where he was. "Thirteen years!? Are you serious!? Catrina would be a young adult, by now!" He then had his hands feel the Metargo uniform he was wearing. "Wait! How am I alive!? I should have died back at the islands near the Gatwashiim Peninsula! What am I doing in Metargo uniform!?"

Bibi brought out an X-ray device she made in case of emergency, though this was beyond her expectations. "I have a hunch, Emesto. Hold still, I need to examine your spine." Upon inspection, she found what she suspected would be there. "Just as I thought, Nanoidrons implanted into your spine. Those mercenaries you speak of must have put them there to make George, if what you say is true. King Saul would want to know about this."

Amelia look upon the situation curiously. ‘Why was this man implanted with Nanoidrons in the spine?’ She thought. “That practice is highly prohibited, not to mention dangerous… Sir Do you remember anything about the people who did this to you? I would much like to see that they are apprehended as soon as possible. Perhaps there are others with a similar situation about the base. We should probably investigate the matter soon.” Amelia added.

Viki Lunaria Metargo

Viki listened to Oriana’s advice. She knew that it wasn’t the wisest idea to say that she was a Metargo Exchange student however, she didn’t want to hide her heritage. She was quite proud of her nation and simply refused to lie about being from Metargo. She wasn’t really worried about the trouble that choice could have caused. She was pretty whimsical about everything, and somehow always managed to managed to escape trouble unscathed.

When Viki was told of Oriana’s position in Benjlakk she stared at her in awe. This information had shed a new light on the young woman. Viki wondered why Zechariah knew such a powerful person personally. Viki soon noticed that her comm disk received a notification. She looked down at it and smiled, it was Zech’s contact information. Viki replied with her own info to Zech’s device.

Standing straight now Oriana went all business the sweetness draining from her until she looked like a woman on a war path her deep blue eyes freezing over like ice. "As mentioned I have been asleep for awhile... After I went to check up on the mechs I think was a few months back we were attacked though my memory is currently missing I seem to also be missing an arm... When I awoke yesterday I was told via communicator by president Anderson to get well take some time to rest... But considering the whispers of a fight... I'm not keen on the idea. So today I checked myself out and here I am." Oriana huffed her eyes looking away calculating each ounce of information. "Hmm... If I can keep communication going now... I think... There has to be a way for something." Nodding to herself decidedly Oriana turned back to the pair physically calming. "Ah sorry, I ought not bring such un-pleasantries here you seemed to be having such a good conversation going... Though I must warn Miss Viki that although Zech seems harmless his good looks are quite notorious on catching girls fancies... Not that he ever notices." Oriana smiled and playfully nudged Zech in the shoulder in a clear brother sister type fashion.

Viki was extremely puzzled by Oriana. She swapped dispositions swiftly. It was almost frightening. When she heard the bit about Zechariah’s attractiveness she began to giggle. She looked him up and down silently and her smile grew somewhat squiggly. “He is adorably handsome… I’m lucky that he’s looking after me.” Viki said with a sweet smile. “So Zechariah, where to next?”, Viki asked him in a chipper manner, she locked arms with him casually.


Percival Cross

Percival had begun preparations to depart for the Titan. He couldn’t stop thinking about the matters involving the princess. He simply hoped that everything would work out smoothly. He wasn’t extremely worried however, Sir Hansel was looking after the princess and he was more than efficient at his job. Percival was also comforted by the knowledge that the princess had an uncanny knack for evading danger by some miraculous means, so he had little doubt that she’d make it home without trouble.

A ring chimed in the air, the telecommnicator displayed the King’s private line. Percival took a second to make a decision. “Perhaps I should refrain from telling the king about Viki for now. He need not worry about this. I’ll make sure she makes it back into Metargo without troubling King Saul.” He said to himself.

Percival answered King Saul’s call, Saul said, "Lord Cross, I am sorry if I interrupted anything, yet I have something urgent to tell you.”

Percival replied with a polite smile, “You’re always most welcome my King. What may I ask is the trouble?”

Saul continued, “After the Battle of Gatwashii, today, we were surprised with the realization of the fact a prisoner that escaped has been genetically altered to make her performance in battle higher than any regular person could hope to achieve in a lifetime, similar to an illegal genetic project that was conducted in our own country, as well. I am sending a copy of all files concerning both Project Ghost and Project Exorcist, as well as relevant articles about a mercenary clan's Benjlakki-repelled attack on islands in an area near Gatwashii suspected of being the location of Project Exorcist, which has apparently ceased. I would like for you to come to the Titan to further discuss this ordeal and a possible investigation on this matter. We are dealing with a massive conspiracy affecting both sides of this war."

Percival’s smile faded quickly, “I see. This is an extremely delicate situation indeed. I was just planning trip to the Titan actually. So I am impressed by your timing my lord. I will indeed conduct a thorough investigation on the matter. I shall be aboard the Titan by tomorrow morning.” The two ended their call shortly afterward. Percival took another moment to forward an authorization of passage for Sir Hansel in to Gatwashii, that way he could retrieve the princess. Percival didn’t want to take any chances.

Azaka Oikawa and Zane Preston

Earlier, after the Lion Team meeting, Azaka and Zane left the conference room and started down the hall. When the Titan was infiltrated and the prisoner of war was once again re abducted, Zane was greeted by a lower ranking officer who delivered the information to him. Azaka listened in and felt somewhat ofan overwhelming despair. After the messenger was dismissed, Azaka stood quietly staring at Zane. Zane’s disposition seemed unwavering, he expected something along the lines of what happened to occur and it did. He noticed Azaka staring and quietly acknowledged him.

“What’s the matter songbird? Shouldn’t you be getting prepared for your concert? It’s almost time you know.” Zane gave a tiny smile.

Azaka looked down at the floor, then replied, “I don’t think that I should. I mean, so much has happened today, so many things went wrong. How could I expect anyone to smile and attend a concert after such a chain of events?”

Zane stepped closer and placed his hands on Azaka’s shoulders. “That’s exactly why you should continue and sing. It’s moments like these that song is most important. It inspires joy when there is sadness, it makes tough work seem a bit easier when you hum your favorite tune, ushers in hope when you feel you have none. You taught me that, you couldn’t have forgotten. They need your song, I need your song. Will you sing for Metargo, for me?” Zane’s voice was calm and caring. He almost sounded like a father figure.

A smile crept across Azaka’s face. “I’d put anything on the line for you. However this song won’t just be for Metargo’s soldiers but those in Benjlakk as well. We’re all fighting for something important to our hearts. We should at least honor that.” Azaka replied.

“Well said Songbird.” Zane replied with a cool yet excited disposition. “I’ll be there front row center.” Zane winked. Azaka hurried off to prepare for the small concert aboard the Titan.

(Current Time)
When it was time he entered the stage and the assembly hall was near capacity. It seemed that the soldiers needed relief through song after all. The band began and Azaka sang a few of his more popular songs, “Banana Moon of Love”, “Clock Strikes”, and “Cosmic Night Flight”. Azaka then spoke to the cheering crowd. “Everyone, I’m so glad to see your smiles tonight. You can’t afford not to smile through the hard times, you know. I have prepared a special songas a lament for the fallen soldiers and a special dedication to Captain Irie. This song is not only for Metargo soldiers, but for those of the enemy that have fallen. I dedicate it to them as well because we are all the same inside, men and women fighting for what we believe in. We owe it to them and ourselves to at least honor that. That being said, here is “Anata wo Kanjiteiru”.

[Click to listen: https://soundcloud.com/jason-andrews-1/ ... eiru-cover ]

As Azaka sang, the room seemed to fill with a soothing energy. The instruments being played almost seemed to glow. It was as if everyone was emanating an energy.

Karen Lunaria Metargo

Moments before the concert’s start Saul sat down beside Karen. "Sorry for the wait, my dear." Sitting next to his Queen and wife, the King sighed. "It is a wonder we do not have grey hairs, by now, with all the stressful moments that keep coming our way."

Karen let out a small sigh of relief. “I’m glad you made it to our date.” She said with a smirk. She was so relieved to have her husband next her with a chance to relax for once. Saul was always extremely busy but the war simply made it worse. Her personal mission was not to let the country run Saul ragged. “You made it just in time darling, Azaka is about to begin his first song in a few moments.”

