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Chapter Text

(No One's POV)

The year was C.E 71, 1 year after the start of the war between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. However, right under their noses there was a third party; a small group of mercenaries, all hailing from other worlds. After acquiring a Agamemnon-class carrier ship through "not-so-legal means" (read: hijacking it and taking out all crew members and soldiers onboard), they cruised between PLANT colonies, trying their best to remain undetected while learning about this world. The stolen ship was eventually nicknamed "Rummy", a suggestion from their fellow AC Pilot, who didn't want to name it after anyone significantly important.

The large hangar of the ship had a large number of unmanned defenses inside, most of which included 044AC and TYPE-ARGINE Normals, the supposed "regular Armored Cores" of a different universe. With the help of Ayre, the group modified most of these units to serve as unmanned machines.

These people are Karasu Mitsubishi, Sam Grumman and Rob Gotengo, respectively known as Raven, Trigger and Monarch, ace pilots of their universe's respective wars, who have been taken away from the places they call home. Alongside a few allies, they've decided to form a mercenary group.

Inside the hangar, Monarch was currently testing out his aircraft's horizontal stabilizers and canards, moving them up and down. Standing beside the PW-Mk1 was Prez, his WSO.

Robin (Prez): "This thing really was worth the hijack, don't you think?"

Rob (Monarch): "Absolutely."

Robin (Prez): "Sure is."

After that short test, Monarch climbed out of the cockpit, walking by Prez's side towards another part of the carrier. Crossing through multiple hallways, one automatic door leads them into the cafeteria block, where Trigger and Raven were eating lunch. Trigger was eating chicken nuggets with fries, while Raven's meal was simply a lot of sushi and Teriyaki chicken.

Sam (Trigger): "Oh, hey Monarch. You're a bit late, but that's okay!"

Karasu (Raven): "Hi."

Robin (Prez): "Hey everyone!"

Rob (Monarch): "Sup."

Rob sits down while his WSO (totally not his girlfriend) goes to pick what both of them will eat. Raven looks at them with his monotone expression while eating one California roll. Nothing out of the ordinary for now, just them chatting and enjoying their food. Then, Raven stops eating to discuss an important matter, at least to them. One insignificant thing to note is that they prefer to use their callsigns instead of than their actual names.

Karasu (Raven): "Monarch, anything about the G Project data we uncovered?"

Rob (Monarch): "Actually, Prez dug a little more information in her spare time. Apparently, the 5 Mobile Suits are already constructed."

Karasu (Raven): "Good to know."

???: "You know Raven, you're beginning to act more like Walter each day, at least in my opinion."

Another member of the group steps into the block, this time a white-haired girl around Raven's age, with red particles emitting around her. Raven waved at her, offering a chair for her to sit on. This was Ayre, a C-Wave pulse mutation that remained with Raven at all times, even after being stranded on different worlds.

Ayre: *sits down* "Well, we might as well plan for tomorrow."

And so they talked. Although their operation planning wasn't solid just yet, they had a few good steps already laid down. Monarch and Trigger will attack one of Heliopolis' gates. Afterwards, Ayre will hack into their systems and make them look like nothing is going on, fooling any forces inside the colony. Do they know if ZAFT will go after the Gundams? No, but Raven says they might do so. If they do, will this be just a massacre of their forces? Absolutely. Sure, the operation has literally no real motive, but that's the point. They want to show a piece of their skills to everyone, and once that is done, the opposing forces and any other parties will begin looking to pay for their services.

Ayre: "So that's what we have for now.. All of you should rest for now. Even Grave's doing it."

Sam (Trigger): "Was already doing that anyways."

Everyone else just nodded and went back to eating their lunch. There was not much to do these few days. Karasu gave a few of his sushi rolls to Ayre, with the latter accepting his offer. The group hopes that maybe, their display of power will impress everyone enough that they'll consider their use.

Just maybe.

((A/N sorry for the short chapter! Didn't have much to write at the last part.))

Chapter Text

(3 days later, No One's POV)

With how close they were to the PLANTs, the group was able to arrive quite earlier than the ZAFT forces Karasu predicted would attack. The Rummy stopped all movement, keeping a distance from the colony. The carrier then proceeded to reveal its two linear catapults. One was refitted for aircraft, while the other was modified for humanoid machines like Raven's AC and their unmanned Normals.

