If you're reading this thank you for taking the time to open this humble side project story of mine. Hope you like it. :D

05/20/19: I edited some obvious mistakes that I've missed.


Amuro took a deep breath before the large double doors before him. Glancing at the two unmoving soldiers guarding the door, he swallowed heavily. He could feel the calm presence of the man behind the imposing door. For the man himself to directly contact him and ordering them to go to Jaburo on the double was surprising, but the only thing on his mind was what the purpose of this meeting was.

He hadn't seen the man since the awarding ceremony a month after the war and when they were directly promoted then assigned to be one of the Mobile Suit trainers for the new recruits and an MS squad leader on Cheyenne.

No, he shook his head correcting himself, the last time they saw the Admiral was after Operation Hellstorm. That was one heck of an op that would greatly resupply the Zeon remnants on Earth if they didn't destroy that base.

He resisted the urge to look back and did his best to block the negative feelings that came from all around him. Those of low ranks didn't avoid him, with the occasional awkwardness and fear of him. It was mostly the high ranking officers that steered clear of him. His gut says it had anything to do with his rumored abilities.

Sighing lowly, he was used to it by now.

Ever since he was subjected to the research of the Newtype scientists, his senses became more honed, especially with dealing with negative emotions and intent. He hated knowing things without the others, aside from Sayla, knowing. That was one of the reasons why the scientists and some officers on Cheyenne were wary of him ever since rumors of his Newtype abilities were known.

Thank God for the Team for being understanding to me.

He shuddered every time he was subjected to test under the scrutiny of the Augusta Lab scientists. Breathing deeply, he focused on the fact that at least the pay was good enough to sustain him from both being an EFF Officer and as a Test subject. Aside from the money he had from selling Haro Toys, all the money he earned on those two jobs helped in mentally rehabilitating his dad. Not to mention send some money to his mom, albeit in a different name, despite their tense relations.

Knocking the thoughts of his mom, he focused on where they were now.

He was used to tension on meeting superior officers being part of the EFSF for about five years now, but still the nervousness won't completely subside especially with his extra senses always detecting emotions. The only comfort that he had was that Chris and Sayla was with him, with both hiding their tension easily than he could.

Glancing left and right, the two nodded firmly and he cleared his throat. Clenching his fist and loosening them, he knocked on the door. "Lieutenant Ray, Mass, and Mackenzie, Admiral Revil, sir."

They didn't have to wait long before the Admiral replied. "Enter," the Earth Federation Forces' Commander-in-Chief's gruff voice ordered. They saluted the man quickly as soon as they entered.

The older man stood up with hands on his back and faced the window overlooking most of Jaburo. They stood waiting before the table and waited for superior officer to say something first. No need to bring trouble to them more with most officers hating him and Sayla. It was only because of Admiral Revil's grace that he and Sayla were allowed to stay together and stationed at a base out of most prying eyes.

"Have a seat," the old man ordered, and they did so with their Federation leader following suit. "You may wonder why I called the three of you here," he said eyeing them neutrally hands covering his lower face.

He winced at the intense paranoia that the older man felt. The admiral's mind felt close yet open that he felt a slight connection tugging him along. "Officially, I called you back here to be temporarily reassigned to the Albion to help choose the pilots of GP Units 01 and 02 in Torrington base in Australia."

"GP Units?" Sayla asked what was on their mind.

"Gundam Project Units," Admiral Revil clarified. "A secret Mobile suit project we assigned to the Anaheim Electronics to make as a concept bed prototypes for the next generation units."

He didn't know much of the company, but from what he knew of Anaheim Electronics was that it's a civilian company that made most of the things they used. It was known that after the war that they absorbed the Zeonic and Zimmad Company along with their assets and employees. In hindsight, it would make perfect sense for them to employ the company with their workers experienced in Mobile suit engineering regardless of their civilian status.

"The truth is," he as he opened the drawer and showed them a thick folder labelled as Gundam Development Project. The folder had a red stamp that says S-class classified file. "Aside from the Gundams you have been using to gather data for the next generation of Mobile suits as part of the Federal Forces Reconstruction Plan. Another project is the Gundam Development Project, headed by Vice-Admiral Kowen and given to Anaheim Electronics, is part of it. If the unit testing is deemed successful, the Federation will use the concepts used by the GP units on the newer MS we will be rolling out."

He then pushed out the folder towards them and he received it. The folder felt heavy in his hands, that was not counting the stacks of paper it has. Why it felt heavy, he didn't know, but it just was.