When the music began Karen immediately recognized what was happening. There was something a kin to magic afoot. Azaka was unaware of it but he was channeling the very power of hope through song. Hearts were being healed and restored so that all that was near could smile, dream, believe, and try once more. Karen leaned over to Saul once more, “Darling, there is something powerful about Azaka’s music, other-worldly so to speak. It took great wisdom to choose him as the Emulator for the sonic cannon.”

Sir Eric Hansel

Sir Hansel had managed to fly into enemy boarders. At the air field he impersonated a passenger from a domestic flight and when he was being checked for his identity, Hansel prepared himself for a fight, he knew that playing the innocent old man act wasn’t getting him past such a security check. Just then his electronic travel documents were received from Percival. He smiled casually and handed the officer his fabricated information obtained from the minister. The officer looked over the information and approved Hansel’s passage.

Hansel proceeded forward and then breathed out a sigh of relief. “Thank you Minister Cross…” he said to himself quietly. He searched around for Viki and after sending her a message, to keep her posted, he received a response from her. He had a general idea of where she was but Viki wasn’t the best at directions nor recalling them.

Barnett Belvedere

Barnett had spent some time resting her eyes and taking it easy as she had busy day ahead of her the next day, not to mention what had happened to her earlier. The soft sound of the sliding door could be heard and Barnett slowly opened her eyes to see Cain enter. She slowly smiled. She was glad to see him.

"Ex-excuse me. I hope you're not sleeping." He said as he walked in.

Barnett sat up and replied in a pleasant tone, “Nope, just resting my eyes. What’s up Cain?”

"Um.... Well due to some circumstances, I was assigned temporary lead to the Lion team and I was told I need to question some people who are tied to the team and...... Well I was thinking that I could ask you questions." He said nervously glancing back to the papers in his hand.

Barnett’s eyes widened excitedly, “Wow congratulations Cain! I’m excited for you! I hope you are not nervous. You shouldn’t be, you’d make a great leader I think.” She replied as she sat up further.

"But you know you don't have to answer me. It's okay, I can just have someone else come in and do it. Oh yeah. For each question I ask about you, you'll get to ask one about me. That sounds fair right?" He said. He lowered his head and shut up. "On second thought." He said with a determined look in his face. "I insist that's what we do." His determined face wasn't that much different from his normal ones, but the eyes that stared at Barnett were the ones of a man on a mission, at least to him they were.

Barnett looked a little puzzled. “You want to ask me questions? Well, sure I guess depending on the questions. Of course I want to know what they are for and who put you up to this. This is a tad unlike you. But I’m curious. So what do you wanna ask?”

Cain nodded as he heard the girls conditions on asking her questions. "Well you're right," he said folding one of the papers into a ball and throwing it into the trash. "It's very unlike me to do this. Scoar keeps making me do things different than what I want. Anyway, since I became acting command, he saw this as a good idea to..... Well I don't know really. Get to know you and allot of other people I guess. Which is true considering that I rarely have conversations with anyone else besides him and now you and most of the time those conversations go in a direction I didn't foresee. You know how it is right? You have the right skills to talk to people and get on their good side, even get along with them, but you don't do it because acting like yourself is better than some fake way you've learned. Nah, never mind, you probably don't get what I'm saying." Cain then remembered another reason why him and Scoar got along so well. In front of each other, neither had to act in a way that was awkward or fake to each other. Somehow Scoar learned to act that way around more people while Cain just hadn't let go.

"Hehe. Look at me. Giving you a whole bunch of answers to questions you didn't even ask. Man it's been a long day." Cain said leaning back in his chair. "So basically the questions are meant to check to see are you alright since the recent ship attack, what you saw, and how does that experience effect your mind and body. Also personal information to update the person on your emergency contacts list. I don't need the paper I threw into the trash because that can be found in the infirmary records. It'd be too embarrassing to ask about that stuff. But, I will ask, how are you doing after that experience. You acted pretty fast too. It was.... kind of cool. I hope you're not hurt or anything. Also, before we go any further I need to know your age, so I can determine whether to cross out this speech by Scoar.... I mean Prince Metargo. Apparently we also have to do a debrief on the matter so we should probably go with the whole scenario from your perspective bit." Cain leaned forward on his chair and smiled.
................................................................................................................................................

Axl looked over Benjamin as he spoke, not really amused with his straight and narrow answer. Seriously, he had no idea how to react to those kind of things. Well, at least not how to in a fun way. "Sure thing." He breathed out before looking at Viola. "So. Shall we go then. I can get us there in a about three hours.... Wait where is his lab located?" Axl said turning around. "Well whatever. I do need to handle some special business of my own. You'll let me right?" Axl chuckled. "Of course you're going to ask what it is and in that case, I'll tell you on the way there. If that doesn't suit your needs for knowledge then I can just go without you. I don't mind. You should decide quickly on if you want to go now or not. Time is of the essence. For both of us I would guess."
................................................................................................................................................

Scoar smiled as the two men gave all their information. "Great. That's the first ten percent of this questionnaire. I'm sorry you gentlemen lost one of your arms and I'm your only entertainment through this time of boredom you're facing in here. However, those arms of yours will help you out in the future. Should be stronger than your last set. Not to mention I will guarantee that you will have a good coating that will look just like a normal arm. However, the nerve sensor system for touch and feel is a little bit in testing, so use that at your own risk." With that, Scoar checked off another thing on his list and gave the two a stack of papers to sign. "I don't know why we use papers, scan them and then get rid of them. Guess some things are just too reminiscent to let go of. Speaking of which I..."

As soon as he was about to say something that had to do with the next matter of his visit, a blue haired girl ran in. Scoar, knowing the names and looks of most of the people on the ship noticed almost immediately that it was the girl who hung out with Barnett. He sat thinking about her name as she went on to conversation. Finally she noticed him and gave him honorifics as anyone who hadn't talked to him much would. Then she seemed to be walking towards the door in a rather weird step. "Oh no wait." He called while putting his arm on her shoulder. "You should here this too. It's important information that I personally want as many people in the Lion Team to know. Please sit and before you say it, please, call me Scoar. I will not take any honorifics from those who are with me on the battlefield, because out here, it doesn't matter who you are, or where you're from..... Well for the most part at least. At the end of the day it comes down to us combining our skills as individuals to fight for a greater cause." After saying, that the boy checked another thing off of his list. "Which brings us to another thing. I know how it must be for you guys to be so young, yet have to act so much as adults. You guys have to sacrifice your greater years and possibly the best part of your life on a battlefield." Scoar sighed as he sat at the end of Kyle's bed. The room was beggining to get full. "However, you guys are the heroes at the end of the day. There aren't allot of people who can call themselves that. If you ever have any doubts in that, just talk to me and I'll explain why. Not now of course. Only when you really need it." After checking another thing off his list, he put his pen to his mouth deciding whether or not to skip debrief. He let go of a huge sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Now it's time for debriefing. No it wasn't a mission, but it was still contact with an enemy. So, I'll let you all answer in turn, you can choose. Minmei, was it? You can answer too, if the answers relate. Okay. First part of this debrief is the recap of events. Two girls from Benjlakk assaulted this ship. One who was brought on this vessel to be imprisoned and another whom I assumed tried to save her. Now, from your point of view, what happened during that time. I need to know what happened a little bit before and the right after and also during if you didn't know that already."

Aaron and Kyle saw Minmei come in and felt somewhat sorry for her. The day kept getting more serious as it went by. UPon being asked about their perspective of what happened, Kyle was unsure of what to say since he did not see much. Aaron, however, had a pretty good idea of how Adira got into the ship.

The Falcon of Fury spoke first. "Before, I was having a duel with Tactical Commander Giro. The Benjlakki woman that broke in must have used one of the unguarded doors to the hangar to enter while there was a crowd watching the spectacle. After the duel, Jin-Giro and I received word that there was an intruder, so I lent one of my swords to the Commander while we sprinted in the direction of where the intruder would be. I told Kyle to come and meet us along the way. We saw the prisoner and the woman breaking her out and noted how fast they were going. Thus, we charged, leapt forward, then prepared to impale the two by having our blades in front of us."


Kyle nodded while adding to it. "We thought they would not be able to counter in time. Boy, were we wrong. The woman escaping with the prisoner slid under us with uncanny reflexes before slicing our hands off. It is odd: both Benjlakki soldiers' speed and reflexes were beyond that of any known person in humanity's history. That kind of makes you wonder if they were genetically modified." Looking towards Aaron, he asked, "Doesn't that sound suspicious?"

