3 years later - Reestablishment

[SSJHunterKiller]

It had been almost two years since Edward Hoffman had set foot on Earth, and in all honestly, he had hoped never to leave. But the troublesome Trinity Alliance had made it impossible for Edward and his forces to stay on Earth. Once the Trinity Alliance made their move is space with their Gundams, FRE needed all the help they could get. But now the Trinity Alliance wasn't as close as they had been when the wars started. They were still together, but they were split apart, doing different tasks in different areas. And that was just the opportunity that Edward had been waiting for. Using the Vanguard Prime "Civil War" as a distraction, Edward was able to land multiple carriers on Earth with minimal risk of detection. Only one threat remained a constant problem, and that was Val and his Hyperion. Kiyoshi was dead, or so the Trinity Alliance said, Zach was in space along with the Vanguard Prime and they had their hands full with the "God" unit, as Edward liked to call them.

Now, back in Asia, Edward hopped to finish what he started three years ago. The unification of Earth under one rule, the vision of Blace Lowe. Edward still headed up the Blace Lowe Faction, but since the wars, they had been put under the command of FRE. So whatever they wanted Edward to do, he had to do. And right now, they wanted to break the Trinity Alliance, so that's what Edward was planning on doing.

Ten carriers, that's how many had been able to land, each carrying ten fully equipped suits giving him one hundred in total, along with the thirty or so suits that had been sent down earlier to reestablish a presence from FRE on Earth. One hundred and thirty suits. That should be more that enough to take out one Mobile Suit, even a Gundam. The time was right, all that needed to be done was to get Val's attention. And Edward already had that figured out, and there was no way that Val could resist Edwards charm when inviting him over.

The door behind Edward opened and four armed guards escorted someone into the room. Her hands were bound with rope behind her back and she was gagged. Her dark brown hair , which was usually neatly kept and straight, was cluttered and a mess. Her cloths had rips in them and were stained with a little blood. Tears had seamed her dirt and blood covered face, and she continued to cry.

Edward"So this is her is it? Well I'm sure she'd be quite the pretty little thing is she wasn't covered in blood and dirt. You're sixteen now aren't you my dear?"

The girl mumbled something through the gag and Edward narrowed his eyes. He wasn't exactly sure what she had said, but he was pretty sure he wasn't going to like it. Raising his hand, Edward slapped the girl hard across the face, sending her sprawling to the ground.

Edward"You'd better be glad you had that gag on. I might have killed you if I actually heard what you had said. Pick her up boys, we have a broadcast to make."

The guards grabbed the young girl and tossed her into a chair. One of the guards removed the gag and was rewarded by being bitten on the finger. Pulling his hand away the guard punched the girl in the face, causing her head to violently bounce off the back of the chair.

"Who are you, what are you going to do to me and what do you want?"

Edward"You'll have an answer to all those questions in a few minutes my dear. But first, we have to contact your dear brother. I'm sure he's missing you terribly, Amber Thrall."

Amber's eyes widened. So they knew, after all this time they had finally found out and had found her. So these men were with FRE, and they wanted her brother, Val.

Amber"He's going to kill you. You know that right?"

Edward"You, just like everyone else, overestimated you brother and the Trinity Alliance, and underestimate us. You'll see, I've got one hundred and thirty Mobile Suits waiting to welcome your brother. Not even Kaden or Kiyoshi would be able to handle those odds."

Amber started at Edward. She had heard Val says those names before. Kaden and Kiyoshi were the two best pilots that the Trinity Alliance had. But they were both gone. Could this really be the end? No, Val would never allow it.

Edward"I want an open channel to Antioch. I don't care if anyone else hears this or not, just make sure that Val does."

Edward waited for a few seconds while a communication link was opened to Antioch.

Edward"My dear friend Val. It's been too long since I have seen your face my friend, please, I wish to talk to you."

"Edward. How many times have I told you not to call me your friend? I already know you're back on Earth, so don't try and hid that fact. Now what do you want? You've got two minuets before I call the rest of the Trinity Alliance and have them all over your ass."

Edward"Hostile as always Val. Fine, I'll get right to the point. FRE wants you dead, along with the rest of the Trinity Pilots, but since you're all alone on Earth, they decided to take you out first. Now, you're going to be a good boy and come to Asia so we can kill you."

"And what makes you think I'm going to do that?"

Edwards smiled and stepped to the side, to reveal Amber sitting in the chair, with four armed guards standing beside her. After a few seconds, Edwards stepped back in front of Amber, filling the screen once again.

Edward"Well, I think you will find a reason or two to make it here in the next two days. I'll be waiting for you Val."

"YOU SON OF A......."

Val was cut off as Edward closed the communication link. That was done. The trap was set and the Tiger was on his way over. It was only a matter of time now.

[SSJHunterKiller]

Amber had been thrown in a cell and she was less than happy about it. For the first hour she had been banging on the door and walls yelling at the guards. But after a while the guard became tired of her yelling and dosed her with a tranquilizer. Currently, Amber was sitting with her back in a corner staring blankly at the wall, though she was physically awake, her mind was asleep.