"Unofficially," he leaned forward, and his voice dropped to a whisper. "I want you to protect the two units as it undergoes testing."

Protect?

Licking his lips discreetly, he replied, "protect, sir?"

Admiral Revil firmly nodded. "Throughout the One Year War, Zeon had attempted many times to steal one of our Gundams. With Zeon sympathizers still lurking about, even in Anaheim, we can't let ourselves be too lax about this."

The first was a General Purpose Mobile Suit dubbed as "Zephyranthes" with the purpose of being adaptable. Though, unlike their Gundam's, it needed to be reconfigured first before used in a specified environment. It used a core fighter based on the original Gundam and is equipped with a rifle that used "E-pac" technology, an ammunition type but only this time contains energy for the rifle instead of bullets. The more he read about the concept the more he was interested in it. All in all the MS itself looked similar to their units, or any Gundam unit for that matter, with even the color scheme matching theirs.

The second unit made his body going cold and gape at it in an unsuppressed shock. The paper's weight seemed to have gotten heavy on his finger as he flipped through its pages.

The Gundam "Physalis" as it was called. A Tactical Nuclear Mobile Suit equipped with a Nuclear bazooka. Equipped with a large and thick enough shield to defend against beams and physical attacks. Not only that, it helps in protecting the unit from a nuclear explosion along with its armor. Despite its bulky appearance, the file stated that its speed was comparable to a Dom thanks to its powerful reactor and large shoulder binders that could also act as extra limbs in space increasing its AMBAC ability.

Aside from that, it had a missile launcher variation that used a beam bazooka as its ranged weapon.

Forcing himself to ignore the large red flag that Unit 02 will have, he looked at the two Gundam's data and saw that it slightly had greater performance than the units the three of them had. The two units were planned to be used in conjunction like the Gundam Unit 04 and 05 was. One of the perks he had as the son of former Federation MS Project head he gets to know some things he shouldn't, he thought.

"Sir, this is," he stumbled saying as he gave the file to Chris with shaking hands.

Why did they need a nuclear-equipped MS? The war was over. They only need to deal with Zeon remnants to stabilize the situation. If word of this Gundam gets out, then the public backlash, especially from the colonists like Side 3, against the Federation would be massive and support for the Zeon rebellion would grow far stronger.

Admiral Revil sighed, "I know what you are going to say. Though I was against this in fear of public backlash, the admiralty board outnumbered those opposed in the creation of this. I advise the Vice-Admiral in suggesting against this, but he was adamant of it. Though to cover up the Physalis, we had the designation of it as Nuclear capable as GP02B, a variant of it, and the MLRS as its main weapons."

Amuro doubted that would stop any backlash from the colonist and any Spacenoids if they ever found out about it. What if the Zeon remnants got wind of Physalis' existence?

Sayla's distress rippling can be felt by him. He felt the same as her when he read the potential destruction of Physalis when wielded by the wrong hands.

"Protection? Protect it from what, Admiral?" Chris asked, revealing nothing of what she thought. Even he cannot ascertain what she thought of their orders.

"Yes, protect," he repeated. "I say so because post One Year War, despite winning the war, the Zeon still persists in its rebellion. It could be seen in 0081 with the Zeon's Tears of Varuna and other various operations done by the remnants. I cannot remain overconfident that the Federation can keep the remnants in check all the time."

Amuro had to concede to Admiral Revil's point that the Zeon remnants on both Earth and Space were still going strong despite them being at a disadvantage by many factors. They still insist on fighting. That wasn't counting on Kycilia Zabi's escape. To where, he didn't know, but what he did know was that she did so while the Federation Fleet was in the middle pushing back the remaining forces on A Baoa Qu. Zeon remnants still had a leader they could really behind.

The news of that Zeon operation had reached them in the base. Tears of Varuna as it was called, an operation by Zeon remnants to use the Federation controlled Lunar Mass Driver so that they could attack the Earth. Not much was known about what exactly happened, but it was stop thanks to the efforts of the Phantom Sweepers.

Scowling for a second that one might've thought it was a just a trick of their eye, the Admiral paused then continued as he leaned forward deepening the shadows on his eyes. "Though the other officials may be confident that the Earth Federation can handle any threats that Zeon has left, I on the other hand cannot afford to be that lax as the commander-in-chief. If Zeon has shown us something, it is that they are adamant and determined that even with smaller force they are enemies to be reckoned with."

"The Zeons are terribly good in hiding, and I suspect that some people here on Earth and Space are hiding them."

"If that is the case sir," the blonde began, "how come the Federation did not make hunting down the remnants on Earth a priority."