On the aircraft-use catapult, Monarch and Prez were already inside the canopy of their plane, the PW-Mk1. Developed by Icarus Armories, it featured experimental weapons such as micromissiles and a single Railgun. Upon their arrival in the Cosmic Era, Ayre upgraded both it and the Strike Wyvern to also function in space.

The Rummy's left catapult now featured a built-in small flight deck, making the use of the cable mostly optional. Closing the canopy, taxxiing towards the catapult deck, the duo hears the piston attaching to the nose gear.

Robin (Prez): "This is Hitman 1, Monarch and Prez. We're ready to launch."

Ayre: (through their comms) "Understood. Like Raven said, take out the targeted port. The rest of us will land there."

Rob (Monarch): "Understood."

In a few seconds, the piston pulled the aircraft along the deck before letting go. With how fast it goes, the PW-Mk1 was already allowed to have its altitude restriction lifted off in just 2 minutes. The landing gear finally folds inside the jet. Now ready to attack, Monarch switched to the Railgun mounted underneath, charging up the weapon. After a moment, the plane's cockpit glowed orange for a few seconds upon firing a single shot.

Aimed at one of the entrances intended for spaceships, the projectile successfully hit a flammable spot, triggering an explosion that devastated the inside. The other ships in the vicinity looked in terror as the mercenary group's Agamemnon-class hovered into view, firing its "Gottfried Mk.71" dual high-energy Beam Cannons on the spot. Civilian or military, it didn't matter, all were equally taken down. This was then followed by Ayre then hacking into Heliopolis' systems, or more accurately just the one they need to disrupt. To the other forces, it appeared as if nothing was happening inside one of the entrances to the colony, letting them sneak in under the radar.

The Rummy flew and docked into the damaged area, sending out a few squadrons of Normals to defend the carrier and the area. Taking its first steps out of the ship, a larger machine stood behind the rows of Normals. That machine was RED ECLIPSE, Karasu's personal Armored Core that he used during the remainder of the Coral War, using another ALBA frame gifted to him by V.IV Rusty.

The red and black mech surveyed the area before Raven called someone who has also joined them on their operations.

Karasu (Raven): *through an encrypted channel* "Hey Grave, ready to fight?"

——

Tolle: "Kira?"

Kira: "GUWAH!"

Startled by Tolle's face blocking his view, Kira jumps out of his seat. He was remembering a conversation with his childhood friend, Athrun Zala, who hoped Kira would come to the PLANTs one day.

Tolle: "What are you doing? Let's go."

Kira: "Right."

Closing his laptop, Kira Yamato begins grabbing his stuff to follow his friends. On another side of the colony, one of the ships begins the docking process, following protocols to make sure it goes smooth. The damaged port entrance has been left unattended for now, with the colony unaware of the third party amongst them. The captain of the ship is seen talking with Mu La Flaga, the infamous ace pilot that covered their escape.

Ship Captain: "This ship has safely completed its final mission. You've served well as an escort. Thank you, Lieutenant La Flaga."

Mu: "Don't mention it, sir. I'm just glad we arrived without incident. What's the status of ZAFT vessels in the vicinity?"

Ship Captain: "We traced two vessels, but don't worry. They can't do a thing once we're docked."

Mu: "Because it's a neutral nation? What a joke."

Ship Captain: *laughs* "Sure, but thanks to that, we've been able to proceed with our plans to this point. Orb is a nation of Earth, after all."

With the captain excusing the G-Pilots, Mu La Flaga expresses his concern before being told that they're all top guns. Things went about usual. Kira, Miriallia and Tolle entered the Morgenröte facility, and ZAFT forces managing to infiltrate into the colony. However, the latter is unaware that Ayre has been secretly spying on them. She displays the video feed inside RED ECLIPSE's cockpit for Raven to see.

Ayre: "Raven, your assumptions were correct. ZAFT has gotten inside."

Karasu (Raven): "Good to know. This won't be a waste of time now."

Despite not expressing any emotion, Raven felt satisfied. It's time to prove their worth.

Karasu (Raven): *radio* "This is Raven. My suspicion has been confirmed. Trigger and Monarch, defend the port. Grave, you're on ground duty."

Grave: *radio* "Understood. I've already revised my NIMPH too."

