War of the Seven Kings (Super Robot Wars with Code Geass, Muv Luv Alternative and more)

Jason Wu · Jan 7, 2025

StrifeHavoc said:
I am imagining ways in how they could react, since orbital bombardment could be within his capabilities XD.

Yes, and Mao may not like what he sees in some of them, or rather could he take it?

Honestly a crack idea but I think it would be funny as hell if Lloyd sees the Gundams and TSFs and decides to defect from ASEEC/ Britannia/Schneizel and becomes a terrorist scientist under Zero

As for Mao... he's mentally unstable and has been for like over ten years. Seeing stable people with abilities similar to what he has might just send him over the edge. As obsessed as he is with C.C there's definitely seeds of hate and resentment buried inside.

StrifeHavoc · Jan 7, 2025

Jason Wu said:
Honestly a crack idea but I think it would be funny as hell if Lloyd sees the Gundams and TSFs and decides to defect from ASEEC/ Britannia/Schneizel and becomes a terrorist scientist under Zero

As for Mao... he's mentally unstable and has been for like over ten years. Seeing stable people with abilities similar to what he has might just send him over the edge. As obsessed as he is with C.C there's definitely seeds of hate and resentment buried inside.

LOL, hard to say if he would do that or not, but it would be amusing.

Yeah and not to mention some Newtypes could easily make him regret poking his nose in their minds too.

Jason Wu · Jan 7, 2025

StrifeHavoc said:
LOL, hard to say if he would do that or not, but it would be amusing.

Yeah and not to mention some Newtypes could easily make him regret poking his nose in their minds too.

Yeah it's just hard to counter when Code Geass earth is predominantly a planet bound technology. Apollo's Chariot from the EU or something similar could be a sneak attack but other than that...

Yeah Mao is fucked. Though how the Espers interact with the Though Elevators or rather C's World is worth pondering

AldariSiradla · Jan 7, 2025

StrifeHavoc said:
Yup, its Gundam Seed Destiny right before the fall of Junuis Seven, so yeah things will be nuts when they arrive, which could be a regular thing for them unfortunately, but normal in Super Robot Wars game.

Oh shit...
OH SHIT!
This will be glorious.
Will history repeat or will it change?
The Wrong Man at the right time can make all the difference in the world after all.

StrifeHavoc · Jan 7, 2025

Jason Wu said:
Yeah it's just hard to counter when Code Geass earth is predominantly a planet bound technology. Apollo's Chariot from the EU or something similar could be a sneak attack but other than that...

Yeah, Lelouch could take out bases and other targets from orbit if he feels inclined which could cause havoc with the battles Britannia is waging against the EU.

Jason Wu said:
Yeah Mao is fucked. Though how the Espers interact with the Though Elevators or rather C's World is worth pondering

Something to bring up with the betas at a later time.

AldariSiradla said:
Oh shit...
OH SHIT!
This will be glorious.
Will history repeat or will it change?
The Wrong Man at the right time can make all the difference in the world after all.

Indeed, may not have a lot of fanfare involved, but they will run into trouble and trouble will regret it XD.

In fact I had to up the danger poised by some enemies for the sake of some character's survival (Sting, Auel and Stella).

But not sure how to answer the rest without spoilers, but yeah there will be changes.

Jason Wu · Jan 8, 2025

StrifeHavoc said:
Yeah, Lelouch could take out bases and other targets from orbit if he feels inclined which could cause havoc with the battles Britannia is waging against the EU.

...And the Geass Order too lol. You killed my mother, Uncle and now ill destroy your life's work!

But yeah, taking back Japan that has most of the Sakuradite would be hilarious and slow Britannia down I bet lol

StrifeHavoc said:
Something to bring up with the betas at a later time.

Lol yeah. A small detail but a significant one that can impact the path the story goes down.

StrifeHavoc said:
Indeed, may not have a lot of fanfare involved, but they will run into trouble and trouble will regret it XD.

In fact I had to up the danger poised by some enemies for the sake of some character's survival (Sting, Auel and Stella).

But not sure how to answer the rest without spoilers, but yeah there will be changes.

Lelouch the man thrives off of danger. The entire galaxy must know his name!

AldariSiradla · Jan 8, 2025

StrifeHavoc said:
Indeed, may not have a lot of fanfare involved, but they will run into trouble and trouble will regret it XD.

In fact I had to up the danger poised by some enemies for the sake of some character's survival (Sting, Auel and Stella).

But not sure how to answer the rest without spoilers, but yeah there will be changes.

Whatever happens, I'll be ready to read it.
The Man, The Myth, The Legend that is Lelouch...
Will grow his retinue and techbase.
While throwing his brand of crazy on this world and the next.

StrifeHavoc · Jan 8, 2025

Jason Wu said:
...And the Geass Order too lol. You killed my mother, Uncle and now ill destroy your life's work!

If Claude tells him about the Thought Elevators or where the Geass Order is located, he very well could depending on how he decides

Jason Wu said:
But yeah, taking back Japan that has most of the Sakuradite would be hilarious and slow Britannia down I bet lol

Indeed and the threat of orbital bombardment by Lelouch will make them very very nervous. Lucky for them Lelouch won't hit any population centers like towns or cities.

Jason Wu said:
Lol yeah. A small detail but a significant one that can impact the path the story goes down.

True.

Jason Wu said:
Lelouch the man thrives off of danger. The entire galaxy must know his name!

He'll become known in the galaxy of Sunrider, first by taking down pirates to cover what he needs in terms of supplies and stuff, then its hostile faction to become known.

AldariSiradla said:
Whatever happens, I'll be ready to read it.
The Man, The Myth, The Legend that is Lelouch...
Will grow his retinue and techbase.
While throwing his brand of crazy on this world and the next.

Indeed, while his stay in GSD may not be long, since I am trying to be very careful on time spent in other worlds/series, to avoid the same mistake that hurt my KH crossover, he'll return, but he'll leave a few marks in the short time he is there, and maybe be a nightmare for Sting, Auel and Stella.

Jason Wu · Jan 8, 2025

StrifeHavoc said:
If Claude tells him about the Thought Elevators or where the Geass Order is located, he very well could depending on how he decides

Man, Code Geass is a world filled with mysteries that might never get answered. There are hints of some ancient Geass civilization and outright statements that the Geass abilities we see are just fragments of a deeper whole based in Akito the exile. There's no way to explore that without going full fanon territory which does irk me a bit

StrifeHavoc said:
Indeed and the threat of orbital bombardment by Lelouch will make them very very nervous. Lucky for them Lelouch won't hit any population centers like towns or cities.

True, Lelouch cares very much about the optics of his organization and I doubt Yui and his new friends would tolerate him going that far. But to be fair, as hardened Lelouch tries to portray himself, he's actually quite soft as a person. Euphemia practically railroaded his ambitions in season 1 and he was willing to take the longer route just because he loved her and vice versa

StrifeHavoc said:
He'll become known in the galaxy of Sunrider, first by taking down pirates to cover what he needs in terms of supplies and stuff, then its hostile faction to become known.

The Lelouch equivalent of going on a milk run involves plenty of death. It is known

StrifeHavoc said:
Indeed, while his stay in GSD may not be long, since I am trying to be very careful on time spent in other worlds/series, to avoid the same mistake that hurt my KH crossover, he'll return, but he'll leave a few marks in the short time he is there, and maybe be a nightmare for Sting, Auel and Stella.

To be fair, having Claude around makes it easier to cut back to the Code Geass world and take breaks without it feeling fillery. Though yeah, GSD isn't a main priority for him currently

StrifeHavoc · Jan 8, 2025

Jason Wu said:
Man, Code Geass is a world filled with mysteries that might never get answered. There are hints of some ancient Geass civilization and outright statements that the Geass abilities we see are just fragments of a deeper whole based in Akito the exile. There's no way to explore that without going full fanon territory which does irk me a bit

One can hope they can be touched upon in the future, but hard to say if they will.

Jason Wu said:
True, Lelouch cares very much about the optics of his organization and I doubt Yui and his new friends would tolerate him going that far. But to be fair, as hardened Lelouch tries to portray himself, he's actually quite soft as a person. Euphemia practically railroaded his ambitions in season 1 and he was willing to take the longer route just because he loved her and vice versa

Indeed, which may be Britannia's saving grace and there is little they could go unless one of the enemies Lelouch has decides to help them, which could just make things worse for them depending on who and who they go through.

Jason Wu said:
The Lelouch equivalent of going on a milk run involves plenty of death. It is known

Indeed, and he gets a nice paycheck for it lol.

Jason Wu said:
To be fair, having Claude around makes it easier to cut back to the Code Geass world and take breaks without it feeling fillery. Though yeah, GSD isn't a main priority for him currently

Right, so I am thinking of keeping visits to worlds within three or five big chapters to minizine visits as much as possible to avoid spending too much time on one place, which I know some are saying that ship sailed on the Muv Luv world XD.

Jason Wu · Jan 8, 2025

StrifeHavoc said:
One can hope they can be touched upon in the future, but hard to say if they will.

R2 was bit rushed in that regard. Lots of concepts but not enough time to explore it

StrifeHavoc said:
Indeed, which may be Britannia's saving grace and there is little they could go unless one of the enemies Lelouch has decides to help them, which could just make things worse for them depending on who and who they go through.

All in all, I usually dislike Nightmare of Nunnally elements which doesn't mesh well with the Canon lore but Colonel Madd and the Irregulars are probably the only exception. It makes the Code-R project much more important to plot as a whole and shows tangible benefits which Clovis would have needed for him to pursue its research in the first place.

StrifeHavoc said:
Right, so I am thinking of keeping visits to worlds within three or five big chapters to minizine visits as much as possible to avoid spending too much time on one place, which I know some are saying that ship sailed on the Muv Luv world XD

Muv Luv is the predominant support base for Lelouch. I suppose it couldn't be helped, people in general would have been unsatisfied if his main allies hadn't been fleshed out tbf

StrifeHavoc · Jan 21, 2025

Jason Wu said:
R2 was bit rushed in that regard. Lots of concepts but not enough time to explore it

Indeed, too rushed for my liking.

Jason Wu said:
All in all, I usually dislike Nightmare of Nunnally elements which doesn't mesh well with the Canon lore but Colonel Madd and the Irregulars are probably the only exception. It makes the Code-R project much more important to plot as a whole and shows tangible benefits which Clovis would have needed for him to pursue its research in the first place.

True, that and a few other things could've been worth keeping if NoN was better adapted to mesh better with canon at least.