Admiral Revil shook his head negatively, "an easy task to say, but harder to do. This may not be evident, but after the war, we needed time to reorganize the Federation since we had suffered a lot of casualties, especially during Operation Star One and Cembalo. Not only that, with Kycilia escaping during our assault on A Baoa Qu with most of her forces intact, we can't spare much in pursuing them while we have Zeon hiding on our backyard. The only thing we can do for now is patrol and root out any Zeon hideouts while we recover."

"So, the Federation can't find them all," Sayla stated thoughtfully. "Searching every nook and cranny of Earth and Space would leave the Federation spreading the forces thin."

"Precisely." The Admiral narrowed his eyes.

Glancing at Sayla, he could feel her worry emanating. He let out calming feelings for her in hopes that she would feel it.

"Thus the Reconstruction plan was agreed upon," Sayla said, getting to the point. "To prepare in case Zeon ever returns." The got a nod from the Admiral himself.

"In case when Zeon returns."

"Permission to speak freely, sir," the redhead said.

The Admiral nodded in giving her consent.

"But sir," Chris said objecting, "Surely there are others who could do this? You don't mean to tell us that you called us all the way from Cheyenne for this?"

"There might be," he paused then continued after a minute, "but for reasons I cannot divulge now, just know that for now I cannot trust them because of them having deep connections on the Federation. You three on the other hand, are not only reliable but are one of the few free from any shackles of having Federation connection."

Amuro had a lot of questions in his mind as to why them specifically, but he can't help but think that something more was happening in the shadows. Something that they, the grunts, were not aware of.

Standing and turning his back from them, the admiral then said, "that is all. You're dismissed. Go to dock 5, the Albion and Captain Synapse will be there waiting for you."


Amuro couldn't help but be impressed by the ship that was before them. It was unlike the White Base, yet he felt the pang of nostalgia and sadness hit him just observing the ship. Burying those emotions deep down, he focused at the task at hand, which is to enter the ship.

The ship was similar to the White Base in terms of overall design from its color scheme, two forward bow legs, bridge shape, wings, "shield" that hid its particle cannons, and engines. Despite the similarities of the two ships, the Albion was vastly different with its much wider and longer form than the ship he had formerly served on. A double-barreled cannon could be seen below the tip of the MS Deck. The ship had a lot of hidden anti-air weapons littered and hidden all over its hull.

The Albion was in dock and being maintained by numerous people from what he could see.

"Albion, this is Lt. Mackenzie, Ray, and Mass. Requesting permission to dock in Albion," Chris contacted the ship as they approached it.

His Netix having an overall head height of 22 meters thanks to its wire-guided experimental Newtype weapon, Amuro wondered if it would fit in the ship's hangar. Or should he remove it first and carry it to the hangar where he could just lay it beside his suit since he can't use it on the atmosphere.

Sayla's Pixie Kai armed only with one beam machine gun, and two additional sabers aside from its beam daggers. No doubt it'll fit snuggly within the ship's hangar no problem. Chris' RX-78-8th Gundam could fit no problem since she didn't have to worry about fitting large weapons aside from the bazooka behind it. They didn't have big weapons unnecessary on Earth, unlike his unit.

"Permission granted," a woman replied. "Use deck one on the left."

"Say," Amuro said admiring the ship now that they were closer, "do you think the Netix will fit there?"

Sayla chuckled, "I'm sure it would, Amuro. Just make it crouch a little."

Christina followed Sayla and laughed at his dilemma. That didn't give him any confidence at all. Just as he feared, when he neared the portside deck hatch, his large weapons behind were large that his suit can't fit on the entrance unless he crouched. Though the good thing was his worries were unwarranted since the hangar was big enough to have its tip nearly reaching the ceiling of the hangar.

Sighing, Amuro ignored the laughter of the two and lowered his Gundam as he entered the hangar. It took him a few minutes set the MS right next to the Pixie, and what he did was basically made the unit squat to balance the Netix. He reminded himself to remove the weapons later to lessen the additional useless weight of his Gundam since it was useless on Earth.

"C'mon, Amuro. Hurry up," Chris waved at him already out of her unit and waiting for him with Sayla. He could feel the obvious humor that the two felt and opted to ignore it.

"That Gundam is huge," a tall dark-skinned woman with black hair in a maintenance's grey uniform whistled. He only reached her shoulders and had to crane up his neck just to see her friendly expression. "I'm betting those large things behind it are the Newtype weapons. Am I right?"

He smiled somewhat sheepish at her with her towering over him, "yeah," he nodded. "How did you know?"