Aaron nodded, then turned towards Scoar. "Now that Kyle mentioned it, the records shown did say the prisoner was captured by Cain when he fought and defeated both of them at the same time. There is no way a man could have stood a chance against them by himself, not unless he, too, was genetically modified, at some point in his life."

Kyle nodded while saying to Scoar, "The question is, who conducted such operations on each side, who sponsored them, and why? Was one project reactionary to another? It all seems too convenient to be a coincidence."

Just then, a female soldier came in with a file to give to Aaron. Aaron looked at the file while holding a glass of water that was beside him, only to freeze in shock once he saw the name. He actually dropped the glass he was holding as his eyes widened and he held his breath.

Kyle knew it was not everyday that Aaron loosened his grip so much, meaning there had to be a reason. "Uh... Aaron? What's the matter, Sergeant?"

Aaron held still as he explained with the query, "Do you recall me mentioning a gal I met at a military academy?"

Kyle's eyes widened. "Wait a minute! You mean, that's her? Seriously?"

Aaron simply nodded. "Her name is Cecilia Lumine." Next, he looked up at Cecilia and told her with a blush, "Well, uh... It's great to see you, again. Currently, until I recover from the loss and replacement of my hand, I have placed Specialist Numi in charge of Lion Team." Looking around, he spotted the person he mentioned. "That's him with the clipboard, talking to Corporal Belvedere. It may be a good idea to acquaint yourself with the two."

Kyle introduced himself. "I'm Kyle Scipio. My rank is Private, currently. I never really moved up in the ranks. Anyway, I am also part of Lion Team."

---

Bibi nodded towards Amelia before turning to Emesto. He no doubt experienced enough for the day and needed his rest. She showed him to where his other personality had a bunk and told him to try to not act suspiciously until more could be found out. Emesto simply nodded before sleeping on top of the bunk.

---

Benjamin was about to get on the transport when he heard Oriana shouting at him after she punched him in the shoulder. Uh-oh... that can only mean one thing... What he heard next gave him a little relieve while leaving him intimidated, at the same time. "Y-Yes, ma'am!"

Zechariah rolled his eyes before saying to Ben, "Are you going to stand there, or are you going to get in the transport?"

Both brothers entered the transport prior to heading back to the Seraphim, where the mechs were being prepped. Benjamin took his own Eagle while Zechariah got in an undamaged one. All mechs for Brown Wing Team were being repaired and given weapons. Laurence Vance's new Eagle was being customized to suit his fighting style.

As everything was being prepared in the hangar, Zechariah told the participating Brown Wings via radio, "Brown Wings, here is the strategy: Once we take off, we will enter Fighter Jet Mode to catch up to the rogues. Once they are spotted, we shall launch Sonic Missiles to disrupt their nuclear weaponry while grabbing their attention. From there, we will use Formation Legion 354, With Benjamin's group and I up front at the lowest altitude, Laurence Vance's group in a row between the first and last, everyone else at the back with the highest altitude. The angle for setting up the rows will be 45 degrees. In that formation, some of the power to the weapons will be switch to the shields so we can stop projectiles headed to the ground when necessary. That will decrease firepower, so make each shot count."

---

As Saul enjoyed the concert with Karen, he could not shake the feeling Romano Lopez had something to do with the conspiracy. The man always did seem shady, for some reason. He would not discuss it, at the moment, so he kept quiet.

---

Romano enjoyed a cup of wine while listening to the news. He always got a kick out of the fact nobody knew his plans but him. He wanted to keep it that way in order for them to follow through.

Barnett Belvedere

Cain nodded as he heard the girls conditions on asking her questions. "Well you're right," he said folding one of the papers into a ball and throwing it into the trash. "It's very unlike me to do this. Scoar keeps making me do things different than what I want.”

It made sense that Scoar would have been the one to put Cain up to prying into another’s business. Barnett thought highly of the prince. However she was well aware that Scoar had a tendency to be nosey. It was sometimes amusing to see him behave that way but other times it could be a bit too much. ‘Poor Cain..’ Barnette thought to herself, however she couldn’t help but smile.

Cain continued, “Anyway, since I became acting command, he saw this as a good idea to..... Well I don't know really. Get to know you and allot of other people I guess. Which is true considering that I rarely have conversations with anyone else besides him and now you and most of the time those conversations go in a direction I didn't foresee. You know how it is right? You have the right skills to talk to people and get on their good side, even get along with them, but you don't do it because acting like yourself is better than some fake way you've learned. Nah, never mind, you probably don't get what I'm saying."

“I think I get what you mean.” Barnett replied, still smiling. It was nice to see Cain trying to openly express himself in front of her, especially in comparison to how nervous he was in front of her earlier.

"Hehe. Look at me. Giving you a whole bunch of answers to questions you didn't even ask. Man it's been a long day." Cain said leaning back in his chair. "So basically the questions are meant to check to see are you alright since the recent ship attack, what you saw, and how does that experience effect your mind and body. Also personal information to update the person on your emergency contacts list. I don't need the paper I threw into the trash because that can be found in the infirmary records. It'd be too embarrassing to ask about that stuff. But, I will ask, how are you doing after that experience. You acted pretty fast too. It was.... kind of cool. I hope you're not hurt or anything. Also, before we go any further I need to know your age, so I can determine whether to cross out this speech by Scoar.... I mean Prince Metargo. Apparently we also have to do a debrief on the matter so we should probably go with the whole scenario from your perspective bit." Cain leaned forward on his chair and smiled.

Barnett let out a light sigh, ”Well that’s quite a loaded question. I am doing alright since the attack. I wasn’t hurt thankfully. As for my mind, I did talk to the Titan’s shrienk about the ordeal and he said I seemed to have dealt with the event alright. So I suppose my psyche is still in good shape.” Barnett gave a cute wink.

“As for my age, I’m 21. I graduated from the academy early. As for the event, it was all a somewhat of a blur. I remember what happened but it was so quick it’s hard to describe. One minute we were talking with the captive girl, who seemed pretty nice, the next her twin launches down from the vents and points a sword at me and dares me not to move lest I want my throat slit. She grabbed her sister after saying something in Benjlakki and dashed toward the door. I immediately pulled my gun from beneath my pillow and fired at her. The strange thing is, I had a direct shot on her but in some unnatural maneuver she dodged my shots. It was quite strange. That’s basically how it was from my perspective. I wasn’t really afraid but I felt sad for the girl was taken. She seemed so innocent and somewhat unaware of why she was involved in the war altogether. I hope that was helpful cain.”

(OOC: Sorry for the short response guys. I shall aim to type more for my other characters shortly. Please bare with me.)

Axl sneered at the sound coming from the bases speakers. He was hoping to get from under all of this and transferring the data as he planned to. Luckily he didn't really mind. After all, they were going to a place that he thought was in need of a visit. In fact, it might even push him forward in his plan. The only thing left to due was to make sure no one knew what his target was. It was an easy thought of course. In his past line of work no one would know the target or of his presence. Though the Beta Shadow was a little too big to hide from people, he could still make special maneuvers to him. "I guess we should go.," he said to Vika.

Once he got to the Beta Shadow, Axl turned on the comm and tracking device. There was a small buzz out of white noise before he opened the Brown Wing Team's channel. He heard further messages on the device and chuckled slightly to himself.

Why should the Benjlakki's help Metargo? It just doesn't make sense. No matter. I'll still do what I was meant to do.
........................................................................................................................................................................................

Cain listened to Barnett talk about the event that took place just a few hours ago. He really didn't need her to tell him. Even though he was there for the most part, he enjoyed hearing her side. He wondered if she knew of his age or not. The boy even wondered if that was a problem for her. Or would it be a problem for her? He knew he looked older than most boys his age, but he didn't know exactly how old people though he was. He was so close to being eighteen, maybe they didn't care about his age anymore. He snapped out of his wandering thought process when Barnett stopped talking. "Yes, you were very helpful. All I need to do now is check all of these things off. I'm not really great with people, so I was wondering if you could come along while I talk to everyone else in the Lion Team. I'm kind of nervous to talk to them alone. It sometimes feels like they don't even have the slightest respect for me. Hehe." Cain gave a forced chuckle. "You don't have to if you don't want to. I understand that you might be tired so you don't really have to come. Unless you want to of course."
........................................................................................................................................................................................
After Scoar heard out everyone's story he left once Cecilia entered the room and started talking to Aaron. The information he pulled led him to believe that so far, it's only a theory that there are super soldiers running around. Though, if one of them were to see Cain or even worse, Axl, then a proven theory could start up and no one would be able to stop it. People might riot. Worse case scenario the information starts up a bunch of conspiracy shouts. He needed to find the blame for all of this before hand and he had one idea where to start. For only Axl had a clue.