The muscled Nikke responded back from inside the Rummy, grabbing her coffin. Raven, meanwhile, watched as the ZAFT soldiers began placing bombs around the Archangel, having no clue about the Nazca-class and Laurasia-class outside the colony that launched a couple of GINNs. Karasu at least speculated that Mobile Suits would enter the colony too.

RED ECLIPSE raised one of its arms up. Upon his order, the unmanned Normals made way for the AC to walk through, moving to the inside of the colony. Taking in the sight of the cities and the greenery, 621 readies himself. The sensors on his AC glow a bright red. He switches off the standard mode, prompting the system to announce the change.

COM: "Main System: Activating Combat Mode."

Generating thrust, the boosters immediately propel his AC forward, orangish flames emitting from them. He maneuvers left to right, stabilizing the AC's movement with the thrusters located on each side of the NACHTREIHER legs. As he approached the towering buildings, the bombs planeted around the Archangel finally went off.

Chapter Text

(Heliopolis, right before the bombs went off)

Carrying her coffin as always, Grave looked at the defensive line of unmanned machines before her. Before accidentally finding their way in the Cosmic Era, the muscled Nikke had the mental limiter in her NIMPH removed with a bit of help from Karasu (assisted by Ayre). As such, she could know kill humans no matter the circumstances. A bit of her ideology's changed too.

Grave had always intended to give Cinderella and herself a happy ending, but spending time with the independent mercenary changed her dream. She still pursues a happy ending, but one where she doesn't care about how her actions perceive others. As Raven's former handler said; "It's just a job. All of it".

Grave: "..."

Grave pulls out a picture of her, Cinderella, and the Commander, months after she left her home universe to travel with the group. She hopes that the "Superhuman" is taking good care of her back home. Upon being contacted by Raven, she opens up her coffin to take out her weapon, Writer's Eraser. She'll see how she fights now, with her limited removed. Responding to 621, she does a hand signal and calls in a single MQ-101, modified to carry her. The unmanned craft deploys handlebars that Grave holds on to.

Grave: 'I fear that I'm no better than the Raptures now, but I don't think that anymore.'

The drone then flies off, catching up with RED ECLIPSE as the two machines make their way to Heliopolis. Using the nearby nature as cover, the drone descends, allowing Grave to jump to the grassy area surrounded by the colony's infrastructure. Just as they agreed after returning each other's favors, the Pilgrim and the Augmented Human will fight side by side.

--

Fast forward to the current time, the bombs planted around the Archangel have went off, taking out most of the crew except Natarle Badgiruel and a few survivors. Despite Mu and his 2 other wingmen's efforts, the three GINNs slipped inside one of the docking ports. Feeling the tremors, Grave was now on alert, raising up her assault rifle. Ayre immediately contacted Raven to alarm him of the Mobile Suits

Ayre: "Raven, Mobile Suits have broken into Heliopolis!"

Karasu (Raven): "Hmph. Engaging."

Turning his AC's head to face a specific direction, Raven immediately saw 2 GINNs coming from afar. Wasting no time, his AC's core revealed the heatsink inside as RED ECLIPSE assault boosted towards the GINNs. This even got the attention of the Le Creuset Team, who saw the red AC spring into combat. The most shocked out of the three is Athrun, who was stunned from panic upon seeing Karasu approach Miguel's GINN.

Athrun: *gasps* "That's..!"

Revving up the Laser Lance, the GINN beside Miguel was immediately gored by RED ECLIPSE, causing it to explode near him. The Coordinator pilot's shock turns into anger as he opens fire on the AC. Raven quick boosts left to right, swiftly dodging the shots before firing a single shot from his Plasma Rifle, puncturing the right shoulder of the Mobile Suit.

Athrun: "No.. Miguel!"

Yzak: "More reason to capture those Mobile Suits already! Let's-"

Before they knew it, an assault rifle shredded most of their green suit soldiers. The Le Creuset Team was bathed in the blood of their support, seeing Grave stepping out, her weapon emitting smoke. The team and what remained of their support immediately took off to steal the Gundam's already, all while Raven fought Miguel in the skies, dodging each other's shots. Grave sighed, leaving behind the gory mess she made.

Inside the factory area, Kira Yamato followed the undercover Cagali into the factory area despite her telling him not to do so. A nearby explosion blew her cover.