Jason Wu said:
Muv Luv is the predominant support base for Lelouch. I suppose it couldn't be helped, people in general would have been unsatisfied if his main allies hadn't been fleshed out tbf

Indeed that is also true.

Good news, beta work on chapter seventeen has resumed following "issues" my beta was addressing which I won't share here because that might be a little on the personal side.

What I can share is that me and the other betas have been making more chapters and refining plans, specifically on how it will form, but a few questions remain on who will make it into the harem, and we have been trying to find someone very knowledgeable with the characters of Schwarzesmarken because they are among the last group of characters we are trying to work out if they should remain candidates for Lelouch's harem or not.

Those still in the running.

Pham Thi Lan
Circe Steinhoff (she is aboard Lelouch's ship as of chapter sixteen)
Gretel Jeckeln (she is aboard Lelouch's ship as of chapter sixteen)
Annett Hosenfeld
Inghild Bronikowski
Beatrix Brehme
Irisdina Bernhard

Ideally someone who knows the visual novel more than the anime given the amount of stuff cut from the VN in the anime, but I will say these characters have been interesting in that my main beta who does the touch ups on the chapters rather see Irisdina join the harem while others rather see Beatrix over her which was interesting to see.

Jason Wu · Jan 24, 2025

StrifeHavoc said:
Beatrix Brehme

Damn... she looks like Velvet Crowe fused with Akame

StrifeHavoc · Jan 30, 2025

Jason Wu said:
Damn... she looks like Velvet Crowe fused with Akame

Indeed and there has been some serious debate if she should be a candidate for the harem or her rival instead, with most people firmly against one or the other. I have been trying to find someone who knows the series and characters well to consult with to break the deadlock and decide if either of them should be candidates, but sadly the VN exists only in Japan with no English release, so finding someone who knows the VN well and not the anime, which had cut out a LOT from the VN, has been problematic.

StrifeHavoc · Feb 26, 2025

A/N: Special thanks to Jameyofthemegacosmos, Icysnowsage, Gundam consultant and designer Redrat8, Seerking for contributing ideas and Darklord331, but a HUGE thanks to both Silkdreamweaver (chief beta reader and editor) and Greatkingrat88 for his contributions.

At least despite some delays the chapter is finally ready for posting and thanks again to Silkdreamweaver for polishing and cleaning up the chapter.

I am going to say this was a hard chapter to do, mostly because of the power scaling between machines, which forced me to up the "difficulty." Then finally wanting to avoid a copy and paste of events this chapter ties into for Gundam Seed Destiny.

I'll explain more at the end of the chapter, but for now, enjoy. I am sorry if my attempt at a amusing chapter title didn't pan out.

Chapter 17

Scars That Cannot Heal

(Gundam Seed Destiny)

Four days later the Vortigern exited warp, near a planet very much like Earth, but unlike theirs where much of the Asian and European continent had been ravaged into lifeless wastelands, this one was vibrant and full of life. Standing on the bridge, looking out at their destination, was Lelouch and Yui while Maya was reviewing information on the planet provided by Claude.

The ship was mindful to avoid drawing the attention of the locals. Compared to their initial mission of escorting the colony ship to its destination, their second destination offered possible danger so the Vortigern was on alert.

Hmmm, Maya thought as she reviewed the files on hand.

Lelouch had already reviewed the information during their travel to the planet and had taken care to memorize the relevant information.

An Earth no different from the one me and the others hail from. Unlike our worlds, this one is much further along in terms of technological advancements. They've already colonized space around this Earth with space stations and a city with other settlements on the moon, Lelouch thought. Unlike Yui's world, and perhaps closer to his world in terms of power balance, there were at least four notable nations or superpowers to keep in mind.

"So do you think there is a chance of any alliances," Yui asked, interrupting Lelouch's thoughts. "Do any of the factions look like potential trade partners?"

"That might be risky given the status of things here according to Claude's info," Lelouch said with one chin on his hand, doubtful. "Based on that information I would say the Atlantic Federation is out of the question. Although it is a democracy, its close ties to the terrorist organization, Blue Cosmos, and its anti-coordinator propaganda would make me unwilling to trust them. In fact I think we would be pulled into whatever brewing conflict this world could be heading towards."

From Caulde's files Lelouch learned that Coordinators were a race of humans whose genetics were modified during the embryonic development within their mother's womb. Initially appearing in small numbers, marriages between many first-generation Coordinators led to a population boom and the rise of second-generation Coordinators who inherited the augmented genetic traits from their parents without further modification.

This all began with the first Coordinator, a man known as George Glenn; a man with a record of scientific, athletic and military achievements that turned him into a figure of legend. All of which became debated after he led the first manned mission to Jupiter. He confessed that he had been modified genetically before he was born, and was hoping for other humans to follow in his footsteps. He released the secrets behind his modifications on the worldwide internet, leading to the rise of Coordinators.

It was meant to be, or at least Lelouch believed, an act with good intentions; he wondered if George Glenn was too idealistic to realize just how much of an impact his actions would have on the world he left behind for Jupiter.

"According to the information provided, their nation was controlled by those who would become Blue Cosmos and were the ones who urged for the eradication of Coordinators," Yui stated, having managed to review some of the files herself. She was relieved that Lelouch matched her concerns about the Atlantic Federation.

"George Glenn shared the secret behind his modifications without any thought as to what people would do with that knowledge. I imagine many blame him for the tragedies and the bloody war that came after," Lelouch commented as he saw their destination draw near.

Surrounding the Earth in a ring that became more visible as they neared it, was a literal junkyard in space. Filled with everything from old satellites left adrift, broken pieces of ships, colonies, space stations and asteroids that had been drawn in, some of which were used as mining colonies judging by the structures built into those they saw.

The Debris Belt as it was aptly called, wasn't only where the space junk of this Earth was dumped. It also became a graveyard for the many ships and colonies destroyed in the bloodshed that would come in the years following Geroge Glenn's secrets of modification.

"I can't wrap my head around what George Glenn was thinking. I can accept he meant well, but for all of his achievements in science, how could he have failed to anticipate the full repercussions of his actions?" Lelouch wondered aloud. If there was one flaw in the legendary George Glenn, for all of his achievements, for all of the genetic engineering done to make him a better human, he was too idealistic for his own good.

"I guess everyone attributed his achievements to his modified genetics so everyone wanted their children to be like him," Yui said.

Lelouch closed his eyes before saying, "Not everyone. One of the major factors that no doubt fueled anti-coordinator sentiments was the argument over if modifying one's child genetically before they were born was the right thing to do. Then factor in religion and previous arguments and reservations against transhumanism and you'll find a sizable portion of the population who would be against such modification from the outset. Above all, what he failed to consider was how difficult it would be to gain the technology needed for such procedures and who were the ones who could do so."

Yui realized what Lelouch was suggesting.

"The procedure was monopolized by those with wealth?!"

"Exactly," Lelouch confirmed. Following the reveal of George Glenn's origins and the secret behind his creation, there was a sudden ban on genetic engineering.

However, many wealthy families, especially those with connections, began modifying their unborn children into Coordinators in secret. As the debates raged, the first generations of Coordinators were already born. Initially they were small in numbers, but once the ban was lifted there was a wave of unborn children being modified into Coordinators.

The divide between Coordinators and the unmodified, now referred to as Naturals, culminated in the assassination of George Glenn. Maybe there could have been a way for him to have avoided the pitfalls, but it was already in the past and now Lelouch had to navigate the echoes from George's fallout.

"Captain," Yuzuka said, arriving in uniform saluting Lelouch and Yui. The pair turned around to return the salute. "The squad is about ready per your orders."

"Good, it might not be necessary, but I don't want to take any risks with unknowns in the Debris Belt," Lelouch said as he and Yui departed the bridge as Maya watched them.

I am sure there are criminal groups and scavengers operating in the Debris Belt, Maya thought, reaching the same suspicions as Lelouch.

The two had spoken earlier and agreed that upon arriving the Vortigern would enter yellow alert with all pilots on standby and all of the ship's weapons at the ready should they come under attack. Due to the inexperience of everyone when it comes to space combat, Lelouch, Yui, Izumi and Shimako would be sent out first. The others would remain on standby.

Ideally I would like for this to be done quickly without incident, Lelouch thought.

Meanwhile in the locker room for the female pilots, Yuzuka had just finished putting on her Fortified Suit. Shejoined the other female pilots Haruko, Asagi, Mitsuki, Tsukiko, Cui, Stella, and Sharon in the waiting room attached to the locker room as they awaited orders. Shimako and Izumi had finished changing earlier and were waiting in their machines, which was the same thing Martica and her sister did once they were ready despite being allowed to wait.

Haruka was oddly absent as well too, but she had likely changed into her Fortified Suit.

"So you think we'll run into any trouble? Like pirates or something," Cui asked, sitting at a table with Tsukiko who shrugged her shoulders.

"It's possible. The Debris Belt does provide a lot of good ambush points for any ships hiding in it," Tsukiko said, reclining in the chair.

"So, this is a world without any BETA?" Asagi inquired.

"Yeah. No aliens as far as we've heard, except for the bones of some space whale they found. Otherwise no BETA or any other alien species," Cui replied.

"Not counting us," Tsukiko remarked, drawing a laugh from a few people in the room.

"Ok, aside from us being the aliens. Anyone interested in checking out the planet?" Mitsuki mused.

"I think most of us are," Stella commented, after looking around. "However, I don't know if we could accommodate a huge group though without drawing suspicion."

"That's a shame, but I suppose since this world is on edge, it's to be expected. Did you read how the last war ended?" Tsukiko said, reclining in the chair.

"I read that both sides were on the verge of self-destruction.," Stella said, grim faced. "Thankfully a third party stopped both sides before they could wipe themselves and the planet out."

"Wasn't a treaty decided through?" Asagi asked.

"Yeah, but it's really more of a cease fire when you think about it. The animosity that led to the war in the first place hasn't been dealt with, not to mention how both are unsatisfied by how it ended," Haruko said, folding her arms.

"And us showing up could be a trigger that could possibly set off a new conflict," Sharon added.

"Well that sucks," Cui grumbled.

"I know," Haruko said, understandingly. "I wouldn't mind seeing a BETA free world myself, but that is how it is. Besides, it's probably best to avoid getting dragged into a planet's affairs as much as possible. Our home has its own problems."

"I agree, but that might be easier said than done depending on the situation," Stella cautioned sagely.

"So, if some kind of disaster or crisis we can't ignore occurs, we could step in?" Asagi inquired, not opposed to lending help.

"Maybe, but who knows," Stella replied.

"Well, what about our Captain's world? It has no BETA too, right?" Asagi asked, offering an alternative.

