Chapter 26: Plots and Machinations

"Target identified!" the lookout shouted as he punched up an image on the main view screen, "Federal Battleship, 83' Magellan type! Mobile Suit escorts confirmed!"

"Damn! Where the hell did she come from?!" Jefferson demanded, though knowing full well that no one on the bridge would know the answer, "Weapons! Lock onto that cruiser and start peppering it with beam fire! I want that Titans ship taken out imm..."

"Sir! Wait! We're getting a transmission from Captain Chow!" the radio officer stammered, "He's beginning an attack run on the Titans cruiser!"

"He WHAT?!" Jefferson answered, very nearly flying off his seat before a familiar voice made itself known over the radio. It was Yoko.

"Hey sir, don't worry, I'll be watching Ming's back," Yoko declared cheerfully as her Nemo went after the orange Rick Dias, "Besides, it's best to hit'm while their down!"

"Yoko! Ming! Damn it, get back here!" Jefferson ordered, "You're outnumbered out there! You can't just...!"

"Sir! Minovsky particle densities increasing!" the radioman screamed, "Long range communications are down! I've lost contact with them!"

---------------

"Launch all Mobile Suits immediately!!!" Titans Major Lee ordered angrily as his cruiser's guns turned about to face the AEUG fleet. He had hoped for some action once he had linked up with Major Ferelli's Task Force, but those *******s managed to...

"Sir! Lieutenant Daelan is launching!" the operations officer announced as a GM II rocketed off one of the Blucher's catapults, while another was brought up from the hangers via the elevator "Lieutenant Hassan is now being brought up on deck!"

"You ain't going nowhere, you Titan ****ers!" a demented female voice suddenly called out over the guards channel, a Nemo now revealing itself just off the Blucher's bow. The GM II still on the flight deck tried to launch prematurely to avoid the newly arrived enemy Mobile Suit, but before it could do so a beam ripped right through its reactor core, starting a catastrophic chain reaction with only one foreseeable outcome...

"Get out!" Major Lee managed to say out loud just as the fireball engulfed what remained of the GM II. Before anyone could heed his warning however, an orange haze appeared over the view screen, and all they saw next was a flash.

---------------

"You AEUG *******s!" Titans Lieutenant Daelan shouted out loud as he watched two explosions envelop his home ship, one destroying the main flight deck while the other vaporized the bridge. Men he knew for over four years disappeared within a blink of an eye, and now, with that *****'s Nemo in his sights, he was going to take some...

"Hey! Don't be a spoilsport, you Titans scum! This is just some pay-back for what your friends did to the O'Bannon!" Yoko shouted happily as she found herself engaged with the enraged Titans pilot, evading his wild shots while firing none of her own, "And you know what I do when I'm outnumbered three on two?"

"I don't care!" Daelen shot back as he went after the fleeing Nemo, which had hidden itself behind the shattered remnants of the Blucher to escape his wrath. He was completely shocked when he suddenly began to hear the rear warning claxons go off in his cockpit...

"Too bad, because then you'll know that I quickly make the fight two on two, MORON!" Yoko answered savagely as she fired, the shot ripping right through the GM II's backpack and into the reactor core. The unfortunate wreck lingered for a moment, drifting closer to the still-recovering Titans cruiser, before exploding into a second, massive, nuclear fireball that also destroyed the already mangled Blucher's port gun turret. Yoko almost ventured on a smile until she realized that someone was right behind her.

"Not bad, traitor, but there are still two of them," Ming reminded coldly as he activated the touch-to-touch radio, "Care to take care of the other one?"

"Hey come on Ming... you're not still mad at me about that little betting thing, are you?" Yoko asked, her eyes and voice suddenly becoming very solemn, despite all of the adrenaline now flowing in her veins, "Well, if you are, then I'm sorry, alright? I know I get carried away sometimes, even with you."

A little surprised by her apology, but still a little cross at her treachery, Ming sighed before deciding, "Fine... Just get that other GM II for me and we'll call it even. And make sure this doesn't happen again, alright?"

"No problem boss, I'll handle it!" Yoko replied, her cheerfulness returning as she centered her sights on her new target, "And don't worry about dinner when we get to Von Braun. I'll be the one who's paying!"