Zechariah checked on his computers in his Eagle to be sure everybody was ready before the hanger to the Seraphim opened and it was clear for Brown Wing team to launch. Based on what Sir Hansel said, the town of Disclesca is along the shore, where a defensive line of anti-air guns have been placed. They had to hurry in their capture of the war criminals before anyone in the fight was fired upon from the shoreline.

"Brown Wing Team, launching!"

As swiftly as they launched, Brown Wing Team switched to Jet Fighter mode and entered a V formation. There was little time, thus they went to full speed to give chase. While they did so, Adira thought of Jin, realizing it was not the time to. She was conflicted over whether Jin was merely an enemy or if he meant something to her. The conflicting feelings boiled in her head, screaming to unleash themselves. Finally, Adira managed to block those thoughts out in time to stay in formation.

Chemda was the first to notice. "Adira, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, don't worry."

There was nothing but open water for a relatively short period of time, due to their mechs' powerful engines going full throttle, until the bogeys were finally spotted on the radar and scopes. Based on what was provided, the rogues had yet to reach the shoreline, which could work to Brown Wing Team's advantage. The further from the shore, the less likely to be hit by oncoming fire when the temporary perimeter clearance halts.

Zechariah took full advantage of this moment while having Brown Wing Team decelerate to targeting speed. "Launch Sonic Missiles!" The missiles were launched right on time. They blasted a radius wide enough to engulf the target squadron while disrupting their nuclear weapons to complete uselessness. Any attempt to fire even one nuclear projectile would cause the weapons to detonate on the rogues instead of on the intended target.

Infuriated by the thwarting of their initial plans, the bogeys turned their attention toward Brown Wing Team as they closed in on them. One of the rogues did not join in the charge, instead dropping the now-fruitless nuke cannon and pulled out a regular rocket cannon to attempt to use it on one of the buildings belonging to the Metargo Southern Military Academy. Chemda, however, would not let him. She broke formation, switched to humanoid mode in her mech, then immediately fired at the Cherubim's head section to make it impossible for the pilot to use the cameras inside. Then, she fired to sever the arm that was connected to the hand holding the weapon.

Brown Wing Team went into formation Legion 384, Chemda joining up, prior to increasing power to shields while deducting it from the weapons. This enabled the squadron to deflect the numerous blasts coming from the bogeys. It was now a game of chicken, so to speak. If Brown Wing Team kept the formation up while charging, there was the risk of ramming the shields into the opponents, thus killing them. Were that to be the case, then Zechariah would have considered the mission a failure in his venture to seize the criminals.

It was not the case, however. The targets broke formation before any collision could take place. "Switch to humanoid mode! Pursue the criminals!"

With everyone switched to humanoid mode and prepared for mech combat, the formation broke so each Brown Wing could take on one or more rogue mechs that had scattered. Here was where the Bejlakki-on-Benjakki Mech Dogfight of Disclesca began. Brown Wing Team could tell friend from foe by the damaged state of the opponents' mechs from the sonic cannons. While the fighting occurred at sea, Metargo soldiers and military academy students wait by their anti-air weapons for the perimeter clearance to end, looking on as the battle above the sea unfolded.

Despite being heavily damaged by the sonic missiles, the rogue mechs were operational, the pilots flying them putting up a fight. The main obstacle was beating them for the purpose of arresting them, which added to the difficulty. It became a deadly dance of attack and evade. Some of the stray shots hit the wall between the shore and the town, the invisible force field up in case any blasts were to head toward town. Fortunately, because of the sonic missiles, the rogues were completely unable to do anything about the force field. That is not to say it would not be lifted to make it possible to shoot once the perimeter clearance was over, thus it was a race against time.

Benjamin had to aim carefully so not to hit the cockpit of the 34A-7 REM he faced. Needless to say, his opponent took advantage of his hesitation to kill by landing four shots on his Eagle's torso, where the cockpit was. The cockpit itself remained intact, for the most part. The primary engines sustained damage, so he detached them before he switched to secondary engines. At last, his SMG shots hit the Blaster's head, blowing that part up with the cameras inside. Ben next took advantage of the opponent's loss of ability to examine the area by descending underneath with a beam knife prior to ascending with an upwards slash that severed the engines from the rest of the 34A-7. One rogue disabled for capture, several more to go.

Zechariah had a bit of an easier time of it, using the shield projectors in his Eagle's arms to protect from most blasts that he could not dodge. He spun, "sidestepped" (if one could step in midair), and ducked frequently, waiting for the opportune moment to shoot at the Blasters after him. Finally, it came. Zechariah spun while "sidestepping" to the left in evasion, prior to descending closer to the water with the engines to it so he could aim. He did not even need the computer all that much, just the crosshairs. Zechariah steadied the beam rifles, then pulled the triggers to let loose plasma beams. Each blast hit one of both rogue mechs in the head section to render the opposing pilots incapable of aiming at him.

The Shapiro twins had the easiest time of all Brown Wing Team, except, maybe, Axl and Viola. Their enhanced abilities allowed them to take only one hit each, merely in minor areas of their respective Eagles. Adira sliced off the limbs and head of two bogey mechs while Chemda shot off the engines of three.

---

Aaron gulped in anxiety over what to do. This was the first time in years he has seen Cecilia. That alone left him awkward."It's great to see you again, too," he said with a shy smile. "Hey, there is a bar and restaurant located onboard this ship, which is rare to see on a military craft. Whenever I fully recover, and we have time, you think we can go there for drinks and catch up on some things?"

Kyle turned his attention to Minmei. "Cecilia and Aaron met at a military academy. They had a rivalry of sorts that turned into a romantic relationship, before they broke up."

Barnett Belvedere

"Yes, you were very helpful. All I need to do now is check all of these things off. I'm not really great with people, so I was wondering if you could come along while I talk to everyone else in the Lion Team. I'm kind of nervous to talk to them alone. It sometimes feels like they don't even have the slightest respect for me. Hehe." Cain gave a forced chuckle. "You don't have to if you don't want to. I understand that you might be tired so you don't really have to come. Unless you want to of course."

When Cain asked Barnett if she could help him out it was music to her ears. She was sick of being stuck in bed. She never liked to remain idle for long. Barnett’s smile brightened further. “I feel like I’ve been proposed to! Yes, yes, I’ll tag along! You don’t know how through I am with laying in that bed!” Barnett knew her response would probably jar Cain a bit but she liked to see him react to her bluntness. Cain’s shyness was very cute to her.

“Just give me a moment to get changed. Thankfully the doctor cleared me for basic activities. I’ll be about ten minutes.” She said and gave a cute wink.


Percival Cross

Percival received Sir Hansel’s update and knew he needed to see to it personally that things went smoothly in the town of Disclesca. In the private shuttle that was enroute to the Titan, Percival asked for the pilot to make a detour. Within a few moments he arrived in Disclesca. Percival gained an audience with the coastline defense captain.

“Good afternoon Captain, I am grateful for your cooperation on this matter.” Percival greeted the captain.

“Good afternoon Prime Minister. I am having my men keep a close watch on the brown wing team’s movements. They won’t fire but the moment the enemy gets too close to Disclesca I will have to take action. Honestly Minister Percival, I do not understand why you trust this enemy unit. It could be an elaborate plot to catch us off guard.” The Defense Captain responded with a concerned look about him.

Percival remained composed. “I assure you Captain that my source is quite reliable. I trust that the leaders of the Brown Wing team will adhere to their word. The may be presently our enemy, but they are honorable. I take full responsibility if I am incorrect.” Percival looked out into horizon and could see some of the fighting taking place. He really wished that the Metargo Military would assist the Brown Wing team.

Percival slipped away and called Zane Preston. “Zane my good buddy. I need a quick favor from you. How fast can you be in Disclesca?”