"Yes, but the Japan he lives in is a conquered territory of the Britannian Empire," Stella replied. "If you read the data provided, it is a country where non-Britannians are, at best, second class citizens, which would make moving around difficult."

"What a buzzkill. But what about China or Taiwan?" Cui asked, annoyed by the lack of places they could visit.

Stella sighed, annoyed that Cui didn't read up on Lelouch's world as she did.

"Actually, unlike our world, China along with most of East Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia form the Chinese Federation," Stella answered.

"Oh," Cui said, surprised. She couldn't help but feel envious that Lelouch's China was much bigger than her's. The BETA drove the Communist People's Republic of China off the mainland, forcing them to take refuge on Taiwan with the Democratic Republic of China. It forced them to form the Unified Front of China out of their two militaries despite the considerable ideological differences that would've made such an alliance normally impossible. "What kind of government is it?"

"It's still an imperial monarchy, but compared to Britannia, it is more respectable to human rights," Stella repiled.

From what I read about Britannia, that's not a high bar to reach, Tsukiko remarked internally.

"Huh, so it means it's ruled by an Emperor or Empress. That's really different from my home," Cui said, intrigued and surprised by the differences.

"Indeed. The current ruler is Empress Tianzi. Unfortunately she is a child with all real power currently in the hands of the High Eunuchs," Stella informed.

"WHAT," Cui snapped, raising from her chair and slamming both of her hands on the table. "Are fucking kidding me? Who the hell thought keeping those corrupt, dickless, troublemakers around is a smart idea?! Anyone who knows their history would've dropped using Eunuchs in any government capacity, because they always get corrupt, greedy and take power at their first chance, especially with a child emperor."

"She isn't wrong. A child ruler equals opportunity for anyone wanting more power for themselves," Tsukiko commented, indifferent to Cui's outburst.

"Given their track record in history, it's just shocking to me that they would be kept around in any form," Cui said, calming down and taking her seat.

"I guess that is reasonable. I mean I am not a history buff or anything." Asagi remarked.

"Well maybe we'll find a non-BETA planet to check out at some point, one friendly to out of town visitors," Sharon said to lighten the mood.

None of them noticed Mistuki having slipped away.

Around the same time in the hangar, Lelouch was walking alongside Sayoko, who was also in her Fortified Suit. The pair were discussing various plans and contingencies. Among them was what to do in the event of combat with the people of this world and potential others.

"I've checked with the mechanics, they've confirmed that all mission recorders are fully functional and the bridge reports their recording equipment for both communications and visual events are ready," Sayoko explained professionally.

"Good, while I have no desire to get entangled in the affairs of another world. It would be foolish for us not to prepare for possible conflict," Lelouch said. "It might seem overly cautious, but who knows what or who we might run into and what their intentions could be."

"No sir, I concur with you. Not everyone we will encounter will be friendly or have good intentions towards us," Sayoko replied.

"Exactly. We'll need to be on guard whenever we arrive at a new world until we are confidently reassured that they won't start hostilities against us."

"Did the Major say anything else?"

"She did," Lelouch replied, recalling the conversation he and Maya had. "In the event of situations, like a civilian ship under attack by pirates and such, we would intervene in the interest of providing humanitarian aid and rescue, since that could go a long way in fostering good relations with a new world."

"Or a good first impression, I imagine."

"That too," Lelouch agreed. "As long as we don't end up tangled in their affairs, we have some freedom to act."

"Of course," Sayoko said. Soon they were approached from behind by Yuzuka and Haruka.

"Sir, Ma'am, Lieutenants Sendou and Suzumiya reporting," Haruka said as she and Yuzuka saluted.

"At ease," Lelouch said as he and Sayoko returned the salute.

"You two are supposed to be on standby," Sayoko inquired.

"Forgive us ma'am. It has become difficult to wait. We wanted to see if there was anything more productive we could do." Yuzuka explained, which Haruka nodded.

"I am afraid there isn't much, but you could conduct more space simulation battles as you wait," Lelouch offered, appreciating the go-to attitude of his squadmates. "There may not be combat if all goes well."

Seeing the dejected looks on their faces, Sayoko stepped in.

"Sir, we could have them on stand-by in their machines. While Lieutenant Sendou's skills are questionable, Lieutenant Suzumiya on the other hand is more than capable of joining us should the need arise," Sayoko said, remembering Haruka's performance during her mock battle.

"Well, I have no reason to object," Lelouch said, before Mitsuki showed up.

"Sir, with permission, could I join them as well?" Mitsuki asked, saluting Lelouch and Sayoko as she butted into the conversation.

"Your manners could use some work. She does have combat experience and did perform well in our simulations," Sayoko said after lightly scolding Mitsuki.

"Sorry ma'am. I'm just eager to do my part," Mitsuki replied.

"Very well, I suppose there is no harm having another," Lelouch acquiesced.

"Assuming battle becomes necessary, sir," Sayoko pointed out, to which Lelouch agreed with a nod.

Unknown to them, and also entering the Debris Belt was another ship. Three-hundred and eighty meters in length, it was blue with some gray and white lining. It had four launch bays on the front, heavily armed with six-dual barrel beam cannons on the front, two on top, one on each side and two underneath. Aboard the bridge, seated in the captain's chair was a man in his early thirties with short blonde hair, blue eyes, and wearing a white uniform with gray and black trimmings with red on his shoulders.

The rest of the bridge crew was working in silence until the door to the bridge opened and a man floated insided. A man wearing a black and gray uniform, with yellow and red on his shoulder suggesting a higher rank. His most distinctive feature was a black helmet-like mask with matching colored lenses that hide his identity.

"Somehow or another, we managed to pull this off successfully," the captain in his chair said to his masked compatriot.

"How long until we reach point B?" The masked man asked a navigation officer.

"About two hours sir."

"Do you think that new ZAFT ship is coming after us?" The captain asked.

"I don't know," The masked man replied, floating behind his own chair that sat next to the captain's. Unlike Lelouch's ship, theirs lacked artificial gravity. "Since we don't know, let's assume it is and keep on our present course. Better to plan for the worst outcome, especially on the battlefield."

Neo Roanoke, the masked man and overall commander of their mission to raid a PLANT colony called Armory One. Unlike other PLANT colonies located at Lagrange Five, the new colony at Lagrange Four was both an industrial and military arsenal with new weapons and ships in development. Thanks to a spy within the ranks of its military, Neo and his special forces of the 81st Independent Mobile Group, better known as Phantom Pain, were dispatched to hijack and steal three of the new mobile suit weapons developed there. Identified as the Chaos, the Abyss and the Gaia, all three were formidable new Gundams.

While their three infiltrators stole the machines, Neo and his ship, the Girty Lue attacked the spaceport and partoling ZAFT ships to serve as a distraction for the infiltration team to escape. Thanks to a special function of their Girty Lue-class vessel, Mirage Colloid Stealth Technology, rendered their ship invisible to the naked eye.

Everything had gone well, the infiltration team had accomplished their goal but, things began to take a turn for the worst when a fourth, unknown, prototype got involved. Their infiltrators had to fight their way out..

The three managed to return to the ship, but unfortunately for Neo, the new warship ZAFT had been building arrived on the scene.

Deciding to quit while he was ahead, he abandoned the battle and ordered a retreat.

The new ZAFT battleship tried to pursue them, but Neo ordered that their gas-powered engines be detached and set to detonate since they could be ejected from the ship. The explosion stalled the ship, buying them time to escape.

There was no doubt in Neo's mind that the new ZAFT ship was still in pursuit of them.

"How are the three doing?"

"None of them are worse for wear," Neo said reassuringly to the captain of the ship, Ian Lee. "They're sleeping like babies. It does appear that Auel used a block word on Stella. That does bother me a little."

"Pilots that have to be frequently returned to their cradles everytime something happens to them," Ian said with slight disapproval in his voice. "Does the lab really think they'll be useful to us?"

"You have to admit they are better than the previous batch," Neo countered before adding, "They understand what we are telling them and know what to do. Unlike the last bunch, they are more capable as soldiers and pilots since they did successfully steal three of ZAFT's new machines."

Ian winced as he remembered the previous batch. Biological CPUs, the pilots treated more as living equipment than actual people. To combat the genetically augmented Coordinators, the Atlantic Federation had conducted experiments using drugs and other means to enhance normal humans to make them fight on the same level as Coordinators. The first generation were made using various criminals on death row as test subjects. While highly effective as combat pilots in mobile suits, they unfortunately were incapable of much outside combat, due to how limited they could go without a new dose of the enhancement drug.

They found that the longer they went without their doses, the more mentally unhinged and psychotic they became as their own minds along with their bodies would deteriorate. Auel and Stella were from a new batch that should be able to function longer between doses thanks to improvements.

As an additional precaution each new pilot was conditioned to the use of a safe word that would stop them if they became too uncontrollable or disobedient.

"Hmph," Ian responded, causing Neo to smile in understanding.

"It can't be helped, after all everything seems to be in the trial stages these days. This ship, our mobile suits, those pilots and even our world."

"I am more than aware," Ian said.

"The day is coming when everything will begin for real, and we'll be the ones in charge," Neo said with a smile behind his mask.

Suddenly a beeping sound interrupted their conversation.

"Sir, we have an incoming transmission on an encrypted line. It's from the Nemesis," a communication officer replied.

"Put it on," Neo commanded.

On the screen was a man with brown hair that was graying on the sides, wearing a white and blue with gold trimmed uniform and a red turtleneck under it. His green eyes showed a hardened determination while anger behind them.

"Admiral Alec Gruber of the Orb Union, to what do we owe this pleasure? I thought you had your own mission that we provided aid for you to carry out?"

"I am actually calling you about that Captain Roanoke. It seems our interests now align."

"Care to elaborate?"

"As you know your superiors provided us with a great many resources. A Girty-Lue-class Stealth Battleship and old Earth Alliance mobile suits so that we may assassinate Chief Representative Cagalli Yula Athha," Alec said. Neo noticed the disgust on his face when speaking Cagalli's name.

"I assume your target went to the PLANT colony Armory One instead of the PLANT homeland as initially planned. She's on the ship chasing us," Neo said, quickly deducing what had happened.

"Yes. It was decided at the last minute for the meeting to happen on Armory One, since they agreed that a quiet meeting with little fanfare was ideal given the subjects she intended to address within the PLANTs. However, during the mission carried out by your infiltrators, it seems our target was touring the base with the Supreme Chairman of the PLANTs, Gilbert Durandal."

"I see, it seems we almost did your job, which might've been easier for everyone," Neo mused.