---------------

"They look rather green..." Captain Jean Powell observed as "his" team, composed of Sylvie's Barzam and the Achilles' Mobile Suit squad, closed on the enemy battleship's Mobile Suit complement, who seemed to be having great difficulty just maintaining formation, "Sylvie, what do you think?"

"They are green, probably fresh from Nijmegan with no combat experience whatsoever," Sylvie confirmed as she viewed the enemy formation through her heavy machine gun's precision "sniping" sights, "And the battleship they are protecting looks like a mothball. I don't see any guns sticking out of its turrets."

"Green or not, we shouldn't take any chances with them," Captain Herbert Slim, commander of the Achilles' Mobile Suit team, admonished as he readied his beam rifle, "We'll just disable their suits if we can since they're fellow Feds, but otherwise I don't want anyone taking chances with them."

"How humanitarian..." Sylvie noted dryly, sounding a little sarcastic as she spoke, "However, I have other plans for these children. Just follow my lead and try not to interfere." Her Barzam then dropped out of formation and sped towards the enemy line.

"Bloody hell, and what does she think she's doing?!" Slim shouted as he started going after the Barzam, only to be stopped by Jean's interposed GM II, "Sir! I must protest! She's a liability and we can't just let her..."

"Relax Captain, Sylvie knows what she's doing," Jean explained, "She's been flying Mobile Suits non-stop since 83', and she's probably got more combat experience than you and your entire squad combined."

"But she's disobeying orders!" Slim protested, echoing the "indoctrination" he had undergone under the Draconian Major Ardulace, "And she's probably asking us to go help her slaughter some helpless rookies! How the hell can you allow that?!"

"Actually, she isn't disobeying orders since I'm the senior officer and I'm allowing it," Jean reminded, "And trust me, she's not going to do anything that would get you into trouble."

"And how the hell can you be so sure?!" Slim asked, his face now fuming in anger.

"Simple," Jean replied, trying hard to suppress a grin as he explained the plan to Captain Slim. He eyebrows went up at once when Jean finished his explanation. He didn't think it was going to be that simple.

---------------

"Damn it! Keep in formation!" Lieutenant Vinson ordered angrily as he tried to keep his GM II platoon together, knowing full well that regulations demanded that they had to maintain the proper formation before attacking, "If you don't keep together, they'll cut us to ribbons!"

"Screw that sir! Let's just get to fighting!" one of his cockier pilots demanded as they closed on the AEUG line, leaving the helpless Warspite rapidly behind, "Are we in range yet?!"

'Damn ***hole, didn't he read the manual?!' Vinson thought but did not say out loud, yelling instead, "You damn idiot, we're still well out of range! Concentrate on keeping formation because when those *******s start firing..."

"Federal patrol, surrender now or you will all die," a cold voice suddenly crept over the guards channel, its sinister tone coming through despite the Minovsky interference, "You have fifteen seconds to comply."

'What the hell?!' Vinson thought to himself as his men cursed out loud, wondering who would be so bold as to threaten them like that. Deciding to honor the threat, he quickly checked if there were any AEUG Mobile Suits within range, and satisfied that he had found none, answered, "And why don't YOU surrender, AEUG?! You're still a little too far away to be making..."

Suddenly, without warning, there was massive jolt inside his cockpit. Two of the panels to his right quickly exploded, showering him with fragments as he frantically tried to re-assess the situation. To his horror, he found that his Mobile Suit's weapon arm was gone, and that...

"Ten seconds left, Feddie," the voice reminded, its source remaining unseen to the bewildered Federal troops, "And stop looking around. Ghosts can't be seen."

"Damn it! Where did that shot come from?!" Vinson demanded as he turned to his underlings, who were all too shocked and mystified to react cohesively, even the one who had been so cocky earlier. Before anyone could respond, his GM II was hit again, this time the shot ripping right through the upper torso, mere inches above his cockpit. He only had time to realize that his face had become covered with cold sweat when the voice spoke again.

"Five seconds left," the voice warned, its hateful, icy tone sending chills down Vinson's spine, "Say your last words."