Kira: "A.. girl?"

Cagali: "What were you thinking all this time?"

Kira: "Uh.. but.."

Grabbing onto her arm, Kira takes Cagali somewhere, seeing as tears begin to run down her face.

Cagali: "I never expected to get stuck in here."

Kira: "D-Don't worry, I'll help you! There are still shelters left in the factory district!"

Meanwhile, the ZAFT soldiers have already broken inside the factory. Despite Murrue and the rest's attempts to fight back, they are unable to push them out. Outside the factory, the rest of the civilians watched in horror as the last remaining GINN, piloted by Miguel, was slowly losing its ability to fight while RED ECLIPSE tore it to shreds. Its missile launcher opened up, firing a total of 6 missiles directly at the thrusters of the Mobile Suit, leaving it unable to fly and with only an arm left.

Miguel: *scared for his life* "That can't be a Natural! It can't- AUGHHHH!!"

Miguel screamed as the Laser Lance drilled into the cockpit, killing him. Inside the AC's cockpit, Karasu looked at the now-dead pilot without feeling anything. No thrill, no guilt, nothing. He could care less about the new enemy he and his group have made. As long as they can get hired, it'll be worth it. Then, he heard it. The three Gundam's outside have been activated. Hoping they'll spread their names, Raven turned his AC to face them, only to barely dodge the Duel Gundam's Beam Saber.

Yzak: "YOU MONSTER!!"

Nicol: "D-Don't do it!"

Yzak ignored his friend's request and went for the opposing machine again, only for Raven to counter with a charged shot of the Vvc-760PR, firing three plasma beams at once. Without the Phase Shift activated, the Duel Gundam suffered damage. Fortunately, Nicol grabbed onto his Mobile Suit, looking in fear as the three of them began retreating back to the Nazca Class. Karasu scoffed and looked back at the facility, seeing the explosions happening from inside. However, the most curious thing is that he detected another Mobile Suit inside.

After meeting Athrun again under unfortunate circumstances, Kira was tossed inside the Cockpit by Murrue, who jumped right in. The Mobile Suit then slowly began to stand up among the explosions, leaving it the only Gundam left in the hands of the Earth Alliance.

Chapter Text

Inside the Strike Gundam's cockpit, Murrue is seen in the cockpit seat, with Kira behind her.

Murrue: "The machine, at least.. Even I should be able to move it."

The Gundam starts up after she touches the necessary buttons. Kira looks at the other unit beside them, the Aegis Gundam, still confused about seeing Athrun.

Kira: 'Athrun? No, that's not possible.'

The screen in the cockpit activates, displaying the current system configuration and the meaning behind the name "Gundam". Murrue then begins to lift up the Mobile Suit, detaching the restrains as it stood up inside the burning facility. At last, the Strike is online. However, the rest of Heliopolis is still without hope, especially after the rest of the group decided to actually leave their post.

The evacuating civilians watched in shock as their Agamemnon-class slowly moves above them. A small force of 044AC's is deployed to guard the ship, scaring the people even more. Each normal left a small crater in the street upon being launched from the catapults.

Upon landing, the Normals switched to their boosters, "gliding" on the ground to Raven's coordinates. Back to the aforementioned mercenary, his AC was seen walking to where the predicted Mobile Suits would come out. The head of Miguel's GINN was carried in it's free arm, intending to use it for intimidation. At last, the two remaining Gundams show themselves with an explosion, with the Strike wonkily walking before coming to an immediate halt. Kira and Murrue's faces were filled with fear and so was Athrun's. The two Mobile Suits turn their heads to face the red and black AC, watching it toss the GINN head on the ground.

Karasu (Raven): "This is a warning to that ZAFT pilot over there."

Athrun: "M.. MIGUEL!!"

Athrun cries out in grief over his dead colleague while Karasu looks at him with amusement. However, before he could engage, he was called off by Yzak. Although reluctantly, the Gundam Aegis immediately flies off, leaving the Earth Alliance officer and the Coordinator teen with the mercenary.

Kira: "Athrun!"

Murrue: "Ignore him for now! We've got something.. far worse."

Murrue looks at RED ECLIPSE from the cockpit. Questions ran through her mind, since they didn't built a 6th prototype, nor has the Earth Alliance seen a "Mobile suit" with those markings. She wasted no time to access the in-depth views of their surroundings, one of which included Kira's friends running to whatever safety they can find.