"Yes, but unfortunately during the chaos she and her bodyguard apparently boarded a mobile suit to escape, but after being caught up in your fight the foolish princess was injured and was taken aboard the Minerva for treatment. Our spy still at Armory One managed to discover this after her presence aboard was relayed to them, then he contacted us," Alec explained.

"I see. So you already know that the ship is the one after us," Neo said, hardly surprised by it.

"Yes sir, and since you are hiding into the Debris Belt and we still have our stealth system and gas propellion intact. We can work together to sink it," Alec replied with a smile. Unlike their main thermal engines, the stealth system on their ships works best with gas propulsion as the extremely high levels of light and thermal heat would bleed through the stealth field.

"Right, let's talk strategy then," Neo replied.

Unaware of the coming danger, the Vortigern had proceeded deeper into the Debris Belt. The ship was on yellow alert, but so far encountered no hostilities. Still the sight of the various forms of space junk was a sight to see. It was surprising just how small their ship was to everything else around them, which only heighted the scale of the debris belt.

Maybe this will make it easier for us to get in, get what we need, then get out, Lelouch thought, monitoring things from the cockpit of his Gundam.

Their destination came into view. A large asteroid with man-made structures sticking out. No one could tell if it was once part of a colony or an asteroid harvested of its resources. Whatever it was in the past it was adrift in the Debris Belt and was their destination.

Moving along its surface, a hole in the side of the asteroid was found. One large enough for two ships the size of the Vortigern could enter.

Within the asteroid was a hidden dock. Inside was a freighter or transport ship of some kind, judging by its design, waiting for them. There was a call from Maya on the bridge.

"Contact has been made and verified, we'll be meeting them in the hangar. Captain Lamperouge and Captain Takamura, you two should join me, the rest of you are to remain on standby," Maya stated, speaking from an open communication line.

"Roger that," Lelouch replied, disembarking from his machine.

It was ten minutes later, when Maya arrived with a soldier following her. Lelouch and Yui joined her to meet Claude's contact. There were two men waiting for them. One was in a black suit with short brown hair, likely a bodyguard. The other was a man who appeared to be in his late thirties or early forties with short greenish brown hair, brown eyes wearing a similar black suit with a gray trench coat over it.

"Mr. Yuri Amalfi, I presume?"

"You must be the captain of this impressive vessel," Yuri said, confirming his identity. "I am indeed Yuri Amalfi, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Thank you. I am Major Maya Tsukuyomi," Maya introduced herself, extending her hand for Yuri to shake. "This is Captain Lelouch Lamperouge and Captain Yui Takamura, the pilots of our Gundams."

The two saluted, Yuri merely smiled.

"No need for such formalities, but it's appreciated. The transfer of everything you'll need to produce Mirage Colloid gas has been started, but it will take time for the transfer to complete," Yuri explained politely.

"It's nothing to worry about, we expected it. But as a courtesy we are willing to give you a tour as we wait," Maya offered.

"I would be delighted to tour such a vessel like this one given it can travel vast distances. As an engineer I am very curious about it," Yuri said, intrigued.

"Of course." Maya gestured for Yuri to follow them.

So he's an engineer, that makes sense, but what did Claude offer him to gain his cooperation? Lelouch wondered as he and Yui followed Maya, Yuri and the rest of their respective escorts.

Watching the whole thing from nearby was Yunya, Leon and another around their age with short blonde hair and blue eyes. Leon and Yunya were dressed in their Fortified Suits with their prep coats to cover themselves, but their third companion wore the uniform of the engineering crew of the ship, specifically those responsible for maintaining the machines in the hangar.

"So far everything is smooth sailing," the blonde haired engineer remarked with both hands on his hips.

"Come on. You're going to jinx it," Yunya complained, eyeing his friend warily,annoyed with the tempting fate.

"I doubt anything will happen, but you really are asking for trouble Vincent," Leon said, staring at the blonde young man in disapproval.

Vincent Lowell laughed nervously under the stares of his friends.

"Hey now, I am not asking for us to get into a fight. It could end up becoming a political nightmare. Something none of us wants to be tied up in," Vincent said, raising his hands in defense.

"I suppose," Leon said, folding his arms.

"I doubt the captain would allow that. He seems like a level headed guy," Yunya remarked, referring to Lelouch before frowning. "Some of the others I am not so sure about."

"Right," Vincent said before redirecting the conversation, well aware of Yunya's issues with the Japanese. "Those Russian girls and that Chinese chick are the ones I worry about."

"How so?" Leon asked, curious.

"From what I've heard from the guys handling maintenance of the simulators, they've said that the girl from China is just vicious in battle," Vincent began. "She's racked up quite the kill count, but she's brutal in her dispatching of the enemy. Seems like she enjoys it."

"So we might have a battle crazy chick in the squad. I think we can handle her," Yuuya said, wondering if Vincent was exaggerating the details.

"Such people aren't exactly rare," Leon added.

"Sure, but those Russians are easy on the eyes, but they are cold as ice as personalities go," Vincent said, moving the conversation along. "But one of them seems to have a sadistic streak."

"Ok," Yunya said, clearly not intimidated. "Are you really telling us about them because you're worried about them or do you got an eye for them or something?"

Leon's stare towards Vincent confirmed his similar suspicions.

"Come on you two, those kinds of stares would melt metal," Vincent said, trying to light-heartily defuse the two.

Meanwhile, nearing the Debris Belt was the new ZAFT battleship, the LHM-BB01 Minerva. At three-hundred and fifty feet long with a unique wedge-like shape, retractable wings that allowed it to operate in atmosphere, and painted a dark gray and red. It had two mobile suit launchers near the rear of the ship with a third more unique launcher for the fourth prototype machine it carried.

Seated on the main bridge, a woman in her late twenties with dandelion colored hair, blue eyes and wearing a white uniform with black trim that belonged to a ZAFT commander. She was the captain of the ship. She was uneasy. It wasn't the search that troubled her, but the VIPs that ended up on her ship.

"Ma'am, we've got up to Bogey-One," a member of the Minerva bridge crew, Malik Yardbirds, announced to captain, Talia Gladys. "It's at orange, ninety-alpha!"

Despite their efforts to escape, the Girty-Lue was still pursuing them and gaining.

"Large heat source detected. At the yellow-fifty mark, eighty-two charlie. Distance eight thousand."

"They followed us after all. Impressive they got up so quickly."

"Yes. It just shows ZAFT isn't slacking off either," Neo replied. "Right, the Amdrial and his ship should be in position. Let's proceed with the plan."

"Aye sir," Ian replied.

"All hands to battle stations. All pilots to the briefing room!" Neo commanded.

The approaching ship wasn't unnoticed by the Vortigern. Maya had the foresight to leave some sensor buoys outside the asteroid and beyond which helped in monitoring everything outside.

"Major, we're detecting a large heat source entering the area," a member of the bridge crew reported, as the alarm was sounded.

Using a ship intercom built into the wall, Maya contacted the bridge.

"All hands to battle stations. I want everyone ready for if this turns into a fight. All pilots report to the briefing room," Maya announced before turning to Lelouch and Yui. "You two better get over there. We'll feed you new information as the situation develops. Get everyone ready."

"Understood," Lelouch said as he and Yui hurried off.

"Mr. Amalfi, could you accompany me to the bridge. Perhaps you can help us identify the ship?" Maya politely suggested.

"Of course." Yuri followed Maya with his bodyguard right behind him.

Meanwhile the Minerva was following close behind. As Taila oversaw the crew's efforts as the ship prepared for combat, the elevator to the bridge opened and revealed three individuals. One of them was an older man in his early thirties with long black hair, amber eyes and wore a white high-collar coat trimmed with black, red and light purple, a white tunic and pants with black boots. He stepped onto the bridge with a calm expression.

His company was eighteen, at least. One had shoulder-length blue hair and green eyes, wearing a black jacket trimmed with white, a green turtleneck shirt, and black pants. The other was a woman with shoulder-length blonde hair and amber eyes wearing a purple suit with a white shirt and purple pants with black dress shoes.

"Chairman," Talia greeted, surprised to see the Supreme Chairman of the PLANTs' Supreme Council, Gilbert Durandal.

"If I may ask a favor Captain," Gilbert requested. "May I have our guests observe the coming battle on the bridge?"

"It wouldn't be a problem, but…" Taila had second thoughts about having such important VIPs on her bridge when a battle was about to start.

"Captain, I think it's worth noting the Chief Representative of Orb here," Gilbert said, gesturing to the woman with him, Cagalli Yula Athha, "took part in combat during the last war, piloting a mobile suit and even commanded a warship herself. I think having her offer her perspective on our combat methods could be useful."

"Very well, if that is how you feel Mr. Chairman." Talia conceded.

"Thank you Talia," Gilbert said, before gesturing for his guests to take their seats at chairs behind a map table set behind the captain and the rest of the bridge crew.

"Six thousand to target," Malik reported.

"Lower the bridge," Taila commanded, as the entire bridge was lowered into the armored section of the ship with a thick armor hatch covering the ceiling above. "Prepare for ship and anti-mobile suit combat!"

On the Vortigern, Lelouch was in the pilot operations room, observing both a radar scan showing the approaching ship and live video feed from one of the nearby sensor buoys showing the Girty Lue. At the same time he was having a live video chat with Yuri and Maya on the bridge, observing the same thing.

"It just fired a decoy missile," Yuri observed, watching as the ship cut its engines as it fired a missile, glowing bright and stimulating the thermal signature of the ship.

"They are using an anchor to have the ship swing around the asteroid then come down from above," Lelouch observed.

"Do you recognize the make and model of that ship?" Maya asked Yuri.

"I am sorry, but I don't. It must be a new model of ship of some kind. However its design is similar to some Earth Alliance and Orb Union warships," Yuri noted.

"A ship wouldn't be doing a maneuver like that unless it was being pursued," Lelouch remarked. It was a brilliant idea to get them behind their pursuing enemy, while using the debris around them to hide. The decoy fired ahead would fool the enemy into continuing pursuit.

Setting up the conditions for an ambush.

"We've also picked up mobile suits; three of them being launched before the ship fired its decoy," Maya replied, pointing out the paths of the mobile suits.

"But who is chasing them?" Yui asked, folding her arms as she grew impatient.

Suddenly, the Minerva came into sensor range as the Grity Lue moved above the asteroid it was anchored to. Likely to attack from behind.

"The Minerva," Yuri said, recognizing the ship. "That's ZAFT's new battleship. It wasn't supposed to be launched until tomorrow. "

Then could the pursuer be related to the Earth Alliance? Lelouch wondered, but he could only guess.