"We were briefed earlier about your arrival."

Ah, that explained it. "Sorry 'bout the Netix. I knew it wouldn't fit, but not to this degree." And he didn't lie about it. In Cheyenne, the hangar was large enough to house his unit with no problem. Hell, even when they got the order to go to Jaburo they had two Medeas. One for the Pixie Kai and 8th Gundam, the other for his Netix. He must've forgotten that little tidbit.

The weapon was tested through simulation and was considered a successful recreation of Zeon's Psycommu technology, albeit an inferior one. In the field was still not tested and regardless of that, was sent his way despite the fact that he was assigned on Earth. They didn't even bother with field testing it in space first before giving it to him.

"No problem," the woman, grinned who then held out a large hand, then said, "Mora Boscht, Albion's head of maintenance."

Accepting her held hand, Amuro introduced himself, "Lt. Amuro Ray. Those are my companions—"

"Sayla Mass and Christina Mackenzie," she finished pointing at the other two with her thumb. "They already introduced themselves while you were positioning your suit."

"Is that so," he chuckled.

"Mora!" a female excitedly called out. He looked behind her to see a light-skinned blonde woman in a light blue formal suit with a tight long pencil skirt that reached her knees. A logo of Anaheim Electronics was emblazoned on her chest. "Is this the three Gundams assigned to the ship?"

"Yeah," the large woman replied and started pointing at each one from left to right. "That's the Netix, Pixie Kai, and the 08th Gundam. According to the data, all of these were all Federation made, specifically by the Augusta Labs."

Once near, she took a minute to examine the three units. "I see," she may have said that neutrally, but her expression revealed her excitement even without using his extra senses. Turning to him, she shook his hands, "Nina Purpleton, Head Engineer of Gundam Unit 01 and 02 from Anaheim."

"Amuro Ray," he said awkwardly.

She gasped, "The White Devil?" Nina's giddiness abruptly burst, and he winced at the name.

He winced and found it lucky the two didn't seem him react to her excited outburst. That name always made him out to sound like a bad guy in children's cartoons.

"I gotta go. Captain Synapse is waiting to debrief us. It's nice meeting you two," he apologized and ran towards his two friends.

"What was that about, Amuro?" Sayla asked.

He shrugged and grabbed her hand as they followed Chris' lead. "She looked interested in the Gundams."

Moving closer to him, Sayla then said, "the ship really feels like the White Base, isn't it."

Chris hummed in agreement. "Considering that this ship looks like it was derived from the Pegasus Class Carrier, I'm not surprised about the similarities."

"It feels so strange," he commented. "It's as if I'm back in time." He winced and fell on one knee.

There he was in space, dodging shot after shot of the Newtype weapons. He evaded the beams that the large remote Newtype weapons fired. The presence washing over him was gentle, yet fiercely loyal. He continuously moved knowing one hit from those remote weapons were dangerous.

His hand flinches on the controls when the beam rifle exploded.

All of these events flashed before him as if watching a film.

A red Gelgoog approached him fast as the Gundam. Deftly grabbing the beam saber, their energy weapons met as both attempted to overpower the other. Their blades clashed as their deadly blade dance continued.

Eventually, Char made a mistake and Amuro cut the red MS's arm. With an angry cry, he thrust the beam forward.

"Captain!" the voice in his head screamed in terror pushing the Gelgoog away. Amuro's rage melted away and his hand which once trembled in anger at himself became still upon realizing what he did.

A flood of consciousness erupted, and he found himself floating in an otherworldly place where everything was colorful and staring at a beautiful dark-skinned girl the same age as him.

"Amuro!" just like a flood has been cleared he found himself gasping and holding his head. He thought he was over that part of his life? I'm sorry Lalah. I'm really sorry. I would change what I've done if I could. He could feel the sting on the edge of his eyes. What more do you want me to do?

The regret and sadness that filled him that day returned as if the dam he built got destroyed.

Supporting him by grasping his shoulder was a frowning Sayla. "Are you okay?"

Knowing it was useless to lie to Sayla, he shook his head and blinked away the wetness of his eyes. "Just memories."

"Are you sure you don't need rest?" Chris asked as he was pulled up. "I'm sure Captain Synapse would understand if we explain you're not feeling well."

He gently pushed them away and breathed deeply, "I'm fine. I'm fine," he smiled. "Don't worry about me."

The two gave each a dubious look and fortunately let the matter slide. "Just tell me if you're not feeling well, okay?" Sayla pleaded. Her eyes felt like it pierced his soul that he couldn't help but nod.