Kira: "Sai! Tolle! Kuzzy!"

Karasu (Raven): "Friends of yours then?"

Immediately, the 044ACs surround them, blocking out their chances of escape. Raven clarified that he had no intentions of harming them, but Kira was shocked and refused to listen to him. Murrue tried to even keep him calm, hoping that they wouldn't anger the clearly more experienced pilot in front of them. Soon, Raven's AC stepped forward, getting closer to the Strike and instilling panic in the two people onboard.

Before they could know it, the independent mercenary hacked into the Alliance's comms line. The left arm moved forward, offering some sort of handshake to the Strike. However, Murrue was still scared, and in response activated the Phase Shift Armor.

Murrue: "How did you..?!"

Karasu (Raven): "To the two people in the cockpit, please listen-"

A baffled Murrue swinged the Strike's right arm to try and punch the other machine, but ends up failing to how sloppy its movements are. In response, Raven fired the Plasma Rifle on the right hand towards the street as a warning shot. A shot that barely killed Kira's friends.

Karasu (Raven): "Please, listen to me."

His words fell on deaf ears. Motivated by the fear of losing his friends, Kira made his rather bold decision and asked Murrue to move to the back, letting him take the cockpit seat. His first action was to check the OS, being baffled at how bad it was.

Kira: "This is nuts! How do they expect to move complex machinery using this kind of OS?"

Murrue: "I-It hasn't been completed yet! It can't be helped!"

RED ECLIPSE just stood there, with Raven hoping that they're actually listening to him. However, the Strike Gundam lunged forward, and in an unexpected turn of events, landed a hit on the AC's head. Surprised that he forgot to keep his guard, an idea went through Karasu's mind; even if he can't express it, he'll test this kid's fighting abilities.

Kira: (rewriting the OS) "Take the calibrations and reset the zero movement point and CPG, then connect the control module directly to the ion pump! Reconstruct the neural linkage network!"

Murrue watched in awe as he rewrote the entire OS, all in the matter of time it took for Raven to review the damages. However, Kira was far from being the better pilot here. Now willing to test the Strike in combat, RED ECLIPSE quick boosted forward before delivering a kick towards the Strike's chest area, almost sending Murrue falling down to the cockpit's floor.

Kira: "Hold on!"

The Gundam responded by elbowing the AC and thus allowing it to make distance between it and the other machine, but Karasu has already chosen to close the gap.

Karasu (Raven): "Do not worry. This is just a test."

It is worth noting that Raven is holding himself back drastically. After all, the mission's goal was to serve as a glorified commercial for any interested clients, not what ZAFT wanted to do anyways. He fired the HARRIS rifle, which the Mobile Suit swiftly avoided. Kira began checking for weapons, and found his answer.

Kira: "Armor Schneider? Is this it?"

The hip armor racks open up, allowing the Mobile Suit to take out the Combat Schneiders as it runs from the rifle's bullets.

Using the thrusters to take flight, the Strike Gundam delivers its own kick directed at the AC and lunged forward with the knifes. However, Raven was lucky and was able to only get the right shoulder scratched.

Karasu (Raven): "I believe that is enough. Impressive machine.."

Kira: "What do you mean?"

Karasu (Raven): "I never truly intended to fight you. I just wanted to see your machine's capabilities. These "Earth Alliance" people have built something even the corporations would go after."

Kira: "C-Corporations?"

Karasu (Raven): "..Story for another day. Who is the Alliance Earth Officer I heard before."

Murrue: "That would be me."

The two then discussed, with Raven offering to escort them to the Archangel (for free). There, he briefly explained his profession to her, and what he wants.

Karasu (Raven): "I lead a mercenary group who caught wind of the project going on here. Once I escort you, I request that you announce our presence to the Earth Alliance."

Murrue: "Mercenaries?.."

Other officers have told stories about these, but she's never met one in person. However, with the power the mech in front of her and Kira possessed, she boldly accepted. They can even help change the tide in war, perhaps. But that's just her thoughts.

Murrue: "Fine. I accept."

Kira: "What are you doing? I wouldn't-"

Murrue: "I know, but they are also one of the best options we can have."