"Unidentified AEUG unit! Cease and desist!" another voice ordered over the radio, apparently the voice of a saner, more merciful AEUG pilot that had just caught up with their erstwhile comrade, "Remember, these men are Federation, so..."

"I will kill them all the same, just as I was _meant_ to do..." the first voice countered, her tone now becoming more and more maniacal with each passing word, "Time's up. Pray you die quickly Feddie. I enjoy making it last." Vinson then felt another massive jolt as a third round struck his GM II, and to his outmost horror, he found that this time, the shot had passed directly beneath his seat, and he could now see the bottom innards of his GM II from his vantage point...

"God damn it! Stop it already!" Jean ordered as his GM II closed within firing range of the enemy patrol, and glad as hell they didn't have the sense to start firing on him yet as Sylvie had predicted, "Federation patrol! Drop your weapons and give up already! We can't stop her if she goes nuts!"

"Si... sir what do we do?!" one of Vinson's pilots asked, now thoroughly bewildered as his mind tried to process all of the information overwhelming his senses. The "ghost" quickly rewarded his bewilderment by blowing the head off of his GM II.

'Dear God... She's going to kill us all...' Vinson realized as he watched the head of his wingman's GM II explode, 'And there's nothing we can do, nothing we can...'

"God damn it!" Jean repeated, "Drop your ****ing weapons already! She's already going nuts!"

"Too late..." the voice countered, firing a burst that literally disintegrated BOTH legs on Vinson's GM II. Whatever was left of Vinson's courage quickly disappeared at that point, and he found himself reaching for radio...

"Wa... wait!" Vinson pleaded in panic, finally abandoning all reason and training, motivated only by fear of what may come, "We surrender! We surrender!"

---------------

'Thank you, you have been VERY cooperative...' Sylvie thought rather smugly but did not say out loud as three of the GM IIs quickly disarmed themselves, holding their arms high in the air as Jean's team enveloped their positions. A fourth GM II seemed rather defiant, refusing to give in, but had been too bewildered to react earlier, and now found himself surrounded by three AEUG GM IIs. She centered her sights on its cockpit for a moment, not wanting to take any chances, even if that damn idiot WAS green, but to her relief common sense prevailed and the pilot surrendered just as his comrades had done, handing over his weapon to a rather satisfied Captain Powell. And Jean was one who was quick to share his satisfaction.

"Nice job, Valkyrie of Revo. Looks like you still have your touch," Jean praised over a secure channel, wanting to make sure that none of those Federal rookies would pick up their conversation and realize that the whole thing was a charade, "If only things went this well all of the time."

"Agreed. Luck was on our side today," Sylvie acknowledged, letting herself feel some... elation after a job well done. Most of it stemmed from her now perverted sense of pride, which was now satisfied only by military accomplishment, but also because parts of her, tiny, shattered parts of her miserable old self, felt relief that she did not have to take the lives of these foolish young innocents, and that her hands would not be caked by even more blood. She quickly bit her tongue and ordered herself to crush those feelings back into oblivion. They just got in the way, and _weapons_ like her didn't need them. She had already damned herself to carry this burden anyway, and there was no use trying to get away from it.

"Luck, or skill?" Jean observed with a grin, "You did pretty well playing "bad cop", you know."

"Mainly luck. Psi warfare needs far too many variables taken into account before it can become truly effective," Sylvie replied, using a more "proper", militaristic term to describe her little "good cop, bad cop" routine. She hadn't really used this tactic before on the battlefield, and didn't really have that much experience at this form of interrogation(her cold, icy stare and unsavory reputation often being enough to get what information she needed from her prisoners) but she had... felt that this would be their best chance at capturing a few Federal GM IIs intact. Fear made people act irrationally, and in the absence of reason, people searched for and clung to hope. Administering the two in proper doses could break any mind given enough time, and she had found that fact out the hard way in hands of her Titans "programmers". She wondered how happy they would be if they found out she was using their own techniques against them.

"Well Captains, excuse me for spoiling your little celebration," Captain Slim's irritated voice suddenly interjected over the radio, his men now having finished "apprehending" the two undamaged Federal GM IIs, "But there's still that battleship we have to deal with. She may be an unarmed mothball, but she's still a Federal ship. I would prefer to have its crew in our custody before they start broadcasting our position all over the Earth Sphere."