The walk towards the Captain's office turned quiet, no doubt because of what happened a second ago. Still, with every step, he could see the image from that day go brighter and clearer as if he was living it again and the present was instead the dream.

Chris knocking at the door knocked him out of his reverie. Shaking his head slightly, he heard the redhead woman introduced them.

"Come in," the Captain replied not a second late after the knock.

Captain Synapse, a dark tanned forty-something man with slightly wrinkled skin and whose hair was already graying, sat behind his desk and looked at them expectantly. Saluting at the captain, he saluted back and shook their hands, "I'm Captain Eiphar Synapse," he introduced himself before gesturing for them to sit down.

"We're sorry for being late, sir," Amuro said. "My unit took too long to dock." He hoped Captain Synapse would understand because it looked like he was sterner than any officers with his naturally serious look.

"It's fine," his lips lightly rose into a small smile. "My pleasure to finally meet the "White Devil" and those from the White Base. Your exploits during the One Year War is widely known."

He had lost how many times people had said that they heard of what he and the White Base crew do during the war and impressed by him because of it. Hell, he had seen the propaganda video of him piloting the Gundam against Zakus. Though most of it edited and were computer generated just to boost Federation and Earthnoid morale.

"Just call me Amuro, captain," he stated respectfully as he could feel his cheeks redden. "That's just the name Zeon's gave me."

Captain Synapse chuckled. "With good reason, I might add Lieutenant Ray."

The captain shook his head, "All jokes aside," his expression turned serious. "I have been briefed by the Admiral himself about your mission," Captain Synapse stated all jesting earlier gone and replaced by a grizzled veteran. "I'm of the opinion that is unnecessary because we are testing the units near Torrington base. But the Admiral believes your presence is needed during the Gundam's testing and I for one am not one to object an order."

"Do you think it has something to do with the Zeon attacks the last years?" Sayla asked.

Leaning back on his chair, he put his arms on his crossed leg. "Perhaps," he said plainly. "Or it may just be a necessary precaution set by Admiral Revil himself."

"Regardless of my thoughts, I trust Admiral Revil's judgment on this matter," leaning forward, he put his hands on top of each other and covered his lower face, "I just pray that your purpose would not be needed."

They all knew the threat that the Zeon still posed regardless if they won the war. Just like the Admiral said earlier, what remained of them were still lingering elsewhere, either they already gave up or bidding their time since one of their leaders was still alive somewhere.

"Us too, sir," Amuro replied, sweating slightly as he felt the weight of the Captain's stare. "I hope we may not be needed."

It was too much to take that the Federation was willing to make a Mobile Suit that is capable of launching a nuke. Why? As a show of force or simply because it was hard to deny old habits such as the usage of atomic bombs on warfare? Whatever the answer was, he hated the existence of Physalis.

"In a few hours, we will head to our Torrington base and arrived in about twenty-six hours as scheduled. I suggest you three get some rest, especially you, Lt. Ray," he said that as his eyes flicked over to him for a second and was gone the next as if Captain Synapse didn't look worried about him.


The ship left Jaburo after two hours, giving him time to reposition his unit correctly to make sure it doesn't topple on their journey to Australia.

After that little debacle, he excused himself to his quarters to rest but found no peace. The image kept replaying again and again on his mind. Why can't he get over it? He thought he did. All those years in Cheyenne and he found no problem as it slowly stopped, so why did it begin all over again.

Finding himself unable to sleep despite the fact that he could feel his tired mind and body protesting. He blinked away the bleariness and continued on his way to his destination through the direction given to him by the crew. Turning around the corner, and entering the door, he found himself on the observation deck.

The place had several chairs and was spacious enough for the rest to stand or just sit on the floor. He groaned in satisfaction upon sitting down and leaning on the comfortable chair.

"Lalah," he muttered staring at the ceiling. The sun setting painted the ceiling orange-red, but all he could see was the red that was Lalah's blood that was on his hands.

Even now he recalled their meeting, their fateful meeting on the battlefield, and her demise on his hands. Short as their meeting may had been, their bond was unlike any other he had ever felt. If only they had met under different circumstances, he was sure that the result would be the same as that fateful encounter on that rainy colony day but it wouldn't end with her dying.

"Why." It was all he could say. Why did she had to die? For Char of all people, damn it! Why does she haunt him still? His fist curled that it shook from the effort.

He thought that he was over it. He thought that he was already passed acceptance. But he just knew now that he was not.

He ignored the footsteps getting closer and composed himself hoping that whoever entered won't notice his unease seconds earlier.