Karasu (Raven): "Don't worry. I'll prove that you did not make a wrong decision.."

The Armored Core's head then faces the left as 621 sees the squadron of 044AC's move in, pointing their shoulder-mounted sniper cannons at the Strike. However, Raven immediately commands them to stand down.

Karasu (Raven): "We'll also have assistance, just so you know.. Alright, we should get moving."

((OOC: Cliffhanger baby!))

Chapter Text

After being unconscious for god knows how long, Natarle Badgiruel opens here eyes, finding a floating in corpse in front of her eyes. Her mind immediately reminded her of the Archangel and questioned if the ship was alright.

She looked for survivors, but they were none so far. A captain's hat floated into her hands, letting her grab it as she let out a few tears.

Natarle: "Damn! Are there any survivors?"

Surrounding her were more corpses, people she once knew. A loud bang immediately rang through the facility, and a vent was broken. What Natarle didn't expect is that the ones coming to her rescue weren't Earth Alliance personnel, but rather.. fighter pilots? The two of them were wearing their pilot suits, and their faces were mostly obscured. One of them then called out to her.

Sam (Trigger): "Hey, still alive?"

Natarle: "Huh?"

She was very confused. The suits were from a time before the Cosmic Era, yet these two just wore them at this day and age. The one talking to her took off his helmet, and she must admit, he was rather handsome.

Sam (Trigger): "Assigned at that ship were you? Name's Trigger. I can help you."

Natarle: "Help me?"

Sam (Trigger): "Yeah. Me and my buddy here can lead you to the ship. We found it's location."

Her eyes widened in surprise for a brief moment. However, she decided to let it slide for now, especially considering how bad the situation is. For now, she is doubtful about the two pilots and their awareness about the G-Project, but more urgent matters are at hand.

(Timeskip)

Having a temporary moment of peace, Kira regroups with his friends with Raven as their bodyguard. Both the Strike Gundam and RED ECLIPSE were powered down and in a kneeling position, with their respective cockpit hatches open. While Tolle and Kuzzey are checking out the Strike, none of them has even approached the AC, especially with Raven intimidating them into not doing so.

Waking up after the fight, Murrue looks at Mirallia sitting right beside her.

Mirallia: "I see you're awake." *calling out towards Kira* "Kira!"

Kira: "Oh, you'd better stay still for now."

Coming over to help, Kira aids Murrue in drinking the water bottle his friend gave to her. The three of them were interrupted when Raven walked up to them.

Karasu (Raven): "So.. are you feeling?"

Murrue: "Fine, at least."

Raven nodded and then stared over to the rest of Kira's friends, who were busy interacting with the inactive Gundam. However, Murrue warned them to stop "playing with it", firing a round from her pistol to ward them off. She tried walking up, forcing Kira to step in.

Kira: "What do you think you're doing? Please stop it! Those are the guys who carried you out while you were unconscious!"

Murrue: *points the pistol towards Kira* "I'm grateful that you saved me, but that thing is a-"

Karasu (Raven): "Knock it off."

Catching her by surprise, the mercenary yanks the pistol out of her hands. Murrue growled at the sight of Raven's defiance, cursing herself that I they might need him to change the tide in their Alliance's favor. Then, a female voice interrupted. It was Grave, alongside her custom MQ-101

Grave: "There you are.."

She side-eyes the teenagers as she walks towards Karasu. A confused Kuzzey asks Raven about her intimidating look.

Kuzzey: "Uhh, hey-"

Karasu (Raven): "..Ah, what was your name again?"

Kuzzey: "Kuzzey Buskirk.."

Karasu (Raven): "What do you want to ask me?"

Kuzzey: "Why is she looking at us like that?"

Karasu (Raven): "..None of your business."

After giving back Murrue her gun, Raven and Grave follow her orders for a single file line. Once everyone was in position, she told them their situation from now on; they cannot just leave, for they have seen a top military secret. Everyone except Raven and Grave gasped in shock.

Kuzzey: "You're kidding!"

Tolle: "Are you outta your mind?"

Karasu (Raven): "..It's the truth, I suppose."

Murrue: "..And as for you mercenaries, I am unsure what to do with you two. You're still gonna escort us, right?"

Grave: "Of course."

Karasu (Raven): "Speaking of which, we would like to have the comms line for the Alliance. It would help us get our message early."