Zane Preston and Azaka Oikawa

Azaka’s concert had come to a close and Zane sat with him in his room. The two flirted with one another, simply enjoying a moment of time alone with one another. Zane received Percival’s phone call. “I’m on my way. Gosh Percival, it seems I’ll never have fully repaid you for that whole Scandal incident.” Zane said to Percival via the call.

Percival replied, “Of course you won’t be let off the hook so easily Zane. You had all of Metargo thinking I was your lover. Yeah you’ll owe me big for a very long time.” Percival said with a chuckle.

“Once again you’ve well proven your point. I’ll lend the Brown Wing team hand with the Hyaku shiki. Azaka is shooting daggers at me with his eyes so I assume he’s going to follow me whether I lik it or not so count him in as well.” Zane replied. Shortly the two headed for Disclesca.

Brown Wing Team had some difficulties. So far, however, the fighting was kept a significant distance away from the shorelines. He desired to keep it that way. No casualties on Brown Wing Team's side of it occurred, yet, and whether they would remained to be seen.

Once Zechariah blew up the two Blasters' heads, he proceeded to remove the limbs with his blasts, while slashing off the engines with his beam sword. He next contacted his brother. "Ben! Cover me!"

"On it!" Benjamin shot, slice, and flew his way to Zechariah (in a nonlethal fashion, of course) prior to going back to back with Zechariah. In the positions they were, neither brother could be snuck up on. At least, it was less likely they would be taken by surprise. This relief gave Zechariah enough time to set up the Ion System Prototype previously installed into one of the beam rifles. "There! It's set!"

Benjamin, while shooting at more rogues, posed the query, "What is?"

"Watch!" Zechariah intercepted an incoming Sabre Bleu below him with the rifle that had the Ion System installed, followed by blasting off the head so the hostile pilot in the mech could not aim anything at anyone. The ion blast, as the system was currently installed, would only temporarily render the opposing mech immobile, thus it was prudent to remove the engines from the Sabre Bleu immediately, ensuring it remained away from the shores of Disclesca."Quick! Get the engines!

Benjamin flew right under the falling Sabre Bleu to slice off the engines with one slash of his beam knife. "He's not going anywhere!" Just then, an enemy signal sounded in Brown Wing Team's mechs, which only meant a Metargo mech unit or other vehicle was on the way. Ben looked at the screens while moving his Eagle's head and noticed a familiar unit. "It's that gold-covered mech! Why now, of all times?"

Zechariah responded to his older brother's reaction via telling him, "Never mind that mech! Worry about these!" As he said that, the sergeant transferred signal data to Zane so he could differentiate between Brown Wings and rogues.

Without further warning, Scoar left the infirmary, waving to Cecilia on his way out. He still had to wait for Cain to finish his rounds before anything was else was done for the day. Deciding that talking to someone of a higher echelon would help, the man walked towards the elevators to head for Commanders room. He had read a lot of good things about the new commander in his personal logs, but never had the chance to introduce himself properly. Seeing as Scoar had to look after everyone's welfare he knew that he had to check up on the man. He had been told that he left the base to chase after the intruders, but he caught no word of how it went upon his return. At this point any and all information would help him a lot, since he was currently puzzled.

Exiting the transporter at the sleeping quarters, Scoar waved and nodded to some of the people in the hall before knocking on the mans door. "Jin? Jin-Giro? Are you in there. It's Prince Scoar. I'd like to talk to you to discuss the events that went down earlier. Do you have a minute?"
..................................................................................................................................................................

Cain felt his stomach drop at the first sentence the beautiful woman in front of him said. He didn't expect a reaction like from what he had said, but he calmed himself down. Giving a blush accompanied by an awkward chuckle. "Well, I guess I'd feel the same if I was in a bed for as long as you were," He grinned. It wasn't everyday that Cain had felt the need to smile, but he had to admit, he was happy for two things. One, not having to talk to everyone in the Lion team by himself, and two, he was accompanied by a woman that he had wanted to spend more time with. This was truly his lucky day. Well, besides from having to fight a hard battle earlier and the intruder situation. It was at least a good end to his day. When she winked at him, the young man felt his stomach dance once more and he slowly stood up, trying to make it look like he wasn't nervous. "Well, I'll just wait outside then, Just let me know when you're ready," he stated before leaving the room. As soon as the door shut behind him, he sighed a breath of relief and looked up at the ceiling staring at nothing in particular. It was true what he was told. If he just acted himself, then he could have a new life. One without murder. One without too much bloodshed. He could live like any other person and still be happy. However, the feelings deep inside couldn't help but to ask, "What about him?" He had always wondered, if Axl would fine peace himself.
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The sounds of tank busters and bullets, including some sound of screams were all coming from the battlefield. Axl was in his heaven, drilling deep into the heart of the academy, striking down any mech that wasn't a brown wing mech without mercy. He had good reason to be excited too. For he was about to complete a part of his mission that he'd always hoped he'd a get a chance to complete. However, this happiness started hours before the current time.

Earlier, once he was done talking to Benjamin, a conversation that would have soured anyone's day, Axl had thought, He got the messaging code of the Benjlakki science department from Vika and sent them data on the Near Shadow project. It was only his Beta data, but he was sure they could make a good mech out of it. Though he knew not to put all of his eggs in one basket. He had decided to leave Vika alone for a while, so he could work on the Beta Shadow's reactions. It was a basic checkup and didn't really need to be performed everyday, but he felt as if he needed to be a hundred percent at all times. Around that time is when he recived some really good news. His thoughts raced in needing to help out Metargo, but he left those thoughts behind, knowing that the man who he hated more than anything in the worlds son was there. Axl couldn't help but to grin all the way to the target destination. He'd done his part inside of Benjlakk, and now it was time to move on to stage two. If everything went as planned, he'd be able to have his vengeance, which would have only been sweeter if he had Cain on his side. It was no matter to him though. Cain was always but a pawn type of person anyway. There was no way he could do for Axl, what Axle couldn't do for himself.

Upon the start of the battle, Axl made sure to follow Zechariahs orders, only for his own goal of course. He didn't want to be fighting in the open eyes of the shore anyway. That wasn't in his objective placement. He wanted to be in the heart of the main area. A place that would allow him to see his true target. Turning the Beta Shadow around, he managed to dodge an attack from an oncoming melee attack. The Beta's blade was drawn and it struck the shoulder of its target. Axl changed the signaling on the comm to talk to the pilot of the mech in front of him. "Listen to me and listen to me clearly. Or die. You have two choices. I suggest you pick the former." Axl's voice was calm, but the man inside of the cockpit felt it threatening and menacing. He had no idea what was truly in store for him. No one, had any idea what Axl had in store.

[font=]The garrison Captain became irritated at having to do nothing and had one of his transmission interception teams hack into the communication systems of Brown Wing Team. "Forgive me, Left of the State Minister Cross, but I wish to find out once and for all what this Brown Wing Team is up to. I've got hackers working on retrieving their communications signals."

After a while, one of the hackers gave the thumbs up. To that, the Captain said, "Good, now, we can stop guessing and get to the bottom of all this." He next had an interpreter translate what all was being said, since some of it would be in the Benjlakki language. The Captain turned to Percival with "Sir, since you also know the Benjlakki language, we would like your input, as well."

---

As the war criminals were fought, something appeared awfully wrong. The rogues' signals were being lost and the cameras showed signs of some of the mechs being trashed to the point of destroyed, meaning the hostile pilots inside were killed. Benjamin was the first to spot this. "Wh-what the hell happened!? Some of the rogues are dead, Zech!"

This agitated Zechariah as he responded with, "What!? I specifically told Brown Wing Team that we were capturing them for a court martial! Who's responsible for this insubordination and outrage, Ben!? What's going on!?"

"I don't know, but I can't seem to find out where Axl is!? Neither the cameras nor radar are picking anything up!"

Zechariah could not believe what he just heard. He was suddenly reminded in his head of what occurred with the Titan. "No trace of him!? That sounds similar to what happened with that Metargo Capital Ship back at the Battle of Gatwashii! It was after that mech which fired the nuclear weapon at us went down!" He reflected on the matter some more. "Now that I think about it, that mech was similar in design to the one Axl pilots. How does that make sense? If that one mech could use stealth technology to camouflage an entire ship, then... wait. That must be it!"

Benjamin became just as irritated as Zechariah. "What is it, little brother!?"

"Axl's using that same technology on his own mech!" Zechariah was now piecing it all together. "Remember when we could not find him anywhere at the Battle of Gatwashii?"