"Should we warn them, Major?" Yui asked.

"Wait. The Minerva is launching mobile suits as well," a member of the bridge crew announced. "Four in total have been launched."

"It looks like one of the newer prototypes is leading them. It's the Impulse, the new ZAKU Warrior followed by GuAIZ R mobile suits," Yuri listed off, recognizing the machines.

"At this rate they'll be walking into a trap," Maya said before turning to Yuri. "Would the ship expect a call from a stranger?"

Yuri sighed, "No, but maybe my communications codes could prompt them to answer. They're old, but maybe they're useful."

"This would mean exposing yourself. I doubt your nation had permission to give us the Mirage Colloid tech," Maya pointed out.

"Yes, all of which I've done for my son and to make up for some mistakes I've made. If this means I'll go to prison, then that's fine," Yuri said, clearly determined to do the right thing.

"Very well, I'll help you send a message," Maya conceded before turning to Lelouch. "In the meantime, start working out a battle plan."

"Understood," Lelouch replied.

Meanwhile, the Minerva continued its advance towards where they thought the enemy was, unaware of the ruse being used against them. On the bridge of the ship, everyone was distracted for a moment as the true identity of the Chief Representative's bodyguard was revealed causing a minor stir. Cagalli's companion and bodyguard, Alex, was really Athrun Zala a former pilot of ZAFT who deserted to stop his father's genocidal plans against the Earth. However, when the war ended he was discharged from the military for desertion, but whatever charges he might've had were lowered to an honorable discharge since he had sacrificed his mobile suit to stop the superweapon GENESIS from wiping out half of all life on Earth.

His assumption of a different identity was to avoid any problems his past actions or his ties to his father could cause.

But the Chairman saw through his disguise.

"But Chairman, he isn't!" Cagalli argued, trying to protect her friend.

"There is no need to be so defensive, I understand what happened. It's just if we are going to talk, I'd rather be sure it's Athrun Zala I am really talking to. That is all," Gilbert replied, causally with calm understanding.

"Our mobile suits are closing in on Bogey One. Distance one thousand and five hundred," Mailk reported.

"Strange, the enemy hasn't changed course," A man sitting near the helmsman replied, wearing a dark colored uniform with short green hair.

"Ma'am," the CIC officer called out. "We have an incoming transition?"

"The point of origin, is it from Bogey-1?" Taila asked.

"No ma'am, I am having a hard time pin-pointing its origin, however it's using an old ZAFT encryption previously used by members of the Supreme Council and the National Defense Committee," Meyrin Hawke replied, surprised by the encryption.

"Put it on the viewer," Taila ordered when Durandal raised no objection.

"Minerva, this is former Supreme Councilman Yuri Amalf, please respond," Yuri pleaded, losing his calm composure.

Nicole's father, Athrun thought having known him since his son Nicole was his comrade and close friend until his unfortunate demise.

"This Captain Talia Gladys of the Minerva receiving," Talia replied as Yuri's face appeared on the overhead monitor.

"Captain Gladys, recall your mobile suits immediately, your target has lured you into a trap. The enemy ship used an anchor to swing around the large asteroid you just passed to attack from behind. Your mobile suits are heading into a separate ambush with enemy mobile suits waiting for them!" Yuri warned quickly.

"Recall Shinn and the others now," Taila ordered.

The fact the enemy ship wasn't reacting to their mobile suits closing in convinced her Bogey-1 was a decoy.

Unfortunately they reacted too little too late.

Ahead of the Minerva the four mobile suits it had launched to attack Bogey-1 were caught in the ambush. Under attack by the stolen ZAFT prototype Gundams, the Chaos Gundam was quick to draw first blood. Deploying its two weapon pods on its back, capable of operating wirelessly, took down one of the GuAIZ R mobile suits. The pilot didn't have a chance as his cockpit along with the rest of his machine was destroyed.

"Shawn!"

The female pilot of the ZAKU Warrior, Lunamaria Hawke, called out as her comrade was reduced to space dust. The rest were trying to evade, to avoid sharing Shawn's fate.

"Scatter, everyone take them on one on one," Shinn Asuka, pilot of the Impulse Gundam, advised as the group was forced to break up, hoping to divide the enemy's focus.

The black enemy mobile suit, the Gaia Gundam, chased down the red and pink colored ZAKU Warrior. The Chaos Gundam went after the Impulse Gundam while the Abyss Gundam pursued the last GuAIZ R mobile suit.

The GuAIZ R mobile suit attempted to use the floating remains of a space colony for cover, hoping to draw the enemy in for a surprise attack. Unfortunately they made a fatal mistake. Unable to hide from their sensors, the enemy pilot realized what they were attempting and fired a barrage of energy beams from its enormous shoulders combined with a blast from its chest mounted Multi-phase Beam Cannon. The beams demolished the giant solar panel the GuAIZ R mobile suit was hiding behind, destroying both.

"Dale!" Hawke cried out at the loss of another pilot. "Not even five minutes, and they got two of us already!"

Damn it, Shinn cursed internally. This isn't the best equipment for fighting these two!

Shinn's Impulse Gundam was pursued by both Chaos and Abyss. He had managed to face both stolen mobile suits before, but that was when he was using more melee oriented equipment. The Blast Silhouette was not ideal for use in a ranged dog fight. Especially when the Chaos Gundam was designed for high-speed space combat and Abyss Gundam, although designed as a amphibious mobile suit for naval combat, was heavily armed for ranged combat and a spear for close quarters.

If only I could change equipment, Shinn thought as he turned, putting away his beam rifle, firing the Blast Impulse Gundam's twin long range beam cannons.

The beams forced his pursuers to split as the dodged. The heavy firepower was helping keep his pursuers at bay even if their speed made landing a killing blow difficult. The Impulse was designed for long-range heavy assault and bombardment missions. A melee weapon like a beam saber would've been more ideal, giving Shinn a chance to match them in speed in close quarters and making the fight more even.

Changing equipment is out of the question. They'll shoot me down in the process or the Silhouette Flyer, Shinn thought, weighing his options.

He kept fighting the two Stollen Gundams. He fired a barrage of missiles, but the Abyss Gundam shot them down with its dual, three-barrel beam cannons mounted on its shoulder binders.

The battle of them exchanging long-ranged fire continued with the remains of the space colony they were fighting near being destroyed in the crossfire. As it currently stands, the battle would be decided by who runs out of power first.

As Shinn and Lunamria were fighting for their lives, the situation for the Minerva wasn't much better. Shortly after the ambush began, the enemy ship appeared behind them.

"Heat source at Blue 18, Mark 9, Charlie!" Malik reported. "It's Bogey One! Distance five hundred! Two Mobile Suit launches confirmed!"

"Behind us!?" Taila exclaimed, knowing they were in a bad position.

"Targeting lasers detected,"Malik added.

"Fire anti-beam depth charges. Evade," Talia ordered.

"Firing Dispars," Athrur Trine, the Executive Officer of the ship relayed, unleashing interceptor missiles to deal with the incoming mobile suits.

The Minerva accelerated, hoping to put some distance between them and the enemy behind them. Such hopes were quickly dashed as the Grity Lue was too fast for them to outrun.

Despite the emotions of fear and anxiety among the crew as they struggled to turn the tide, Gilbert Durandal was remarkably calm, as he spoke to Yuri on the communication line.

"Mr. Amalfi, may I hazard a guess that whoever your present company is, they are capable of lending us aid?"

Yuri looked over to Maya, who was reluctant at first, but nodded her consent.

"Yes they can, but they also have their own goals and obstacles that they need to deal with. So there's going to be a discussion later on the nature of the transaction for this help."

"Very well. With my authority I would like to ask for their aid to assist us," Gilbert requested formally.

"Captain Lamperouge, I assume you have been listening in," Maya asked.

"I have and I already have a strategy to handle this," Lelouch replied.

The Minerva was trying to get away from the pursuing Grity Lue, but as the ZAFT ship was moving to use a large asteroid as cover to protect themselves from the two enemy Dagger mobile suits chasing them. Despite being only two mobile suits, they were armed with dual, recoilless cannons that were more than enough to sink a ship of the Minerva's class from long range.

Despite their efforts, the two units were closing on the Minerva.

Suddenly a beam rifle shot zipped past one of the enemy Daggers causing it to pause as Lelouch's voice was heard on all communication channels. Standing atop the giant asteroid was Lelouch in the Izanami.

"Attention enemy vessel, the ship Minerva is under our protection. Withdraw from this area at once. Do not force us to engage your forces," Lelouch said. "I repeat…"

Suddenly a powerful beam rifle was shot towards him. Thankfully the Izanami's I-field redirected it away. His Gundam's sensors detected another group of enemy machines, including one suit armed with long-range, heavy ordnance.. Lelouch was quick to dodge the second shot. Instead of a beam, the second cannon was a 350mm gun launcher. Something his Gundam's I-field couldn't block.

Coming up behind it were six more Daggers, just lacking the long range weaponry of their fellows. Notably the mobile suits looked different, older. Switching communications to his squad's channel, "I guess it's time to fight back," Lelouch said, smirking. He knew his offer to cease hostilities would be thrown back in his face.

He intended to make them regret their decision since they could now technically justify self-defense for their involvement.

"Yes, self-defense," Cui remarked, grinning like a predator.

"Indeed," Stella said, calmly as she sniped the Buster Dagger that had taken a shot at Lelouch from a nearby, smaller asteroid.

"Begin your attack," Lelouch commanded, giving Cui and Stella the go ahead.

Fortunately for Lelouch, despite having been trained to fight the BETA, conflicts with humans weren't cut out of the curriculum, with such conflicts being the result of terrorists or rogue soldiers.

Cui engaged a Striker Dagger armed with an anti-ship sword, crossing blades with her beam saber. Using her free hand, she punched the Strike Dagger, followed by a kick before using said free hand to grab the sword. She ripped it away as she kicked back the Dagger. Cui finished off the mobile suit by splitting the enemy machine into two halves from the head down.

In that same moment she rushed forward, towards an attacking Dagger, dodging its attacks. Cui used her beam saber to bat away energy attacks as she closed the distance. Once in throwing distance, Cui hurled the anti-ship sword and impaled the cockpit of the attacking Strike Dagger.

"As planned you three are with me," Lelouch ordered, addressing Mitsuki, Yuzuka and Haruka.

"Roger," Mitsuki, Yuzuka and Haruka repiled, as they came out from their hiding spot to join Lelouch as they headed towards the Minerva while Stella and Cui engaged a sudden group of enemy reinforcements.