"Don't worry about her, Captain," Sylvie replied confidently, though already aiming her weapon towards at enemy ship just in case it had some more tricks up its sleeves, "We'll be hearing from them very soon..."

---------------

'Oh ****... now what? Are they going to finish us off?' McDermut thought to himself as he watched the AEUG Mobile Suits close on his ship, knowing full well that he had no functioning weapons onboard that could stop them. He contemplated his fate for a while, telling himself that at least, this way, he was doing his duty, and his beloved ship would be destroyed in honorable combat rather than the ignominious fate that De Grasse had intended for her. Still, he couldn't feel but...

"Sir... sir, I think we're getting a transmission from that enemy sniper..." his radioman reported nervously as he started getting a signal from the weird looking Mobile Suit leading the enemy force, "Wha... what should we do?"

'A very fine question that I don't have an answer to...' McDermut thought worriedly, also knowing full well that sniper could single-handedly destroy his ship, Luna Titanium armor or not, with that weapon(whatever it was) she had used to systematically blast apart Vinson's GM II. But she had also been smart enough to capture, rather than destroy Vinson's squad outright, and if she was smart enough to do that, then she should also be smart enough to know that the Warspite would be a fine addition to the AEUG's miniscule fleet, so long as they spent enough time getting her back to speed of course...

'Damn it Henry... what the hell are you thinking?!' McDermut asked himself angrily, remembering the promise he had made to General Pluskat. He gave his word that he wouldn't join AEUG, but with that blasted, scheming, DeGrasse running around he really felt tempted to... "Alright, put her through."

"Federal Battleship, surrender immediately and prepare to be boarded," a monotone, almost emotionless voice ordered over the radio, sounding as though it came from a digitized announcement system rather than a human being, "If you try to resist I assure you that you will be destroyed. You have one minute to comply."

'Oh great... time to make a choice Henry...' McDermut considered, looking at the faces gathered around him for the answer. Though some of his men were extremely loyal to Federation, he knew that the vast majority of them would follow him through Hell and back, and wouldn't really mind joining AEUG after that mess in 30 Bunch. But he'd sworn an oath to General Pluskat, and he couldn't just break it when...

"If you are worried about your treatment, then do not be alarmed," the voice added, "We are not animals like your Titans brethren, and you will be treated in accordance to articles under the Antarctic Treaty. Please do not choose death over capture. The living are more valuable than the dead."

'Yes, because you can coerce information out of the living...' McDermut thought cynically, before his eyes widened as a revelation came to him, 'Of course! Why didn't I think of that before?! I'm in a mothball so they can't blame me for surrendering, and even if I help them, it wouldn't be treason since I could just say they coerced me, would it?'

"Thirty seconds," the voice reminded, in a tone reminiscent of what she had done to Vinson earlier, "Are you getting ready to surrender, or do you wish to engage in battle with us?"

Sighing in defeat, McDermut finally made his decision, hoping this would be best for everyone in the long run. He picked up the microphone and said, "What are your terms?"

---------------

"Oh... too bad," Yoko whined as she received the surrender signal from the Titans cruiser, disappointed she could not inflict more pain and suffering to these Titans *******s. Had this been any other situation, she would have continued attacking the crippled cruiser anyway, slowly slaughtering the crew as they begged for mercy so that the NEXT bunch of Titans to come around would get royally pissed and act stupidly, but she knew that Ming, for all his faults, wouldn't exactly stand for that, and that Major Ardulace would literally hang her out to dry with her throat slit open for committing such a dastardly atrocity. Besides, being nice may earn her some brownie points with her superiors, and with her current "fall" from favor, she was going to need all the points she could get.

"The cruiser's finished anyway, so it's not that big of a lost," Ming observed as he watched the wrecked Titans ship launch a shuttlecraft, carrying the few crewmen that had survived the conflagration. From his vantage point, he could see that the Titans ship was ablaze from bow to stern, the fires fed by air and fuel now leaking from the engineering spaces. Ming began to worry that the fire may cause the ammunition in the magazines to explode, so he signaled Yoko to pull back a little, while a more vengeful part of him wished that he could somehow trap Sylvie Gressier in that fire and slowly burn her into ashes. But "proper conduct" demanded that he stay away from her at the moment, but if he ever got the chance... "Hey, Yoko, are long range communications still down? Minovsky interference should have gone down by now."