Benjamin nodded. "That bastard was little to no help until that similar mech on the opposing side was about to fire that nuclear weapon on us!"

Zechariah replied with, "Exactly! Which means, he must have worked with the pilot of it, before! Why would he defect to Benjlakk, though, and hate the nationality he was born with? Something's not right! He even threatened Viki! Well, whatever he's planning, I won't let him! If he's going to endanger that girl's life! She may be Metargo's Princess, but she's not the kind of girl who'd approve of war or anything else volatile! I just know that from the time spent at Gatourshai before we found out about the rogues' plans!" His body began to glow a silvery blue from the cockpit as his rage began to build up. He then stopped fighting the war criminals when able to and finally his Eagle glowed the same silvery blue, followed by this shout of rage: "I won't let him lay a finger on her!"

((Here's some G Gundam music as you imagine Zech's transformation. XD Shinging Finger Theme))

The Eagle was now covered in silvery-blue light as Zechariah used his temporarily-enhanced abilities to swiftly type in adjustments to his mech's computers, allowing him to vaguely see where Axl was. The AI was struggling with the adjustments, but the radar barely picked up Axl's signal, which was coming from near the academy. "There's that bastard!" Knowing where Axl was, and judging correctly it was in front of the mech floating without moving anywhere, the enraged Malachi pulled out his beam saber and activated it. When he did, the blade turned from neon red to a glowing blue and enlarged in length.

Zechariah accelerated his Eagle with his beam sword pointed in the general spot Axl was, hoping to hit the cockpit. He would maneuver to avoid hitting the other mech, if possible. The radios in every channel that could hear Zechariah picked up his roar of intense anger.

---

All the messages between Zechariah and Benjamin were picked up by the garrison, with Percival there to listen to all of it. The garrison Captain was left dumbfounded as everything in Benjlakki was deciphered. "Gatourshai? That's a town within the Gatwashiim Peninsula! If this Zechariah was there with Princess Viki.... No, how does that make sense?" The Captain turned to Percival. "Left of the State Minister, what do you make of this?"

It was not long before one of the cadets, Karl Lopez (picture shown below) gave a secret message to Percival via communications device. It contained his observations of things he was not supposed to see, including papers on a Ghost Team and a man in Benjlakki uniform that was in cold sleep, with signs of the brain being altered by nanoidrons. Karl told Percival that he was merely a little boy at the time, yet figured the disappearance of Axl Jai Numi had something to do with what he saw. After that, Karl hung up, waiting for whatever would happen.

---

Kyle shrugged at what Cecilia said. "I was merely repeating to Minmei what Aaron told me, earlier today. Anyway, the blue-haired girl there is Minmei Midori. She's very hard-working, and can be pretty nationalistic."

Barnett Belvedere

Barnett had finished changing and stepped out of the room having opened the door. “Sorry if I took too long Cain. I’m ready to go now.” Barnett said as she stood in her operators uniform.



She was quite excited to be up and about again. “So, who shall we see first? I hope I can be of help at all.” She said with a cute smile to Cain.


Zane Preston and Azaka Oikawa

Zane, in the Hyaku-shiki, blasted off into the zone of battle. He had noticed that a Brown Wing pilot was dangerously close to being shot down. If he didn’t act fast the cockpit of the mech would have been shot out, killing the pilot. Zane made it just in time to place the hyaku-shiki in front of the blast, thus taking the hit and sparing the life of the brown wing pilot. With the Hyaku-shiki’s special coating, the blast did far less damage to it than it would have done to most other mechs. “I hope you’re alright there soldier.” Zane said to the pilot by being patched into the brown wing team’s com channel, given special permission this time around.


Zane gave the enemy unit a swift counter punch using the Hyaku-shiki and pulled out its beam cannon. The enemy knew that recieveing fire from that cannon would be extremely bad for the unit so it launched high evasion tactics in an effort to escape. After firing a few neutralizing shots the enemy lost its high evasion capabilities and was subdued. Zane realized that chasing down the enemy was going to be more difficult than he had anticipated. ‘What are these guys after?’ Zane pondered.

Azaka quickly found a unmanned plasma cannon on the defensive line and hacked into the operation terminal. He was very good with all sorts of technology and could operate most military weaponry. Zane taught him things of that nature. Azaka’s grandfather was also a Metargo military veteran and insisted on teaching Azaka everything he knew since Azaka was a child. Having hacked the terminal and gained access to the plasma cannon Azaka began to lock onto some of the rogue units. “These buggers are really swift… but lucky for me I’ve got a high perssision targeting system here.” Azaka said to himself. He fired on a few units and a couple of units were disabled. “Hopefully the Brown Wing Team realizes that I’m not firing on them. I don’t want to cause Zane any trouble.” He said with a worried disposition.


Percival Cross

The garrison Captain became irritated at having to do nothing and had one of his transmission interception teams hack into the communication systems of Brown Wing Team. "Forgive me, Left of the State Minister Cross, but I wish to find out once and for all what this Brown Wing Team is up to. I've got hackers working on retrieving their communications signals."

Percival kept a calm exterior disposition but inside he was pissed. He had figured that the garrison captain could resist meddling in Percival’s plan. Percival figure that he had used up all the leeway that he could in this situation without interference, things were simply going too smoothly. “Is that so Captain?” Percival replied with a single raised eyebrow. He continued, ”Very well. Keep me informed.”

After a while, one of the hackers gave the thumbs up. To that, the Captain said, "Good, now, we can stop guessing and get to the bottom of all this." He next had an interpreter translate what all was being said, since some of it would be in the Benjlakki language. The Captain turned to Percival with "Sir, since you also know the Benjlakki language, we would like your input, as well."

Percival grew a bit nervous. He had no way of damage controlling this situation. If any of the brown wing team mentioned Viki or Sir Hansel, he would have a heap of explaining to do. Not a moment passed before he replied. “But of course. I insist. You have my help.”

All the messages between Zechariah and Benjamin were picked up by the garrison, with Percival there to listen to all of it. The garrison Captain was left dumbfounded as everything in Benjlakki was deciphered. "Gatourshai? That's a town within the Gatwashiim Peninsula! If this Zechariah was there with Princess Viki.... No, how does that make sense?" The Captain turned to Percival. "Left of the State Minister, what do you make of this?"

Percival let out a heavy sigh. The worst happened. ‘I’m so sorry I couldn’t keep this quiet Sir Hansel, Princess…’ he thought to himself. He closed his eyes and with a tired expression clamped his brow with his index finger and thumb. “I have some explaining to do. However, before I proceed I will have you know that this is highly classified information and I am holding everyone within earshot of that transmission accountable for remaining quiet about this. Do you understand? I want a list of names of everyone within this garrison, I am quite serious.” Percival looked sharply about the room. He needed to be authoritative and seemingly in control else things would only get worse.

“Through a magical mishaps the princess was teleported into the cockpit of a Brown Wing Unit. She had left the capital in an effort to aide a stranded medical transport vehicle. Sir Hansel informed me of the situation and through our efforts he was able to locate the princess within Benjlakk, specifically in Gatourshai. The Princess was looked after by a member of the brown wing team by the name of Zechariah Malachi. The brown wing team safeguarded the princess and returned her to the custody of Sir Hansel. It was then that they encountered this rogue unit tha we are trying to stop now. This is why I trust the brown wing team, because they were taken by surprise by this situation just as much as we were. However, as you can see now, there seems to be an even bigger situation at hand here. One that I am currently on my way to the Titan to investigate.” Percival concluded. He hoped that would clear things up for now. He’d deal with whatever consequences he had to for keeping this quiet from the king.

It was not long before one of the cadets, Karl Lopez gave a secret message to Percival via communications device. It contained his observations of things he was not supposed to see, including papers on a Ghost Team and a man in Benjlakki uniform that was in cold sleep, with signs of the brain being altered by nanoidrons. Karl told Percival that he was merely a little boy at the time, yet figured the disappearance of Axl Jai Numi had something to do with what he saw. After that, Karl hung up, waiting for whatever would happen.