"Amuro," he stiffened at Sayla's gentle voice calling him. He didn't move when she sat next to him and took his hands. She said nothing else but just be there be with him and he found himself appreciating her silence. Her warmth also sent a peaceful sort of presence that drove away the uncertainty that coiled within his chest.

"Why," he muttered. His eyes were slowly becoming moist thinking of the burden of the sin he did. "I didn't mean to do it. Yet…" He could feel Sayla's gentle, yet strong finger clasped his tighter. All these years Sayla along with Chris helped him move on from her death. And they did, a part of him acknowledged that fact. Yet… Why do I keep seeing her death?

"Do you think I could change what I did back then?" He turned to the blond on his left and leaned, his head on her shoulder. If only...

All he could hear was their breathing and he found the silence and her release and intake of air soothing.

"I don't know," was her whispered reply as her fingers caressed his. Breathing heavily she lifted their joined hands and pressed it on her cheeks. Her soft kiss didn't make any sound, but it may as well with how he shivered felt her emotions washing over him. Her yearnings, regrets, sadness, and happiness rolling into one wave of jolting expressions. "We can't know because that wasn't what happened. All we can do is move forward and not let the past define our future."

He wondered how she became who she was now knowing her past. He wondered how she became strong to free herself from the shackles of her past knowing who she was; Char's, no, Casval Rem Deikun's sister, and youngest daughter of Zeon Zum Deikun.

To be part of a family destroyed by the Zabi's, destroyed by politics and conspiracies. Yet, looking at the woman she was now? It's not very evident at first glance that she had been through many things.

"How did you move on," was his simple reply as he shifted awkwardly to the right as to not lean too much on her.

"It…," she stuttered to say as he detected cracks in her voice, "it… just happened. The pain was there and always has been, but I just keep looking forward on the horizon with my loved ones beside me."

Perhaps…, his sin would be with him forever until he dies but maybe, just maybe, he would get past this with them. He would

Shifting awkwardly again, he said nothing and just hummed as a response. Finding his bleary blinking eyes difficult to remain open, his vision was slowly fading. The last thing he heard was the soft humming of an unfamiliar song before the god of dreams took him.


"It's beautiful," admiration filled Nina's voice looking at the approaching land. It didn't bother the woman that they'd seen nothing but ocean during the duration of their trip. It must be her first time on Earth just like with most of the Anaheim engineers, so her impression was still strong.

Amuro remembered the first time he and his dad left Earth for Side 7. The same excitement must've been what the blonde woman was feeling when he saw space for the first time. For a moment he envied her for it because he had seen what Earth and Space had to offer. From the moment they landed on Earth, the desert, the jungle, the fairly cold weather of Europe, and different colonies like Texas and even debris field. Still, if given time, he'd like to go on vacation in wonderful places he'd never seen. He was sure there were still places on the planet still left unexplored or forgotten by time. Well, even if he had been there, he wouldn't mind going just being a tourist.

"How long till Australia," she asked the navigator since Captain Synapse took a breather an hour ago.

"We're already in Australia, ma'am," The man responded at the same time the door opened.

Light footsteps approached closer and closer to the woman. On his peripherals, the Captain stood next to the woman on the center just mere feet away in front of the Captain's chair. "I forgot that this is your first here on Earth, Miss Purpleton. He's right. We are already in Australia."

"What?" was her puzzled reply.

If it's as he thought, then that would mean that they were in —his eyes went wide in realization. The aftereffect of that day was reported throughout the news and was known by all. Numerous news companies reported on it for weeks to no end.

"Precisely, we are now above Sydney." His CO's head bowed slightly. "Right where the colony fell."

This is where Operation British fell?

He couldn't help but gape at the large hole of what used to be Sydney below them. He had heard of the Zeon colony drop from the beginning of the war, but to see it personally left him cold and heavy. Looking at the distance, he thought those tall towers were the remains of the building that somehow survived the drop, but he was now sure it was colony debris.

Discreetly, he turned to the woman where the excitable and formal Nina Purpleton stood in shock.

Captain Synapse with grimness on his voice. "Even years after the war, the scars of Zeon remained."

He numbly nodded at the Captain's statement. Back in Side 7 when they'd known what the Principality of Zeon had done, everyone nearly panicked in fear of Zeon targeting them. It didn't help that any footage shown would be about a glimpse about the aftermath of the Australia colony drop. The television mainly focused on the survivors and refugees of the torn land as the Federation did its best to support them while in the middle of the war. He remembered the endless and futile search for survivors of those around Sydney by the order of the Federation Prime Minister.