"Trying to find out where that killing machine is, eh?" Yoko asked evilly, knowing that Ming must have come up with some sort of horrible death for Subject V before he asked, "Don't worry, that cruiser didn't have time to scatter a lot of particles, so the comms should be up by now. In fact, I think the O'Bannon is already waiting for a report. You want me to deliver it for you?"

"No thanks, I'll manage," Ming replied as he switched to the O'Bannon's frequency, wondering briefly if Colonel Jefferson was angered by his actions, "O'Bannon this is Captain Chow. Mission accomplished, Titans cruiser crippled and all Mobile Suit escorts destroyed. No serious damage sustained. Do you need any help over there?"

"None for the moment Ming, you've done well enough..." Jefferson's annoyed sounding voice acknowledged over the radio, clearly displeased with Ming despite their victory over the Titans forces, "Return immediately to the Shigure for resupply. We'll be handling the rescue of those Titans survivors."

"What about the other... "team" sir? Do they need any help?" Ming asked rather lamely.

"They've also accomplished their mission without incident, Captain Chow," Jefferson answered tiredly, seemingly warning Ming NOT to start bickering with a certain Captain once again, lest they BOTH face the wrath of a certain Major. Ardulace seemed to further encourage his current tone of voice by clearing her throat rather loudly over the comm line.

"Very well sir, I am returning to the Shigure now," Ming decided, but nevertheless gritting his teeth in anger. Someday, he swore to himself, he'd get his chance, and when he did...

----------------

"I swear, once I find out who's in charge of the patrols around here, I'm going to make sure he pays for this catastrophe!" Major Benito Ferelli promised to himself as he read through the final message that they had received from the Blucher. There was no doubt about it now. The Blucher, along with his good friend Major Lee, was gone, and those three blasted AEUG cruisers were the primary culprits. He was about to mutter some more obscenities when Captain Filitov entered the bridge.

"I always knew it was foolish to have our ships travel alone, even in supposedly "safe" waters," Filitov observed coldly, having just read a report from Colonel Jacobi about yet ANOTHER AEUG cruiser running around the area, despite the supposedly "improved" security detail after that fiasco with the Mk II Project back in March, "Federals, whatever their ancestry, are simply too incompetent to be relied on, and do not deserve the respect that their uniforms should have afforded them."

"Particularly those who serve under De Grasse!" Ferelli growled, knowing that he must now rely on the Suffren and its motley crew of conscripts, and that they probably weren't going to be worth a damn in combat. His ranting was suddenly interrupted by an incoming transmission, "Who is it?!"

"It's Colonel De Grasse sir," the radioman managed to report coolly, knowing that the Major was well-justified in showing his anger, "And I think he also received the transmission from the Blucher."

"Oh great, don't tell me. He's going to offer more of his levies to aid us?" Filitov asked contemptuously, rolling his eyes in the process. He was almost right.

"Actually sir, the transmission came from his flagship, the Richelieu..." the radioman answered, sounding a little surprised as he spoke, "And I think she's getting ready to sail..."

---------------

August 7, UC 0087.

Federation Space Fortress Luna II.

'Blast that damn Colonel!' Captain Anastasia Shevardnadze groaned to herself as she stomped into the base's main hangar deck, searching for pilots to augment her inexperienced Mobile Suit squad. She had _repeatedly_ told that damn chauvinist pig that she needed TIME to train her incompetent, newbie pilots, and that they SHOULDN'T have sent out anybody, ESPECIALLY those morons on the Suffren, to fight seasoned AEUG troops. Once again however, she had been ignored, largely because of her gender rather than anything else, and she could already foresee her own death at the hands of those AEUG murderers unless she could find a few veteran pilots to replace her less skilled subordinates. Life just wasn't fair, was it?