Percival thanked Karl and asked for the testimony to be documented so it could be compiled as evidence. He was glad that things seemed to be coming together. This was seemingly becoming less of a wild goose chase that it initially appeared to be. “It seems that our issues with Benjlakk are becoming less important as we may be fighting a common enemy here. I am maintaining open communication with the Brown Wing team on this matter. I will report and serious findings with the Metargo military as well. I want to do this by the book. However it is clear that there may be compromised parties on either side of the line. So ultimately, I will divulge information at my or his majesties’ discresstion, as this was assigned to me by his royal highness King Saul himself. You do understand, don’t you captain?” Percival explained hoping he had covered all tracks created. He needed to be as careful as possible.

Axl noticed Zechariah's mech coming his way and realized from the signal it was him. How's his mech glowing!? he wasted no time in pulling his sword from its impaled position and engaging. What's he mad about, anyway!? Axl believed himself more than a match for the sergeant, only to notice Zech's abilities have been enhanced, possibly from the glowing blue light. How does he do that!? Such an upgrade is impossible for any country to make! Unless... unless this is supernatural... Nah, I'm not superstitious! Zechariah maneuvered so swiftly in his Eagle (faster than possible under regular circumstances), that it would seem he could not be touched, but that was because Axl was not using his full resolve. At this point, the former Ghost became increasingly frustrated. I guess I'm going to have to get serious! Stealth won't help me, now!

With the mech fight escalating further, Axl was now using his full potential, turning the confrontation into a deadly dance in the sky. While Zechariah held his own in melee, Axl's anti-beam blades eventually snapped the one beam sword Zech had in two, forcing him to attempt to distance himself from his opponent for a medium-ranged shot. The beams that burst out of both beam rifles, however, were blocked and deflected by the Near Shadow Beta's blades. This forced the sergeant to use the sonic emitter prototype he requested installed, which was originally made by him to disable mechs. Based on his calculations, he can only use it three times before it needed to be recharged and tended to off the battlefield. He waited for Axl to come dangerously close, then fired the emitter from the left wrist of his Eagle.

The results were extraordinary, to say the least. Not only did it do heavy harm to the Near Shadow Beta's armor, it damaged Axl's ears beyond repair because of the sheer magnitude. Zechariah could hear the explosions and shouts from the radio. It would seem Axl was finished, then laughter and coughing were heard. The sergeant was about to deal the final blast with his beam rifle to the cockpit when he heard Axl speak without an inch of fear.

These words from Axl were as follows: "I see... you're stronger than you first appeared... I don't know how you did it... but I... accept defeat... before I die, though... you should probably see... these schematics... Viola's "dad"... so to speak... is working on... two mechs based on them... Maybe... you and Ben... could pilot those... when they are made... you'll need them... against Lopez..."

Zechariah had calmed down upon hearing Axl's words. He attempted to get a camera feed on him to determine his condition, but all he got was a static screen. The damage from the one sonic blast must have been severe on both the Near Shadow Beta and its pilot. Looking over the schematics they were from the Near Shadow Project, specifically based on the Near Shadow Beta. He knew this was no time to be reading them thoroughly, so he opened the cockpit to Axl's mech while stating, "I'm going to have you court martialed for insubordination once we're through capturing the rogues, here." By the time the Near Shadow Beta's cockpit was open, however, Axl was in a coma.

Zechariah wasted no time in using his med kit to at least stabilize him. Just as Zechariah had the unconscious person in the cockpit and piloted away from the irreparable mech that was the Near Shadow Beta, the now-empty machine exploded. Axl's usefulness to Benjlakk has come to an end, Zechariah could feel it and did not enjoy the thought of what could come next for the unconscious man. The other matter we worried about at the moment was, if the sonic emitter could destroy a powerful mech as the Near Shadow Beta, then it would have to be worked on some more in order to be used for nonlethal combat. Of course, none of it would matter if Brown Wing Team did not first arrest the remaining rogues.

The rest of the battle was relatively easy with the help of Zane Preston and Azaka Oikawa, after the initial panic from the hacked defense gun firing before being assured Brown Wing Team was not being targeted, that is. Between Zane, Zechariah, Benjamin, Viola, Chemda, Adira, Laurence, and Azaka, they disabled the most opposing mechs. Once it was finally over, Karl Lopez was able to rally enough schoolmates from the military academy to mobilize a cooperative search with Brown Wing Team for the surviving rogue pilots. Karl even had time to write a testimony regarding everything he saw that was out of place, sending the resulting document to Percival.

During the gathering of the war criminals into Brown Wing Team's hands, Zechariah noticed a familiar face that tapped him on the shoulder. Upon seeing each other's faces, Zechariah and Karl high-fived each other and shook hands enthusiastically while laughing. Zech spoke first. "Karl! Long time no see!"

"Same with you, bud! Who'd have thought you be a mech pilot?"

Zechariah answered his query solemnly with, "I was drafted. hopefully, this war will end before either country is subjugated."

"Indeed. Well, I wish you all the best."

A salute to each other, and the two friends went their separate ways. Zechariah was no fool. He imagined that hem would be just as much court martialed as Axl for what went on, yet he was not unprepared for such an occurrence. He had his communication bot, T7-B, record everything from the fight on the streets of Gatourshai to the mech fight slightly away from the shores of Disclesca.

---

The Garrison captain confirmed that everything would be confidential, as did everyone else in the room, with a salute and a simultaneous, "Yes, my lord!" The Garrison captain also transferred all data concerning the battle, including the intercepted messages (which meant Axl's final words before going unconscious, as well as everything else), to a small disk that he handed to the Left of the State Minister.

---

Aaron cleared his throat upon hearing Kyle say Minmei was rather nationalistic, which caused Kyle to say, "Sorry, Aaron. I didn't mean that in any offensive way to anyone." Kyle then turned back to Cecilia and Minmei and explained the surgery itself. "Okay, well, in the emergency room, we were being prepared for operation that was critical for us to live. All I could recall before everything faded to black was the injury that occurred earlier, the pain, and the face of a girl that was assisting with the procedure. I swear, she seemed angelic and adorable, and I'm not saying that to be perverted! when I we woke up, we were told by her that her name is Amelia Cross." Suddenly, it clicked and he was left wide-eyed. "Wait! If her last name is Cross, then she must be related to... Oh, shit!" Kyle began to freak out. "Oh, shit! If Lord Cross even suspects I did anything to his sister, I'm dead! So very, very dead!"

Aaron shouted over him with, "Relax, Private Scipio! Your hands are clean, so there's nothing to worry about! You just need to remember to clean up your act a little, so he won't be worried about you deflowering her!"

Kyle nodded silently in anxiety, which was the most he could do from the shock of the realization. There was more to Kyle's reaction than he let on, which Aaron knew the answer to, since he was there. Since Kyle would not say anything, Aaron felt he ought to explain for him.

Aaron gave Minmei and Cecilia this explanation: "Percival Cross and I were there when Kyle was arrested. We saw his potential as a soldier, as well as found out that his attempted murder out on the streets was to save a high school girl from being raped by the same men he fought nearly to death. He was just as berserk than as you see him end up on the battlefield when his anger is at its peak. So, at my recommendation, Percival offered Kyle amnesty in exchange for military service. Since then, Kyle developed a fear of Percival Cross, albeit a bit of an unhealthy one."

---

Barnett had finished changing and stepped out of the room having opened the door. “Sorry if I took too long Cain. I’m ready to go now.” Barnett said as she stood in her operators uniform. She was quite excited to be up and about again. “So, who shall we see first? I hope I can be of help at all.” She said with a cute smile to Cain.

Cain smiled a little bit and was about to say something when he bumped into a familiar face. "Sorry, I... Oh, it's you, Cassius! Mind fi I ask you a few questions? I... was kind of put in charge of Lion Team temporarily by Sergeant Lextu."

"Sure! Fire away!"

Cain used the paper on the clipboard as a guide, which was to his relief since he was not exactly social. During the conversation, however, another Lion pointed a handgun at Cain, whom heard the click and turned around to throw his knife, which only disintegrated when the shot was made from the Lion, which also blew a hole in Cain's chest. The worst part was, he could not evade without the blast hitting Cassius, which meant he was at a fatal disadvantage and the assailant knew it. Cain's last words to Barnett were, "Run..." Then, he gave out his final breath painfully as he collapsed to the floor, deceased.

Cassius was about to ask what went through his "comrade's" head at that moment, but was cut off when the Lion Team member, who went with the alias Marcus Baak, coldly stated, "One Ghost down, one more to go. Once Axl Jai Numi is dead, Romano Lopez's days toying with the whole world are numbered. Even the Royal family will soon have to admit they were fooled by him." Even before Marcus spoke, there was something odd about him that nobody in Metargo noticed until now: his eyes were glowing silver, just as Adira's eyes did when she rescued Chemda.