As I suspected. There must be another ship hidden nearby for support, Lelouch thought. The second group of enemies confirmed his suspicion.

"We'll take out the pursuing mobile suits then go after their mothership," Lelouch explained as they accelerated to intercept them. They Shot down missiles as they went, while using beam shields to deflect any direct hits from missiles, beams or cannon shots.

A second group of Dagger mobile suits tried to join the fray by intercepting Lelouch and his team, but they were interrupted in turn by Shimako, shooting down the Buster Dagger leading them with her the Sadamitsu's plasma cannon.

Shimako was part of a second group, led by Sayoko in her own Minamoto TSF, accompanied by Haruko, Cryska and Maritica.

"Engage the enemy," Sayoko ordered, serving as Lelouch's second in command.

"Roger that," everyone replied.

The Daggers moved to intercept the new enemy, but Martica sped ahead using her beam shield to deflect incoming fire. Once she was close enough she veered to the side before cutting a Dagger in half with one beam saber swipe through the torso. Cryska followed her sister's lead and used a beam saber to stab one of the enemy mobile suits through the cockpit. Haruko joined the attack, firing on the enemy using her smart gun, while using a beam shield to deflect incoming attacks.

Haruko, Sayoko and Shimako might've been attacking at a distance, but the aggressive actions of the Barchenowa sisters made mounting a coordinated counterattack by the Dagger mobile suits difficult.

For the enemy Daggers, their enemy was agile, their way of movement was very human-like and their responses in battle made them difficult to pin down. The Sadamitsu Gundam's Panzer Deflection Armor dealt with most of their beam based weapons, deflecting any shots harmlessly away from Shimako and her allies.

Meanwhile on the enemy ship Nemesis, Alec was not pleased with how the battle was going. These unknown mobile suits were overpowering the machines they had.

I guess this is the problem when you only have old machines to work with, Alec thought, gripping his right hand into a fist before slamming it onto the armrest of his chair.

Calming himself, he took out a locket from his uniform's pocket, revealing the picture of his wife and daughter.

That Athha bitch will die, mark my words, Alec thought, determined, as he pocketed the locket.

"Move the ship closer. Get us a line of fire on that ZAFT ship," Alec ordered, rising from his command chair. "Tell the hanger to prepare my mobile suit for launch. Don't drop the stealth."

"Yes sir," an Orb Union officer replied as Alec left the bridge.

Lelouch shot down another Dagger L, but soon two more mobile suits, different from those they had been fighting, moved to engage him. They looked similar to the Daggers, but were equipped with heavy, dark gray and yellow armor with a railgun mounted on their right shoulder and a small missile pod on the other. They were GAT-01D1 Duel Daggers.

Lelouch dodged a shot from their beam rifles, before retaliating. Haruka landed a shot on one of them, hitting the head before scoring another on the torso.

The second tried to evade, but a well placed shot from Lelouch took its right leg, striking an area above the knee that was unprotected by armor. It stalled, allowing Mitsuki to move in and cleave the mobile suit in half across the torso with her beam saber.

The other ship has to be around here somewhere, Lelouch thought, knowing the Vortigern would have picked up the second ship by now, unless…

Lelouch recalled something Yuri had said about the uses of Mirage Colloid Technology.

"Major Tsukuyomi, could the ship's sensors and those used by the buoys be used to search for magnetic fields? A powerful one that could use Mirage Colloid particles to hide a ship?"

"They can," Maya replied before turning to a bridge operator. "Reconfigure the sensors for magnetic fields. Look for an abnormally strong one."

"Yes ma'am!"

It took only a few minutes, but that same operator soon responded.

"I found one. There is a large magnetic field moving towards the Minerva, but its path is being hindered by all of the debris."

"Understood. Forward the information to Lieutenant Noto, tell her she has a new target," Maya commanded.

Mirage Colloid was first tested as a new stealth system that could hide a mobile suit for surprise attacks, Lelouch thought.

As explained by Yuri during the earlier tour about Mirage Colloid technology; much like how the magnetic field of Shimako's Gundam could hold and use the prisms able to deflect energy based weaponry, those same microscopic prisms are capable of blocking infrared emission as well as bending visible light and radio waves around an object, making it invisible to both electronic sensors and the naked eye.

As the Nemesis moved closer to intercept and attack the fleeing Minerva, Izumi received the message from the Vortigern informing her of her new target. Using the sensor data from the ship, she narrowed the location of her new target before moving to attack.

Izumi's GN Drive already rendered her invisible to most sensors. Using its optical camouflage she took a roundabout route to ambush the enemy ship.

Even if I can't tell where you are exactly, this should work, Izumi thought as she closed in on the magnetic field.

Once the distance was closed she deactivated her optical camouflage, unleashing the GN Bits of her Gundam.

"Fly my fangs!"

The GN bits opened fire raining down beam fire on the area where the magnetic field was the strongest, and sure enough, she hit something. Then more hits followed, as the Nemesis was revealed as its stealth system failed. Now able to see her mark, Izumi aggressively pressed her attack, going for the ship's weapons while she dodged retaliatory missile fire.

A weakness of the Grity-Lue Class was the fact that most of its strongest firepower was locked in forward firing positions focused on the front as it was meant to launch devastating frontal attacks against an enemy.

It was ill-prepared to deal with a surprise attack on it and Izumi wasted no time in disabling it by attacking the engines with her beam pistols. It wasn't long before the Nemesis was rendered dead in space, followed by Izumi systematically destroying its other weapons.

During the attack, Izumi spotted a black mobile suit launching from the ship, but it quickly activated the same Mirage Colloid Stealth System and vanished from sight.

"This is Lieutenant Noto to Vortigern, we have a problem. An enemy machine launched from the enemy vessel, using the same stealth system. I've lost it. It's likely heading for the Minerva," Izumi reported.

Around the same time aboard the Girty Lue, Neo witnessed what had just happened and he realized continuing the battle would only prove perilous for him.

"Signal Oakey and the others to return, tell them to double time it. We'll be next if we stay around. Who knows if these unknown machines have another squad closing in to ambush us," Neo said, but quietly he couldn't help, but applaud whoever devised this counter strategy to turn what should've been an ambush to sink a ZAFT fleet, onto themselves.

Whoever these guys are, they aren't Orb, Earth Forces or ZAFT. Their machines are unlike anything we've seen before, Neo remarked, which only justified his decision to cut their losses and withdraw. The Nemesis and her mobile suits would buy them time to escape.

Neo did take care to record everything they could. His superiors would be very interested in whatever information he could collect.

They could easily shake any further pursuit within the Debris Belt once they get far enough away.

"Yes sir, but what of the Nemesis?" Ian inquired.

"There is nothing we can do. All we can manage is to escape before we're cornered next," Neo explained with a sense of urgency.

"Understood, but it seems Oakley and the others are engaged with one of those unknown machines. Escape could be a problem," Ian reported.

"I see. Take command. I'll handle this," Neo replied, leaving the bridge.

As the battle had been raging near the Minerva, Shinn and Luna were busy fighting for their lives against the three stolen ZAFT Gundams. Yui was dispatched in the Izanagi to support them.

While her Gundam was melee focused, its lighter armament and engines meant it could arrive to back up the two ZAFT pilots the quickest.

"I've reached the target area. Engaging the enemy," Yui replied as her machine drew one beam saber, while its other hand held a beam smart gun.

Yui decided to aid the red ZAKU Warrior under attack by the Gaia Gundam. They were closer to her, and it seems the pilot of the ZAKU was struggling the most.

Lunamaria was kept on the defensive by her aggressive foe, but she still tried to fight back. Aiming her mobile suit's beam cannon, she fired, but the Gaia transformed into its bipedal mode, dodging over the beam using debris, while heading straight for Luna.

"Who do you think you are, you thieves!" Lunamaria continued to fire at the stolen Gaia.

"You're finished," Stella replied as her Gaia's built in beam blades inside its wings activated as it intended to cut the ZAKU in half.

Yui opened fire, but Stella, noticing the approaching enemy, broke off her attack to evade. Stella tried to pull back, but Yui was closing in faster than she could flee. Seeing no choice Stella transformed the Gaia Gundam back into mobile suit mode, opening fire with her beam rifle while using her shield to block Yui's shots.

"What the? Who?" Luna said, stunned by the unexpected arrival of help.

"I am here to help. Give your partner a hand. I'll take care of her," Yui said to Luna.

"Right, thanks," Luna said, taking off to back up Shinn.

Yui closed in, swapping her smart gun for another beam saber, while using a beam shield to deflect Stella's shots. Stella tried to pull back. She holstered her beam rifle and drew a beam saber as close quarters battle was becoming inevitable.

Their sabers met, clashing blow for blow. Unfortunately for Stella, Yui's training in Armored Fencing enabled her to fight with more fluidity, speed and technique, gradually overpowering the Gaia Gundam and forcing Stella into a corner.

Panic and fear was beginning to show as Stella realized she was against a foe who was her superior.

Yui, deciding to end the fight quickly, activated the sub arms of her Gundam, having one of them grab her second beam saber, using it to take off one of the arms of the Gaia Gundam in a sneak attack. The shock of losing an arm stunned Stella leaving her wide open for Yui to finish off.

"Stella!" Sting shouted, coming to her aid with the Chaos Gundam.

Sting switched to mobile armor mode. Launching the Chaos's attack pods he unleashed missiles and beam shots at Yui, allowing Stella a chance to escape.

Using the beam claws on his machine, Sting attempted to take out Yui, but she easily dodged his attack.

"Stella, back up Auel, finish off the other two, then come back to help me," Sting commanded.

"Sure," Stella replied, thankfully without much protest.

Sting transformed back into mobile suit mode to use his shield to block a retaliatory beam shot from Yui's smart gun. The shot was more powerful, pushing the Chaos Gundam back. Afterwards the beam smart gun began firing rapid beam shots. Far less powerful in exchange for a higher rate of fire. Sting used the space junk around them to better defend against Yui's attacks, even as she tried to close the distance.

Close quarters with this one is a bad idea, Sting reasoned, maintaining his distance.

He noticed how his foe wasn't used to fighting the remote weapons used by the Chaos Gundam, something he took advantage of to impede Yui's efforts to close the distance.

Hurry up Stella, because I don't know how long I can keep this up, Sting thought, glancing at the power indicator of his Gundam which was getting low.

"Even if I can't get to you, unlike my machine, your mobile suit should be running on a battery. So how much longer until you run out?" Yui asked herself. Due to the N-Jammers, all mobile suits in the Cosmic Era Earth run on batteries with limited operational times.