The energetic Nina Purpleton's mood dwindled at Captain Synapse's statement. Who wouldn't? As beautiful as the scenery of the ocean before them was, it was a disheartening thought to know what caused it in the first place was the deaths of thousands. It was a sad fact to know that millions of bodies and souls of others lie underneath them.

"Permission to excuse myself, Captain," he turned to the older man and saluted.

A slight frown formed on the man's face as his lips pursed but he nonetheless nodded. As Amuro left the bridge, he could feel the weight of the Captain's emotions. For what he didn't know, all he knew was that Synapse reminded him of Bright in some ways. Maybe a much older Bright Noa.

He left and went towards the hangar where the other two were. As he did so, he was left wondering what were the others doing now.

Sayla and Christina on the two units, inspecting and testing the units with some of the engineers and maintenance crew. Sayla was on Unit 01 and Chris checked on the second unit.

Come to think of it, this was his first time seeing the two units of the Gundam Development Project. The Physalis, despite its bulky design and thus losing a lot of speed and mobility, could compensate thanks to the large thrusters on its shoulders. And its shield where the second part of the bazooka was stored? Holy hell was it large! It was larger than the original Gundam's shield and nearly tall as the unit itself. Not to mention thick enough to ward off several bullets and beams if needed to.

What caught his eye was the bazooka on its back that took most of the space on the back of the unit and the shield it was using. If the bazooka was ever assembled then that would mean its as tall as the unit itself. He found the dirty white hue of it perfect for the unit itself. A thing that could stain the name of the Federation and the many honest good people in it. It was one stain that he thought could possibly be hard to remove.

What he didn't like was the look of the unit's face having an ever menacing expression. It's as if the makers intended on scaring Unit 02's enemies.

He jerked back when the unit lifted its large shield and brought it back down after a moment. "This Gundam can lift the shield with no problem?" An impressed sounding Chris said leaving the unit's cockpit. "Though, I'm surprised they didn't implement the 360-degree panoramic cockpit in the project like when the Federation upgraded the cockpit of my unit," she said to the Anaheim employees.

A lanky tall blue-haired man in an orange mechanic's uniform laughed and said something that he didn't hear.

He went on to Zephyranthes and saw that it was moving in controlled yet basic actions like lifting its arms, foot, and more in what was probably the testing of its hydraulics. A set of armor pieces lie on the unit's side in a neat pile. Does that mean that GP01 uses Chobham Armor just like the Alex?

The Gundam itself, he concluded with one look, was designed to be mobile because it was thinner than its sister unit was. Also because the backpack was larger than any unit he'd seen which meant it can cross great distances in one jump thanks to its thrusters.

Well, I doubted any unit would have a large backpack as the Netix considering that it carries large weapons attached on its back, he mused for a second.

"Amuro," Mora called approaching him. "What're you doing here?"

He shrugged, "I've seen the Gundams in papers, but this is the first I've seen it personally."

The tall woman hummed in understanding. "So, as an Ace Pilot, what do you think of the Gundams?" he felt his cheeks heat up on the mention of him being an ace but said nothing about that.

He opened his mouth but closed it a second after he thought better of it. Mulling over the woman's question for a minute, he then replied, "they're both great units. No doubt Anaheim with their absorption of Zeon companies, they'd put to use the knowledge of Zeon engineers into great effect in building these. Unit 01 reminds me of the Gundam, but an updated version of it with more concepts put into it. It has greater mobility and speed than the Netix. As for Unit 02," he paused for a minute to gather his thoughts rationally. "I can definitely see the influence of Dom in its design, so I'd say it's much more mobile than my unit too. It probably could match Sayla's Pixie in terms of speed."

His unit was heavily armored but just enough to provide protection that it doesn't give up its mobility. Chris' Gundam was fast, but it was slower compared to the Pixie.

"Now, what do you really think of it."

He turned to Mora to see her looking at him from the edge of her vision with her expression somehow furrowed as creases formed on her forehead. Loosening the collar of his uniform, he wiped the small sweat forming on his head. Geez, Australia was hotter than he thought it would be.

"I get the purpose of the Project, and even why they built Unit 01. Unit 02 is great too, but why would they even make a Mobile Suit capable of launching nukes? The war's over. There's no need for it now in peace times. I just don't understand." He said it only loud enough for the woman beside him.

"I get what you're telling," she responded. "Hey you! Yes, you blondie. Get your act together! Even from here I could see that it's not tightened properly!"

He flinched from the volume of her voice as she pointed at one of the maintenance crew who hastened in his job on the Physalis' right arm.