Fortunately, before Marcus could shoot anyone else, his monologue to Cassius and Barnett gave Emesto, whom was making his way to med bay due to a massive headache, enough time pull out his own handgun and shoot the assailant in the head. Emesto immediately searched the remains of both dead men to find out the motive.

Cassius breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Nice shot, George! You saved our lives!"

Emesto knew enough Metargo to get by, so he replied with, "You're welcome, but I'm not George. He is kind of an alternate personality inserted into my mind thirteen years ago. Long story. My real name is Emesto Andrew."

Cassius went wide-eyed in fright. "Huh!? Wait! You're the Emesto Andrew, the Benjlakki mech ace that shot down more than 40 mercenaries from the skies in the Benjlakki Siege on Mercenaries that took place nearby the Gatwashiim Peninsula thirteen years back!? How did you survive that battle and end up here!?"

"That's what I want to confirm for myself, aside from the motive for that guy attacking you three. I was told by some head mechanic and a lady of nobility that was with her, whom appeared to be a medic, that the mercenaries who supposedly placed me in a cold sleep in secret and implanted nanoidrons into me were affiliated with the Takerdarn Clan, an infamous mercenary clan that I was told had a secret headquarters in the Metargo Capital. Maybe if I find some sort of journal, there can be a clue of some sort." Surely enough, there were journals on their persons which Emesto skimmed through until he found entries of interest. "Project Ghost and Project Exorcist!? What is that about!? Were these two guys genetically altered somewhere!? That would be highly illegal anywhere you go! We got to tell somebody about this! I wonder if anybody else has shown signs of genetic alteration!" Cassius translated for Barnett what Emesto said.

Kyle and Aaron heard the gunshots, first one and a little bit after that the second. If only they were able to carry weapons in their current state, but they were not given any instructions about even pistols from the medics, yet. Of course, Aaron was conflicted between feeling alert and feeling awkward, considering a combination of Cecilia's forwardness and the visible scars on her left him blushing and flustered.

Kyle noticed and instantly shouted, "Sergeant, this is no time to be turned on by her scars! This is serious, not to mention the second incident on board the Titan we had, today!"

Aaron could only answer with the shake of his head and a stammered, "Oh! U-Uh, right!"

---

Emesto heard the footsteps of armed soldiers coming his way, so he stood up with his hands raised so not to provoke anymore unnecessary bloodshed. He could hear the sounds of men and women shouting "Men down!" repeatedly and frantically behind him in the Metargo language. Medics raced to examine the bodies. Once Cecilia said she was part of Lion Team and demanded an explanation, the man turned around and gave his explanation, his Benjlakki accent showing as he spoke in Metargo. "I was on my way to med bay for my headache when I saw one of these pilots shoot the other, mentioning something about him being a Ghost while the other, maybe his brother based on the journals, still being out there. I wasted no time in aiming and shooting that berserk bastard who shot his teammate in cold blood. It was a reaction I had because I feared he was going to shoot this lady and the pilot behind me next."

One of the soldiers that did not meet Lion Team in person responded hostilely with, "You have a Benjlakki accent! Who the hell are you!?"

The soldier next to him shouted, "What do you mean who is he!? That's George Lucius, Metargo ace of the Second Metargo-Mysticaran War and member of the Lion Team!"

"He's a spy!" Yet another soldier interjected.

"Why would a spy save his enemies from certain death!?"

"It's deception! Kill him!"

"No! We have to investigate further!"

"He's a Benjlakki in disguise! That much is clear! Shoot!"

It was the total chaos of words, each soldier having a different opinion about Emesto. Finally, he had enough and shouted, "Hold it! I can clarify!" Once he had their attention, he breathed in before resuming. "You are right. I am a Benjlakki, but I am by no means a spy. I--"

"Liar!"

One of the armed troops was about to shoot when a commanding voice of a woman was heard. "Hold it! There's a reason he's saying that!" It was Bibiana, whom had arrived right on time. She brought out her scanning screen and showed everyone present what was the matter. "See the abnormality in his nervous system? those are nanoidrons implanted into him. They are what apparently made George Lucius thirteen years ago. The guy's real name is Emesto Andrew."

Immediately, the atmosphere of the hallway was different. Instead of hostility, confusion filled the area. Everyone wondered how a Benjlakki ace that supposedly died in the Benjlakki Siege on Mercenaries could have survived and made it to Metargo. When Bibi further explained that Emesto's lack of aging was due to a cold sleep and that the mercenaries that were involved were part of the Takerdarn Clan, the soldiers and sailors within hearing distance wondered what could have been the motive.

Bibiana interrupted the chatter with, "Whatever the case is, we need to figure it out! In the meantime, he is innocent of espionage until proven guilty! Got it?"

The head mechanic seemingly needed not utter another word, since most everyone in the hallway indicated they understood and could do as she said. How Minmei and Cecilia would react, however, was a mystery. Whatever the scenario, Bibiana knew the investigation took priority over the whims of two people.

---

Scoar listened to Jin's explanation as he gave the synopsis on what happened with Chemda and Adira. When Jin hesitated, the Crown Prince wondered if there was something going on or if he was just trying to regain his memory. He decided to give him benefit of the doubt as he told Jin, "I see. Well, if you don't mind, I would like for you to write a detailed report on that and bring it to the my father. He is expecting Left of the State Minister Cross to arrive onboard the Titan to conduct an investigation as to what could have been the motive for the twins having their DNA altered, and who they were initially meant to face, if anyone. Percival Cross should be onboard tomorrow. I would like for you to attend the meeting with the King, the Left of the State Minister, and myself. I expect Lion Team to be present, too. At least, however many of the Lions can come, as well as Barnett Belvedere, Minmei Midori, Admiral Preston, and Azaka Oikawa. Can I count on you?"

---

Saul escorted his wife to their room onboard the Titan, which was a bit more classy than the rest of the ship, but not flamboyant in regards to that. Times with Karen were one of few times where he could have any peace of mind, apart from time with family. He dismissed Julius for the evening when suddenly, Saul's comm disk sounded the emergency alarm which told him something yet again went wrong on the Titan. "To think this was going to be a moment just for the two of us, Karen. This is clearly not our day." Putting back on his military shirt and jacket, along with standing up out of bed so to avoid anyone getting a peek at the Queen, Saul answered with a straight face as Cassius frantically told him of Cain and Marcus's deaths prior to explaining that the journals on each mention something about a Project Ghost and Project Exorcist. Upon hearing that Cain was lethally shot in the chest, the King just stood there in shock, with Cassius not realizing Saul was unable to speak until he said everything he set out to. Cassius still did not hear anything from the King, whom eventually dropped the still-activated comm disk in a contained despair at the loss of a man that was practically a second son to him. That drop of the disk was the only sign he was inwardly mourning Cain Jai Numi.

---

Zechariah and Brown Wing Team were in neutral waters as they slowed down to check on the prisoners they picked up for any injuries. Some of them would be unable to fight again, which after court marshal, they would never again receive the chance to. As for Brown Wing Team, Zechariah knew he would be court marshaled, as well, and he came prepared with T7 having recordings of the incidents that led up to it. Not only that, but T7 was also able to pick up something out of place: apart from the nuclear arms nearly being used, they were of Metargo design. It made the young sergeant curious as to how the rogues could have gotten their hands on them, unless they came from a source within Metargo territory. Something does not fit, but why?

Before Brown Wing Team could reach Benjlakki territorial waters, they received a message from Naval Security Officer Zabat which went as followed: "Sergeant Malachi, this is Naval Security Officer Zabat. I have been authorized to take you into custody for Court Marshal. You are charged with Desertion, Treason, and Assault & Battery. The two former charges would have you executed if found guilty. Do you understand?"

Zechariah calmly responded with, "I do. I'll cooperate, but on one condition: the rogue troops my team captured and the ones I encountered in Gatourshai are to be Court Marshaled, as well." To Benjamin, he said, "Ben, until I return to active duty, if at all, you are in charge of Brown Wing Team."

Zechariah's words left Benjamin stunned. Sure, he wanted so badly to outrank his own brother, but not like this! The older brother could only muster a nod as the incoming naval ship took the rogue prisoners to go along with Zechariah into custody.