Edward sat in an office of one of the capital buildings that had managed to survive the colony crashing onto Asia. Over the years it had been repaired and refurbished, but it was still nothing compared to what it had once been. A map lay across the desk with arrows, numbers, times and coordinates written all over it. Edwards had everything planned down to the last little detail. Val would come over from Europe, there was no way he was going to leave nothing but ocean for himself to retreat to. Doing this would allow the chance to retreat to Europe, if things were to turn bad. But Edward had planned for that. Thirty of his forty Leo suits were buried on the most logical entrance and escape rout, and they could make themselves known at a moments notice. Edward had thirty Aries suits stationed all around in wait so when Val showed himself, they could appear and surprise him. The forty Virgo suits were placed out in the open in a defensive pattern along with the remaining ten Leo suits. The remaining twenty suits were all Virgo II Mobile Dolls. Edward planned to have them deliver the final blow to Val. It was a nice little twist of irony, or so Edward thought. There was a knock on the door and a man entered.

John"Sir, we've just received word that a heavily encrypted message was sent from Antioch and that an equally encrypted message was received. It appears you were correct sir, Val did contact the Trinity Alliance."

Edward"Of course I was right! I've planned everything out perfectly John. Now I knew plan A wasn't going to be needed because I was sure Val wouldn't come alone. But you see it's good to have it. Plan B is what we'll follow, which is pretty much the same as plan A, but there is an added threat of more than one Gundam, you see? And Finally Plan C. That one would be if Val somehow managed to bring an army with him. In which case, we'd hurl our troops at him as a diversion and then escape back to FRE ourselves. Not the most thought out or well versed strategy, but still effective. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go check on our guest."

John"course sir."

John saluted Edward then turned on his heels and left the room. Edward sat there for a few minuets, calculating in his head.

Edward"With the trouble that the Vanguard Prime was having, how many could they afford to send? Two at the most, but they'd want one of their Gundams to stay in space, so than means they'll send one. Now, seeing as Commander Han is the best, he will most likely stay in space. That means one of the Lieutenants will be coming. That shouldn't be too much trouble then."

After doing a few more calculations and writing things on his map, Edward left the office and headed down tot he cell block. Edward never enjoyed going to one of these. The ones on Earth were always dank, dark and had a funny smell to them. The ones on the colonies were nice though, clean, bright and all you could smell was the metal. Reaching the cell where Amber was held he stopped and looked though the window.

Edward"She's quiet. Did she finally give up or did you two kill her?"

Guard One"We dosed her with a tranquilizer sir."

Guard Two"She was getting so worked up, we were afraid she might hurt herself sir."

Edward"Hmmm.....That, and you didn't want to listen to her screaming anymore."

Both the guards swallowed hard, not expecting how Edward was going to react. Edward merely smiled.

Edward"Well, I'm sure you two put up with it for longer than I would have. I'm going it to talk with her. She can talk correct?"

Guard One"Should be able to sir. Her words might be a bit slurred though."

Edward nodded as the second guard unlocked the door and opened. Edward slowly walked in, keeping his eyes locked on Amber. Slowly she lifted her head and gazed at him.

Edward"Your dear brother has contacted the Trinity Alliance, just as I planned. And now, we're going to be able to take two of them out instead of just your brother. Is that's nice?"

Amber"Val....Val, won't losto the likesof......you. Brother....is strong."

Edward"Oh my, you're drooling slightly my dear, we can't have that. We want to show your brother that we've take good care of his little sister, or he might be angry."

Edward pulled out a hanker chief and dabbed the saliva off of Amber's chin. Amber tried to respond, but the tranquilizer had finally fully kicked in and her eyes slowly closed and she dropped to her side with a soft thud. Edward stood up and walked back out of the cell, which was immediately locked again by the second guard.

Edward"That girl is a feisty one, even when she's out of it."

Both the guards chuckled slightly.

Edward"I'll be sending a extra few guards down to join you as of tomorrow. Her brother and another Gundam pilot are on their way. We going to have us a little war tomorrow boys!"

Edward walked off and back to his office. The guards waited until he was gone before speaking.

Guard One"Gundam Pilots are coming here is her serious?"

Guard Two"I believe so, well I know this ones brother is a Gundam Pilot. And a damn good one at that too. I was a Mobile Suit pilot before I was busted down here. They wanted me to go out and fight against the Gundams of the Trinity Alliance and I refused. I've never been so glad to be demoted in my life. All our pilots were killed and now, even more are going to die tomorrow."

The first guard swallowed hard.

Guard One"Suddenly, I feel myself being glad I haven't bee promoted. I mean, they'll have to come down here eventually, but well have a better chance since they'll be on foot right?"

Guard Two"Hopefully."

[SSJHunterKiller]

It was never a good sign when Edward was called at the early hours of the morning. Edward awoke on the first ring, sat up on the edge of the bed on the second, flipped the light on during the third ring and picked the phone up on the fourth.

Edward"Someone had better be dead or someone will for waking me up at........."

Edward paused as he listened to the voice on the other line. Every few seconds Edward nodded to himself and traced his finger through the air, doing more and more calculations.