Meanwhile, on the other end of the deck, a man of Hispanic descent stepped off the loading ramp of a shuttle, thinking of _exactly_ the same thing as a General officer greeted him with what looked like a sincerely warm smile. His response to the greeting was a scowl.

"Welcome to Luna II, Lieutenant Juan Ignacio..." General Heinrich Pluskat welcomed as he offered his hand, knowing that this veteran pilot had VERY good reasons to look so pissed, "Please forgive our Titans brethren's rather... straightforward methods, but they are now a necessity in these troubled times. I gather you already know what you're supposed to do?"

"Four weeks, and that's it, SIR," Juan replied testily, his eyes speaking of an anger that the General found easy to comprehend, "And those dogs had better leave my wife alone as they promised, because if they don't, I'm going to teach those recruits a hell of a lot more than just piloting Mobile Suits..."

"Don't worry Captain, four weeks as promised," Pluskat replied, still holding out his hand in a gesture of friendship and waiting for it to be returned, "And I assure you, I will check up on your wife every single day to make sure she has not been harmed."

"Fine sir," Juan grumbled as he took the General's hand, yet still looking rather disgruntled by this whole situation, "Where do I start then?"

General Pluskat was just about to start briefing him on his mission when he suddenly noticed a grinning figure in the background, her eyes speaking of a plot that would undoubtedly make his already miserable job even more miserable. It was Captain Shevardnadze, and she knew VERY well who Juan Ignacio was...

---------------

"Oh great, here comes trouble..." Colonel Jefferson muttered as the Achilles completed docking with the now captured Federal battleship, with a fuming Major Ardulace demanding to be let onboard. The Major had been in a tizzy ever since she had found out how he had actually _volunteered_ to support the operation to liberate Subject V, yet had allowed Ming to remain completely oblivious of who she was and what she had been through, with nearly fatal consequences for both parties involved. Part of him told him that she was right, and that he SHOULD have just told that damn, thick headed Ming the truth, but he was afraid that it might end up further damaging his already wounded psyche after his tragic encounter with that Doctor Miller*, and that he's learned enough lessons from Bunch 7 to be able to forgive his old nemesis from the past. God was he wrong.

Jefferson sighed as he shook his head, trying to clear those painful memories from his mind. He still had work to do, and he knew that he'd better get it done before Ardulace found him. The Major was probably going to chew the hell out of him, regardless of his rank, when she finally met him again face to face, and he'd prefer to have it done somewhere private rather than in the middle of a room full of Federal prisoners. Even ones who were being cowed by a certain ace pilot they all thought to be dead.

"Sir, I've checked the manifest, and everyone seems accounted for," Sylvie reported bluntly, handing over a list of names to the Colonel, "Their commanding officer is also requesting to have a meeting with you."

"Intentions?" Colonel Jefferson asked, unconsciously imitating Sylvie's rather robotic way of asking questions.

"Possibly defection," Sylvie replied, keeping a rather cold gaze on McDermut's group to keep them intimidated, "They were rather surprised to see a "brutal Titans lapdog" like myself working for AEUG, so they are probably not very sympathetic to that particular organization."

'Nor to you...' Jefferson thought with a sigh, feeling pity for Sylvie Gressier. He also had to admit to himself that he was wrong about her, and that she deserved a lot more than what he'd been able to offer. However lonely she was after Max Harper's... murder at the hands of Ming, it had only worsened in the past seven years. Her hatred for Ming undoubtedly drove her to serve the Titans, making her a hated figure among both Zeon and Federal personnel alike, yet her Spacenoid roots would ensure that she would be treated little better than an animal by her Titans masters. No wonder that she now looked upon everyone with suspicion, even those who were closest to her in the past, and he could now only blame himself for condemning her to such a terrible existence... "Captain... doesn't it ever disturb you that..."

"How I feel and how others treat me is unimportant so long as I serve my purpose, SIR," Sylvie cut-off as she turned her glare towards Colonel Jefferson, her eyes telling him that she did not want his pity, "And I suggest you finish discussing this matter quickly before Major Ardulace arrives. It's obvious she has many issues to discuss with you."