Murrue: "Hmph."

Kira watched intently, seeing how Sai started talking and complaining about having to stay with her. It went on for a few seconds, and was only quenched by a few gunshots to the air. Murrue began another speech about how she can't let them off the hook.

(Outside Heliopolis)

Positioning his CGUE right behind the docking area, Rau Le Creuset waited for the perfect opportunity to ambush Mu. However, he was not alone. Checking out the situation in space, Monarch and a makeshift squadron of 3 MQ-101s targeted the Mobile Suit.

Prez: "That one's new, right Monarch?"

Rob (Monarch): "Yeah, and it'll meet the same fate as the others."

Choosing the Railgun, Rob heard it charge as a orangeish hue surrounded his aircraft. At once, he fired towards the CGUE, alerting both Mu and Rau as the projectile almost tore through the CGUE and ripped apart the structures outside.

Rau: *in his mind* 'I've never seen one like that before..'

Mu: *In his mind* 'What the hell is that?'

Forcing Rau out of his hiding spot, Mu used the opportunity to engage, trading fire with the former's CGUE while the PW-Mk.1 blitzed pass them.

Rob (Monarch): "This is really going downhill. Hopefully Raven's doing well."

((A/N: thats the second changer this time.. man.))

Chapter Text

After having rendezvoused with Raven, Kira and the others, the Rummy has been giving them a few of their supplies, handed out by their autonomous Normals. Of course, that also means Murrue was concerned about the fact that they had an Earth Alliance ship in their hands and how they managed to sneak it in into Heliopolis. While waiting for Sai Argyle to return with one of the Striker Packs, Raven used the moment to change equipment, switching the Plasma Rifle for a LR-037 HARRIS linear rifle and interchanging the back weapons for dual BML-G2/P16SPL-08 missile launchers.

Tolle, Miriallia and Kuzzey looked in awe at the AC's versatility. As college students pursuing a robotics engineering course, it was interesting to see how it was able to change its loadout so easily. Eventually, Sai returned with one of the Striker packs inside the cargo truck's container. With Kira at the controls, the Strike crouched down, allowing it to mount the new equipment.

Kira: "Which is the power pack?"

Murrue: (from afar) "The weapons and power pack are together in one unit! Mount the whole unit!"

As the Launcher pack was getting attached to the Mobile Suit, an explosion alerted the whole crew. Above them, Rau's CGUE and Mu's Moebius Zero stormed in. Raven immediately ordered Ayre, who was at the Rummy's bridge, to prepare all anti-air guns and call Trigger and Monarch for air support. The CGUE's monoeye stared at the Gundam, and its unusual backup.

Rau: "An Agamemnon-class? That wasn't there before."

Mu: "They were only five units, where did those come from?"

Trying to get in close, Rau was intercepted by Raven and his AC. Opening up with a barrage of micro-missiles, Rau did his best to dodge the incoming attacks, but the mercenary was doing the same. Mu La Flaga could barely get in close, only watching the two machines engage in combat. The CGUE's right leg had some of it's armor torn off by a well-placed shot from the HARRIS, followed by it's machine gun grazing RED ECLIPSE's shoulders. Both noticed each other's similar levels of skill, although Raven proved to be much more capable.

Then, from the corner of his eye, Rau saw the Strike Gundam already equipped with the Launcher pack. He got distracted, and he wanted to correct that.

Rau: "I'll sink you now while I have the chance!"

Karasu (Raven): "You're not getting that prototype."

RED ECLIPSE assault boosted, closing the distance and going for a clean hit with the Laser Lance before the CGUE's machine gun could harm the Strike. Another, and even bigger, explosion rocked the whole colony. Both the Mobile Suit and the AC stopped mid-air, and turned to face the Archangel as it revealed itself.

Rau: "The new warship? They failed to destroy it!"

Murrue: (gasps) "The Archangel!"

Karasu (Raven): "Hmm.. Trigger, Monarch, is it you two?"

Robin (Prez): "Rodger dodger Raven! Coming over!"

Sam (Trigger): "That Earth Alliance must have some ridiculous budget if they can build and maintain that many warships.."

Before the PW-Mk1 and the X-02S Strike Wyvern could reunite with the Armored Core, the CGUE immediately targeted the Archangel, more specifically its bridge. The Strike Wyvern followed in pursuit, firing two air-to-air missiles.