"Why even use a relic of the past, right?" the woman shook her head in clear dismay. "Yeah, I know how destructive the Mobile Suits are, but if you ask me if I have to choose between an MS and a nuke, I'd rather choose an MS than a weapon that does not discriminate." Mora sighed. "Still, it's built now. Not much we can do. All we can do now is hope that after testing its effectiveness the Top Brass will be satisfied with the result and that'll be the end of Physalis or any nuke launching MS for that matter."

Amuro agreed with her all the way on that matter. Idealistic as that may be, that was what he was hoping for with someone sensible like Admiral Revil on top of the Federation.

Shaking himself off the depressing topic, he asked Mora about the specs of the two units and her opinions of the unit's abilities. Throughout the rest of the trip to Torrington, he spent the time observing the testing and maintenance going on whilst talking to her.


They arrived on the base with no problem, which made Amuro sighed in relief. Torrington base itself was relatively large, maybe nearly a quarter half of Jaburo. Most of the administrative buildings lay on the left from where they were and the hangar in front of the ship — though he could see some hangar on the west side too just after the office building— and a resource silo was built on the west of the hangars. Overall the base looked like it lacked tighter security like Cheyenne.

He could see Mobile Suits milling about —MS from the GM line and the Zaku's— going to and fro everywhere. For the first time, he wondered if Admiral Revil's paranoia was too much if the base itself had this many units for its defense, then why bother with assigning them the protection of GP Units?

"C'mon Amuro," Chris called from the bridge door. "We've been given off duty this day." Captain Synapse had already gone ahead to meet with the base commander and until the testing, the three of them had free time. "Sayla's waiting for us on the hangar."

He knew what they were doing, and he didn't mind it.

Amuro replied, "yeah. Just go there first. I'll be there after changing my clothes."

After a few minutes of changing his clothes, he went to the hangar where their units were. Sayla and Chris were already on a jeep waiting for him and apparently ignoring the two men that were excitedly inspecting their MS, specifically the Sayla's Pixie.

"Keith," the one inspecting the unit said nearing a shout. "Check it out. It has thrusters on the side of its ankles and is lightly armored. I bet that this unit could hover like the Dom could like that other Gundam." The black haired man checking out Sayla's unit gestured at the RX-78-08th Gundam. Specifically, its thruster laden body like the side of the ankles, its back, and a big backpack that had four thrusters on it for more speed.

His unit had a heavy backpack that even if it has the additional thrusters on its legs to increase the mobility of it, it simply could not hover due to its weight. Granted, he could use the Wired Bits as additional thrusters, but it would only help with jump higher planetside and increase his speed in space.

"Hey Kou, what're these," the ash blond person pointed at the remote weapons laying beside the Netix. "Are these detachable cannons, but isn't it too big to be cannons? Even the original Guncannon didn't have weapons large as these."

"Those?" he said offhandedly with an easy wave of his hands, "there are rumors that the Federation is experimenting on Newtype weapons. Y'know like the ones Zeon used on the war. It might be that."

Amuro was impressed with the man's eye for details.

Keith immediately stood ramrod straight and elbowed the other man, 'Kou,' upon seeing him approaching them on the way to the jeep on the other side of the hangar. "Hey Kou," he warned as he immediately saluted him and Amuro returned Ensign Keith's salute easily.

"What is it Keith," annoyance crept up the other's voice as he replied and grunted. His muttering reached his ears and he could hear the man's technical words as he continued observing the Pixie.

"Kou, an officer is here!"

Kou whipped his head back at him and saluted at him, while Keith looked abash. "Ensign Kou Uraki and Chuck Keith, sir."

"Sorry for the disruption, Lieutenant. My friend and I are just checking the Gundams. Mora from the maintenance crew gave us the clearance since it's not being serviced right now."

Ah, that would explain it. Amuro smiled a little, "it's fine. As you were. Seems like Kou was just admiring the units, nothing wrong with that. After all, it's not every day we see a Federation Gundam Unit, isn't it? If you want to, you can check out the cockpits and move them a bit." Kou's expression of nearly unsuppressed glee made him thought of his decision for a second. "Provided that you tell the bridge I gave you my permission and not cause trouble."

"Thank you, sir." Kou returned to examining the units. "We promise to keep it the way it was!"

"C'mon, Amuro," Chris called.

Looking at the other two and seeing nothing wrong with letting them just hang around their suits, he jogged towards his friends and told them of what he said to the excitable man. As they left the hangar, he heard Keith shout something to his friend.


Hope you guys like it. :)