Her Gundam could run indefinitely while she has also been trained to fight for sustained hours of combat, if not a whole day or more if pushed.

Even if Sting could evade her attacks and likewise she could manage the same, their battle will boil down to attrition. Sting was at greater risk the longer the battle dragged on.

Around the same time, Shinn gained a moment to breathe as he was fighting the Abyss Gundam on his own. Luna joined him, the pair hoping to double team the enemy Gundam. Shinn drew a beam javelin, to engage the Abyss Gundam in close quarters, aware that his mobile suit would be running low on power soon. The beam javelin only had a blade on the tip, but the weapon was more than enough to engage the Abyss Gundam in a melee. However, Shinn's effort to conserve what battery his Gundam had left made it difficult for Luna to contribute to the fight as she couldn't use her beam cannon, so she drew a beam tomahawk from her ZAKU's shoulder shield after holstering her beam cannon.

Auel was seething in annoyance and mild anger when Sting was forced to help Stella.

"Damn it Sting. You picked a hell of a time to leave me to deal with that combining bastard on my own," Auel said, glancing at the power indicator on his Gundam, his power level was also concerningly low.

Luna was about to join in, when the Gaia Gundam suddenly attacked her, intending to finish her off after Stella's first attempt was thwarted by Yui. With only one arm remaining for her Gaia, Stella drew a beam saber engaging Luna and her ZAKU in close quarters combat.

Even with only one arm Stella was able to match Luna and hold her own, but it was a stalemate.

Until…

"Stella, pull back now," Neo called, as he arrived in his mobile armor, the TS-MA4F Exus.

Its twin linear guns opened fire, shooting off one of the ZAKU's arms, before launching its four Gunbarrels and using the mounted, beam blades to decapitate the ZAKU's remaining limbs leaving it helpless and adrift.

"LUNA!" Shinn shouted, hearing Luna's cries as the decapitation of her machine caused electronics in her cockpit to short out.

The Gaia Gundam and the Exus converged upon the Impulse Gundam, Shinn quickly kicked the Abyss Gundam away, slashing its mulit-phase beam cannon, rendering it inoperable. Shinn hurled the beam javelin at the approaching Gaia Gundam, but Stella batted it away with her beam saber, This was just a faint to get them into his line of fire with the Blast Impulse Gundam's beam cannons, but when he tried to fire them they failed to do so.

"What?!"

The Impulse Gundam turned gray as its phase shift armor powered down, its energy levels now critical.

"You picked the wrong equipment for this fight," Neo replied, smirking. His Gunbarrels swarmed the Impulse Gundam, blowing off its limbs and leaving it decapitated and helpless.

"Now I'll finish you," Auel said, moving to finish off the helpless Impulse Gundam.

"Hold it Auel!" Neo said, intervening.

"Huh, but why?"

"We need hostages, so that unknown mobile suit won't come after us." Neo replied, aware that the Abyss and Gaia Gundams were dangerously low on power by now.

Around the same time Sting had managed to keep Yui occupied. Her lack of ranged weapons and the Chaos Gundam's remote weapons kept the Izanagi at a distance.

Damn, those pods are annoying, Yui thought, frustrated as she had never dealt with such weapons before.

Aside from their beam cannons, the pods could release missiles, which thankfully for Yui had been exhausted earlier.

As Yui got used to battling the remote weapons pods she began to notice a pattern. She realized that they needed to return to the Chaos Gundam to recharge after a period of time. She waited and when they began returning to the Chaos Gundam, Yui struck. Taking aim with her smart gun, shot down one of the pods quickly followed by a second.

Shit, Sting thought. He only had his sabers, shield and beam rifle left.

Transforming back into mobile suit form, the Chaos Gundam steeled itself as the Izanagi closed in. Sting tried to shoot her down, but something was causing his shots to be harmlessly redirected away allowing Yui to close the gap quickly. Sting drew his beam saber just in time to meet Yui in a melee.

Suddenly Neo joined in, unleashing his mobile armor's Gunbarrels, raining beam fire upon her, followed by missiles fired from the main body of the mobile armor. Yui pulled back, using the head mounted guns on her Gundam to shoot them down.

Opening up a channel, laced with a voice scrambler, Neo spoke.

"Unknown Mobile Suit I insist you halt your attack at once or the ZAFT pilots you were meant to assist will be killed."

Checking the sensors of the Izanagi, Yui picked up the disabled Impulse and ZAKU being held at gunpoint by the Abyss and Gaia Gundams.

"Just so you can kill us all?" Yui snapped back.

"No. If you break off your attack, I'll release them into your custody. Isn't that your objective; to save these pilots? We'll retreat, and you can take them back. Of course if you do decide to attack us, and if somehow you avoid getting them killed, the batteries of their machines are nearly depleted. Adrift in this mess, good luck finding them again by the time you beat us," Neo pointed out. He deduced that these unknown mobile suits weren't part of ZAFT, ruling out reinforcements by ZAFT given the timing since events at Armory One. "Besides the other ship attacking that new ZAFT ship, one of its mobile suits has a nuclear reactor for power, equipped with an N-Jammer Canceller. The pilot will likely self-detonate if he cannot achieve his objective of killing the Chief Representative of Orb, so I would say that you have more pressing matters as well."

Yui's eyes widened, but her fists tightened around the control sticks. She hated letting the enemy go, but if what he said was true then Lelouch and the others were in danger.

"Fine. I agree to your terms," Yui replied reluctantly.

"I am glad you saw reason. You heard her, hand them over then let's get out of here," Neo said, smiling as Abyss, Gaia and Chaos retreated with him from the area, leaving Yui to recover the disabled Impulse and ZAKU.

"This is Captain Takamura to the Vortigern with an emergency message," Yui began, opening a communication channel to the ship.

Around the time as Yui tangled with the stolen Gundams, the battle was progressing poorly for the mobile suits of the Nemesis. However, the threat of the mobile suit hiding under camouflage remained. Lelouch and the Vortigern were working to locate it before it could attack the Minerva.

Lelouch alongside Haruka, Mitsuki and Yuzuka were still searching for the invisible mobile suit that fled the Nemesis before it was crippled. Using the same trick to locate the Nemesis, they had narrowed it down to an area of drifting asteroids near the Minerva. The ZAFT warship was continuing to flee, aware a stealthed enemy machine was pursuing it.

It's not interested in us. They are really bent on sinking the Minerva, Lelouch thought, wondering if they had some kind of vendetta.

"Captain Lamperouge," Maya called.

"Go ahead Major," Lelouch replied, opening the communication line.

"Captain Takamura succeeded in recovering the ZAFT pilots sent ahead, but she discovered that the enemy machine has a nuclear power plant and could self-detonate to kill the Chief Representative of Orb," Maya warned. "We've already begun moving our ship and Mr. Amalfi's ship outside the possible blast zone."

"Understood. It's just all the more reason we must find it and stop it from reaching the Minerva," Lelouch said, but finding the enemy was easier said than done.

"Captain, if we could offer our assistance," Martica offered on a communication channel. "My sister and I could find the target. We just need to be near the area where the magnetic field has been detected, no?"

That's right the sisters are psychics, Lelouch thought, realizing they could help narrow the search area by picking up the thoughts of the target.

"Very well. I'll unleash a barrage to try and flush him out and create an opening for you two," Lelouch stated. He used the Izanami's mega-particle cannon in scattershot mode on the suspected area.

"Roger," the Barchenowa sisters acknowledged in unison.

Advancing, the two sisters began searching for their enemies' thoughts as they entered the area. Lelouch's attack covered part of the area, helping narrow the search radius until they picked up angry malevolent thoughts nearby.

Inside the cockpit Admiral Alec was gradually getting closer to the Minvera, but Lelouch and company's efforts had forced him to act cautiously in his approach. Yet his frustration was growing as his target was slipping away.

I can't let that bitch escape me. My family will be avenged, Alec declared in his mind as his rage grew, fueled by his frustration.

Alec still remembered it. He had commanded the ships under his command to fight the Atlantic Federation tooth and nail. He had lost many friends and comrades to the enemy. His wife had been an engineer working for his nation's manufacture of arms and technology, Morgenröte, while raising their daughter.

Then the Atlantic Federation invaded Orb to seize its Mass Driver, after the Earth Alliance's had theirs in Panama destroyed by ZAFT. Needing to acquire a new Mass Driver to prevent their forces in space and on the moon from running out of supplies, they turned to the neutral nation of the Orb Union.

The Chief Representative Uzumi Nala Athha refused to join the Earth Alliance and allow them use of their Mass Driver due to their position of neutrality and most of all because the Earth Alliance's leadership was dominated by the anti-Coordinator, extremist terrorist organization Blue Cosmos.

ZAFT and the PLANTs were likewise led by equally extreme anti-Naturals, so Orb declined their offers of aid, not wishing to be caught up in the war of extermination the two were seeking to wage.

Despite their efforts to avoid conflict, the Atlantic Federation invaded Orb aiming to seize their Mass Driver and Morgenröte, to seize their technological innovations. Although they resisted at first, it became clear Orb was fighting a losing battle, because the superior numbers of the Atlantic Federation would eventually wear them down.

Once they came under attack a second time, the Orb Union made the decision to evacuate its people. Everything went well until the ship carrying his wife and daughter were sunk by stray fire.

"I won't allow your daughter to drag Orb down as you did. Your ideal cost me my child, so I'll kill yours in compensation even if it's the last thing I do."

Suddenly an alarm sounded in his cockpit, a proximity alert, discovering one of the Minamoto TSFs beam rifle shots were about to hit him. Acting fast, Alec blocked it with one of the Variable Arm Units of his mobile suit, forcing him to deactivate the Mirage Colloid and switch to Phase Shift Armor so it would be easier to redirect it back at his attacker.

"I found our target," Cryska reported dodging her own returned shot. Seeing the black mobile suit, the GAT-X207SR Nero Blitz Gundam appear, she watched as it unfolded its Variable Arm Units that were mounted on its back as a large set of claw-like arms.

"Take him down, but keep in mind he could self-destruct so pull back if you believe there is a possibility," Lelouch commanded. He was concerned if they could escape a nuclear explosion or not.

"Roger," The Barchenowa sisters replied.

Alec growed as the Nero Blitz raised its right arm, firing a barrage of bullets as the Gundam moved to evade retaliatory strikes from the two sisters, while using the surrounding asteroids for cover as it doggedly continued to move closer to the Minerva.

Hell bent to get to your target, aren't you, Lelouch thought, before an idea came to mind and opened communications with the Minerva.

The Barchenowa sisters closed in, having noticed their beam shots were being redirected, drawing beam sabers instead. Close quarters might've been risky, but it would be the sure way to ensure they could disable the enemy machine.