'Issues like you..." Jefferson thought on but did not say out loud, knowing that it was probably going to be hopeless to continue arguing with Captain Gressier. As he had found out during her recruitment, no amount of apologizing or comforting would ever satisfy her, and the only thing that ever seemed to satisfy her was the performance of her "function"... "Very well then, I'll meet with their CO. Who is he anyway?"

"I am sir," one of the older prisoners declared as he stepped forward, having waited long to get a chance to join the conversation, "Captain Henry McDermut of the Battleship Warspite at your service."

Jefferson raised an eyebrow after the introduction, noting how McDermut had referred to his ship as the _Battleship_ Warspite rather than the _EFSFS_ Warspite as was customarily done by Federal skippers. It was a subtle sign of their intent, but he had a feeling this was a little more complicated than that... "And I am Colonel Jefferson of the AEUG Fleet. You wished to discuss something with me?"

"Well... actually, I do sir..." McDermut replied nervously, looking as though he was trying hard NOT to stare at Sylvie, "We were just a little concerned about our treatment as prisoners of war, as our Mobile Suit pilots under Lieutenant Vinson have become rather... apprehensive upon realizing who our opponent was."

"My reputation always proceeds me, doesn't it?" Sylvie muttered dryly, though knowing full well just how infamous she was within the military. Though she would never achieve enough fame to stand among the legends such as Amuro Ray or Char Aznable(much to her relief), she was well-known enough to generate rather disparaging rumors, and rumors had a nasty tendency to be taken as fact, "Well then don't worry, because even if I truly _was_ a ghost that has come back to haunt you, I will still honor our agreement. Even someone like me knows the value of honesty."

"And I will be the one making sure of that," Jefferson continued, though getting a little worried that Sylvie's militant attitudes to scare away potential recruits, "We do not abuse our prisoners, regardless of their rank and affiliation."

"Well I am... relieved to hear that," McDermut replied apprehensively, looking as though something was now bothering his conscience, "You... you see, most of my men are rather sensitive when threatened, and even the shallowest threats could elicit our full cooperation."

'Bingo...' both Jefferson and Sylvie thought together at the same time, taking the cue from his final comment. Though they both disliked this form of subtle dishonesty, they knew that it was probably prudent, even wise, to hedge your bets, as AEUG wasn't exactly winning this war. Jefferson decided to take the offer by saying, "In that case, then perhaps you'd assist us in getting your battleship back to friendly waters. Titans ARE KNOWN to shoot ships even if there are Federal personnel onboard, so it may be in your best interest to assist us."

"You're going to keep the Warspite sir?" McDermut asked, his face lighting up as though his fondest wish had just been granted, "And are you going to use her against those Titans?"

"Of course we are. It's not exactly everyday you get a ship of this caliber, even if it is One Year War Vintage," Major Ardulace answered for the Colonel as she suddenly entered the room, her eyes already locked on Jefferson, "Forgive me for bypassing you, SIR, but I've already taken a look at Captain Powell and Slim's preliminary assessment of the relative value of this ship, and let's just say that this battlewagon's got enough Luna-Titanium armor to stand toe to toe with a Gwajin."

"Actually mam, we mainly used an experimental, ceramic-metal material to armor this ship," McDermut corrected, "It's a bit lighter and stronger than steel, and can hold anti-beam coating rather well. What Luna Titanium we got we reserved for the areas like the reactor core, the bridge and..."

"Yes Captain, thank you for the information," Jefferson cut-off, now sounding rather tired as he fell under Major Ardulace's scrutinizing gaze, "But for now, you'll have to excuse me. I presume the Major would like to have a word with me?"

"Yes sir, I do," Ardulace replied, her eyes still filled with contempt for her superior, "Where would you prefer? On your ship, or mine?"

---------------

* For those who have forgotten and those who are unaware, Doctor Miller refers to Doctor Cassandra "Sandra" Miller, who played a key role in WiTS's prequel, "MSG 0084: The Last Sons of Delaz", and not the more famous one from the 08th MS Team Movie ^_^.

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Notice: This fic and all its contents are copyrighted by Thomas E. "Zinegata" Ting. No part of this work may be taken by any other person without permission from the author. Gundam and all related trademarks are owned by Bandai and their respective companies.