Natarle: "Evade! Starbo-!"

Rau lifted up the shield to avoid the incoming fire. The Archangel evaded just in time, and Natarle saw the experimental fighter aircraft pass by. Unsuccessful, the masked pilot went back for the Gundam.

Natarle: "That's not one of ours, is it?"

Arnold: "It doesn't resemble a Spearhead.. definitely from the unknown units below."

Natarle: "What?"

And he was right. Down below, Murrue and the teens ducked down at the sight of the enemy Mobile Suit preparing a strafing run, defended by the Strike blocking the incoming fire and anti-air support from the Rummy.

Rau: "Not even advanced APSV?"

Meanwhile inside the Archangel's bridge, Natarle ordered a few of the stern missile tubes to be prepared.

Natarle: "Prepare stern missile tubes seven to ten for firing! Target enemy Mobile Suit!

From the inside of the Rummy, Ayre watched with concern, not over Karasu and the rest, but also in fear of what will happen. With the clear warning of avoiding hitting the shaft or ground. The missiles launched in Rau's direction, only for him to swiftly force them into hitting the colony's supporting structures. Miriallia let out a scream of terror, prompting Kira to engage.

Kira: "Wha..?! You've gotta be kidding!"

The Launcher Strike Gundam grabbed the Agni 320mm hyper impulse cannon, aiming at the CGUE. Noticing this, Raven provides fire support, and even if they fail, they just have an easier path to escape. Kira now locked on, and was ready to pull the trigger.

Murrue: "Wait! That's too.."

A red and blue beam tore through the disioriented CGUE, destroying its shoulder and leaving a massive hole into the colony. Rau used this chance to leave the colony.

Rau: "How could they allow a Mobile Suit to have such firepower?"

It seemed safe, for now.

[Timeskip]

The Archangel has landed, the Rummy standing in front of it. Trigger, Monarch and Prez landed at their carrier, while Karasu took his AC and Ayre to the Archangel. Kira lowered his Gundam's hands for his friends and Murrue to step out of. Natarle and the rest of the Archangel's crew ran up to her

Natarle: "Lieutenant Ramius!"

Murrue: "Ensign Badgiruel."

Natarle: (salutes) "I'm relieved to see that you're safe!"

Murruem (salutes back) "And you. I'm pleased to see that you're were able to protect the Archangel. You saved us."

The Strike Gundam and RED ECLIPSE's respective cockpits open up, allowing their pilots to meet up with everyone. To everyone's shock, there wasn't just a child piloting their remaining prototype MS, but someone else piloting a completely unfamiliar craft that they've never seen before. As Raven and Ayre walk up to the group, Murrue introduces them.

Murrue: "Ah, forgot to mention.. we had help from some mercenaries. These are-"

Karasu (Raven): "Raven. Independent mercenary."

Ayre: "I'm Ayre. I'm the primary operator for our mercenary group."

Natarle: "Mercenaries?"

As she continued making eye contact with Ayre, Natarle felt she was otherworldly, a feeling that also matched her opinion on Raven. It's like they aren't from here. She notices Raven glancing at Kira and his friends. Despite his unmoving resting face, it looked like he felt curious about them.

Mu: "Wow, what a surprise."

The last one to join them was Mu La Flaga, with a small grin on his face.

Mu: "I'm Lieutenant Mu La Flaga from the 7th Orbital Fleet. Nice to meet you."

Murrue and Natarle reintroduced themselves to him. Mu continued the conversation, asking for permission to board this ship. The two women were silent, letting Raven have his turn.

Raven: "Captain and top officers probably died. You can board ours however."

Natarle: "I believe Lieutenant Ramius is now in position of responsibility."

Mu La Flaga: "What a disaster." (Sighs) "Well then, Lieutenant Ramius, please give me permission to board after my MA is repaired on the other ship."

Murrue: "A-Ah, sure. I grant you permission."

Before they could talk about the young people they brought onboard, Ayre interrupted. It was part of the deal."

Ayre: "Lieutenant, Raven would like to give his message to the Earth Alliance now."

Murrue: "..Go ahead. I'll stay here with the crew."

Karasu (Raven)/Ayre: "Thanks./Thank you!"