Edward"Right. I'll be there in five. And I want some bloody answer when I get there!"

Edward walked into the bathroom, splashed some cold water on his face and looked at the time. It was 2:30, in only a few hours Val and the other pilot would be heading out. Edward quickly dressed, slipped a revolver into his pocket and headed out to his office. When he got there, John and the two guards that had been guarding Amber's cell were there. Edward looked around, expecting to see someone else. After a few seconds John motioned behind the desk. Edward nodded and peered over the desk, there, laying unconscious on the other side was Amber. Her hair was almost completely stained with blood from an apparent blow she had taken to the head. Some of the blood had also run down and dried on her face.

Edward took a deep breath and spoke in a soft, calm voice.
Edward"Question one. When did she get out. Question two. How did she get out. Question three. How did she get this far. And question four. WHAT THE HELL IS SHE DOING BEHIND MY DESK!"

The two guards and John winced as Edward raised his voice. Though this was expected, they never got used to it. John cleared his throat and began to speak, but Edward cut him off.

Edward"Not you, them."

Guard Two."Well sir, her food was brought to her last night, just like standard procedure. Nothing seemed out of place other than that man that brought the food. We had never seen him before."

Edward"Go on."

Guard One"Apparently, he had slipped a small combat knife in her food somehow. And well after she was finished, we went in to clear the place like normal, and she jumped us."

Edward put his hand to his forehead and began to massage it with his middle finger and his thumb.

Edward"You're telling me that a sixteen year old girl with a knife managed to over take two armed guards? I thought this only happened in the movies. Now John, please explain to me how she got from the holding cells to my office?"

John"Well, I'm not exactly sure sir, but it was apparent where she was heading so we got here before she did and were waiting for her. As you can see, everything is taken care of."

Edward"Oh yes, I can see that. So they, why did you wake me? You know what I have to do tomorrow."

John started to open his mouth to respond but thought better of it. And from what happened next, he was damn glad that he didn't speak.

Edward"Well, now that that's settled. You two, go home for the night, but get another two guards and send them here before you leave."

The two guards saluted and turned. Even as they were turning, Edward was pulling the revolver out of his pocket. He pulled the trigger once, and once guard went down. He pulled the trigger a second time, the other guard went down.

Edward"John, be sure that all this gets cleaned up and that she get back to a better cell. I'm going back to sleep. I don't want to be disturbed until ten o'clock unless Val and the other pilot show up. And find out who this man that brought her the food was."

Edward dropped the revolver into John's hand and went back to his room.

[SSJHunterKiller]

It was about noon and Edward was awake and staring at several monitors in his office. There was a knock on the door and Edward grunted, inviting the person in.

John"Sir, there's still no sign of them. And our people in Europe report no Mobile Suits or shuttles that aren't scheduled to be coming here. I don't think they're coming."

Edward quickly grabbed a stapler that was on his desk and hurled it at John. John, having seen it in time ducked and the stapler went soaring out into the hall and crashed against the far wall.

Edward"He's got to be coming! There's no way that he'd let his little sister......wait. What did you say?"

John"That I don't think they're coming? Or about the scheduled shuttles?"

Edward"They're here. They're already here! How could I have missed that. The Vanguard Prim are pirates! They could easily high jack transponder code. Stop all flights immediately. Send them somewhere else and tell them something outrageous. I don't care what you tell them, just keep them from landing."

John"Uh, sir?"

Edward"WHAT?"

John"We got a call a few minuets ago from the shuttle company that was scheduled to transport those two construction Leos, asking why we canceled the contract, but a shuttle marked with the companies logo has just landed where and when we shceduled."

Edward looked at John with wide eyes.

Edward"Get our shuttle ready John, we're heading out of here as soon as we can get the chance. Val is already here."

[SSJHunterKiller]

The shuttle was ready to launch at least ten minuets before Edward and John were even ready to head to the hanger, as it had been on emergency standby ever since Edward had planned on bringing val over to eliminate him.

John"Sir, what do you want to do about Amber Thrall?"

Edward"Leave her. Remember how I told you about Plan C? Well I failed to mention that Plan C also applies if we are somehow out maneuvered, as we just have been. I still don't believe that I didn't think of this move. It doesn't matter. Plan C is a fail safe. The entire area is set to blow in case of a major fuck up like this. FRE doesn't like to leave any messes that they'll have to clean up later."

John"You mean they were planning on taking us out as well?"

Edward"If need be, yes. You don't think that we're that important to FRE do you? Sure we're the controlling interest of the Blace Lowe Faction, but even if we turned all our arms against them we'll still be an insignificant thorn in their side, and not even a troublesome one like the Trinity Alliance."

After he finished, Edward grabbed the few things that he needed from his desk and ran off towards the shuttle, with John in close tail. The pilot was waiting for them and began the countdown as soon as the two were aboard. Several other Lowe Faction officers had been chosen to join Edward and John on the flight, and were already there and strapped in. Since the fight between the two Gundams and the Lowe Faction Mobile Suits still hadn't reached the area, there were no complications in the take off procedure.