The Nero Blitz used its large claw-like arms to grab nearby asteroids to hurl them at the incoming attackers. He followed up his attack by launching decoy balloons from his right arm. Unaware if they were explosive or not the Barchenowa sisters evaded them as they continued to close the distance.

Cryska was the first to get into attack range, rushing the Nero Blitz Gundam. It blocked her beam saber swing with the shield mounted onto its left arm. Cryska pulled back and evaded when one of its claw-like arms tried to strike her. Martica then began her attack, beam saber drawn. The Nero Blitz fired its two lancer darts at the incoming enemy, as Martica ducked before making a pass. The enemy Gundam dodged upwards, causing Martica to narrowly miss the torso and instead sliced off its right leg, just above the knee.

Alec barely had a second before Cryska was on him again. He fired more bullets from his right arm while pulling back in an effort to break close quarters combat. It was quickly obvious to the sisters that the enemy Gundam had no other close quarters combat capabilities to speak of except for those claws mounted on its back. Those claws were keeping Cryska at a distance, even if barely, as they tried to either grab the Russian TSF pilot or slug her aside.

From behind Martica attacked. Alec couldn't escape in time as he had been occupied fighting Cryska allowing her twin sister to cleave off his Variable Arm Units, before slashing apart its thrusters. Cryska didn't let the chance slip by, using her beam saber in conjunction with Martica to cut off the arms of the Nero Blitz and its remaining leg.

Alec howled in rage as his machine was disabled. As if fate wanted to add salt to the wound, a communication came across an open channel.

"This is the Chief Representative Cagalli Yula Athha. I demand to know who is responsible for this and why you would seek to sink a ZAFT vessel who has nothing to do with whatever petty grudge you may have against me!"

I suppose the taunt is unnecessary at this point, but maybe we can get some information, Lelouch mused, having suggested to the Minerva to allow Cagalli to call out their attackers, hoping the provocation will drive them into making a mistake.

Most importantly, maybe it would distract long enough for Cryska and Matrica to get to a safe distance.

"Petty," Alec began, opening a communication line. "PETTY! MY FAMILY DIED AT ONOGORO! You and your father are traitors to our nations and threats to our nation's continued existence. I had sworn to kill you to avenge those who died!"

"Identify yourself," Captain Gladys demanded.

"I am Admiral Alec Gruber of Orb Union, representing those who wish to see the Athha Family wiped out for their betrayal of Orb!" Alec replied. "I will apologize for dragging ZAFT into this, but I will never apologize for my intent to kill the Ruin Princess who will see our nation burn again. We had planned to kill her on her return trip from Armory One."

"How could you do that, I-" Cagalli began, but was cut off.

"And I could still succeed, I do just regret what I must do to achieve it. If by some chance you survive ruin princess, know that sooner or later the war will continue and Orb will be better off if you were dead," Alec declared, pulling a lever next to his cockpit chair, triggering a self-destruct.

Unknown to everyone, it also triggered the self-destruct on the Nemesis as hidden within was a nuclear bomb wired to go off upon the self-destruct of the Nero Blitz Gundam.

Both the enemy Gundam and the enemy vessel were vaporized in the resulting nuclear explosions that consumed them. The explosions themselves sent various debris and asteroid fragments flying in every direction.

Caught off guard, everyone was engulfed in the storm of debris.

A/N: Alec and his men were created mostly to provide a fight for Lelouch and his companions, but mostly to ensure Stella, Sting and Auel along with Neo didn't get slaughtered. But they would help me with other plot bits in the story, which I'll keep quiet on to avoid spoilers. Its kinda scary and I had a "Oh crap" moment when I realized the indirect thought control used by TSFs, which bypasses the need for the use of physical controls to a degree allowing their pilots to react quicker and the machines to have better and agile human-like movements.

Add psychoframe tech, while they aren't Newtypes, allows for a more effective thought reading system that pairs well with such a system. An idea that was indirectly inspired too by Super Robot Wars X.

To sum it up this was the chapter where the author realized, I had to step things up to try and keep things from being too easy, and that will show in coming chapters bit by bit. Funny enough in a way it does feel that it mirrors Lelouch's early successes in canon until Cornelia got involved, so...some foreshadowing there.

With that said, best to ask this question, what will happen next when events of Junius Seven comes into play?

But keep in mind, the tech Lelouch and his friends just showed off, consider how that might effect things, and the PLANTs will be very interested in wanting it. Of course even Lelouch wouldn't give up such tech easily, so be at ease. Gradually there will be political elements that Lelouch will be dealing with, but...for now...he isn't a position to do much since he has to earn the right to speak and bargain on the Empire of Japan's behalf. But as he becomes independent...well, keep in mind things can change.

To avoid mistakes I made in my KH crossover, although I know that ship sailed a long time ago with the early chapters, I am going to be much more mindful of the time Lelouch and co spend on worlds/series, with some exceptions.

Now I do have a new poll up on my fanfiction.net profile page, although I was waiting patiently for my beta to finish the touch ups/clean up of the chapter (I will only say there were things beyond his control that caused major delays, so its not his fault) I was not idle. Aside from making the next chapters, I was also consulting with folks I met on the internet who knew their series to go over some of my plans for some series and to make refinements to catch any potential faults and issues in my plans. BUT of course we were working to trim down the staggering number of potential harem candidates for Lelouch. In the end only seven or ten will make up the harem.

We've eliminated a number of candidates after much debate and discussion, some for some characters are still ongoing through. The characters from Gunbuster (Noriko Takaya and Jung Freud) were eliminated from the running after much discussion, I was disappointed, but it can't be helped. I will say most of the Gundam series candidates have been eliminated as well with only a few remaining (Marida Cruz, Loni Garvey (novel version) Ingrid Tradoll, Secelia Dote, Nika Nanaura, Sabina Fardin, Aliya Mahvash, and Dorothy Catalonia). The reason most Gundam characters got cut is the question if ANY of them would be open to polygamy, and its highly unlikely they would be considering where they come from. The characters from Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans got take out of consideration due to a lack of important details for some. The candidates from Aldnoah Zero are on rocky ground.

You are welcomed to argue for or against any candidates in reviews, I am curious on people's thoughts on their picks.

Code Geass folks, outside of Kaguya and Milly who I doubt will have a problem, but Kallen I am worried she might not be open to it since by that point Lelouch might be involved with four women romantically by then. But still they have some serious competition before them to claim one of the very limited spots. And Shirley, unless something major happens regrettably I doubt she has a chance (I wanted to be fair and give her a shot), and you folks who hate Shirley leave the poor girl alone alright, (mostly for the anonymous reviewers on FF.net).

HOWEVER, the characters of Schwarzesmarken, I've been unable to find anyone to debate and discuss the viability of them not just potentially joining Lelouch's squadron, but some could become part of his polygamous relationships. Or at least anyone very knowledgably on the visual novel instead of the anime since the latter had cut out a lot. Not to mention the whole Beatrix vs Irisdina has hit a stalemate, while there are some who want to see both in the harem I am skeptical given their history. So as much as I didn't want to I did a poll with the only possible candidates to try and find a resolution outside of talking my plans over to catch any potential faults in them.

But beyond that, I will post the next chapter as soon as my beta finishes with it, which I hope will be a little quicker. In the meantime I thank you all in advance for your reviews/feedback, and give the new poll a vote. It will be open for a LONG time until the harem starts so you got time. Besides I plan on involving the potential candidates one way or another, to give them a chance to earn a spot, which was another reason I've been trying to trim down the numbers so I don't drag things out in the story.

Thank you all for reading and I apologize for the long author note.

Jason Wu · Feb 26, 2025

Jay: Thanks for the chapter
Yeah... infinite energy and better ship technology will be bound to catch some attention.

A good chapter to flesh out the new cast. A trial by fire to see how they interact and cooperate with each other.

I'll have to check the poll later but I don't particularly care for Kallen when crossovers are the premise of a Code Geass story. Feels too... vanilla when we're exploring how Lelouch changes.

Though talking about her... I don't think she'll particularly like Polygamy but I do think she's willing to be in a small harem for Lelouch.

VATSTeen · Feb 26, 2025

You made OC characters to make things worse rather than just pad out the view time in my opinion. 2 ZAFT pilots captured, the entire ZAFT ship nuked? I dunno you just made it a gave Frodo a lightsaber, but Sauron gets two death stars and a world engine to compensate sort of situation.

AldariSiradla · Feb 26, 2025

The wait was worth it.
And what an explosive ending to the chapter.
Excited to see who lived...
And who died.

redred45 · Feb 26, 2025

i forget what doe the vortigern look like again?

StrifeHavoc · Feb 26, 2025

Jason Wu said:
Thanks for the chapter

No prob.

VATSTeen said:
You made OC characters to make things worse rather than just pad out the view time in my opinion. 2 ZAFT pilots captured, the entire ZAFT ship nuked? I dunno you just made it a gave Frodo a lightsaber, but Sauron gets two death stars and a world engine to compensate sort of situation.

Not intentional, I was surprised by the situation I had walked into, what I done here will help move things along on the GSD side and allow me to make some minor improvements to canon.

AldariSiradla said:
The wait was worth it.
And what an explosive ending to the chapter.
Excited to see who lived...
And who died.

Thank you, well main characters survived, but I can assure you the rouge Orb dudes didn't make it. As for everyone else its a little soon to off folks from Lelouch's side.

redred45 said:
i forget what doe the vortigern look like again?

Its based off of the Carry Base, but more of the one from Cross Rays version through.

The ship's external appearance.

Wild Transient · Feb 27, 2025

Okay this update came with a bang. So OCs with a grudge against Cagalli for her dad's decisions is plausible enough.

Is the Junius 7 being used for a Colony drop still gonna happen?

StrifeHavoc · Feb 27, 2025

Wild Transient said:
Okay this update came with a bang. So OCs with a grudge against Cagalli for her dad's decisions is plausible enough.

Is the Junius 7 being used for a Colony drop still gonna happen?

Thank you and it should help move things along on her side at one point.

It will.

War of the Seven Kings (Super Robot Wars with Code Geass, Muv Luv Alternative and more)

Connoisseur.

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Connoisseur.

Spirit Boy, Police Girl

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Connoisseur.

Spirit Boy, Police Girl

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Connoisseur.

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Connoisseur.

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Connoisseur.

I trust you know where the happy button is?

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Connoisseur.

Experienced.

Spirit Boy, Police Girl

Know what you're doing yet?

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Whimsical Dakka Worshipper

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Users who are viewing this thread