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[The feed switches on to show Athrun standing in what appears to be some kind of apartment room. He's at home, broadcasting this from his living room.]

Excuse me. A new subarchway has opened in Nova City, and I thought it might be worth calling attention to, since it's from my home world.

The subarchway leads to an island called Onogoro. It's part of the Orb Union, my home nation. It's run jointly by the Orb military and Morgenroete, Inc., a manufacturer. And, as you might expect of such a place, security is, well...tight. Very tight.

Civilians should be able to get basic clearance to visit, as Morgenroete offers public tours of its facilities on a set schedule. However, if you want to see more, you'll have to come to me directly. I'm a member of Orb's military and I have some clout with Morgenroete. I can make no promises, but I'm certain I can at least get them to listen to what you have to say or offer.

That's all.

[He ends the broadcast, then sends two more messages.]

[Private -- to Satsuki and David]

[The message he sends to these two is a simple text message. However, it's accompanied by a photo. The photo shows a giant robot (though the photo shows its surfaces as all being gray rather than of shades of white, red, or purple) in some kind of advanced military hangar. Athrun had made sure to stand in front of it to further accentuate its size. It appears to be close to twenty meters tall.

The photo is accompanied by two words:]

It's here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Athrun shakes his head.]

No. Onogoro is an island in the central Pacific. Orb no longer possesses any colonies.

Anyway, please follow me.

[With that, he walks through the subarchway.

When they emerge, they appear to be on a tropical island. Before them stands a large industrial building, with chain-link fencing surrounding the area. One has to enter the building to get inside.]

[But. But space colony... She can't say she saw the drastic shift in weather coming. Thankfully she isn't too layered. As she follows along she can't help but look around.

It's.. Gorgeous. When was the last time she had even seen a tropical island? She is following along, of course.]

I apologize if you have explained this before but why is that the case? That Orb no longer possesses any.

[Athrun simply walks toward the entrance to the building. As they enter, the doors slide open automatically.]

Orb's previous colony met with...an accident.

[It was technically true; none of them had meant to destroy Heliopolis. Its destruction was collateral damage in the conflict.]

A battle interrupted within it. The battle tore it apart. Since then, Orb hasn't maintained any space colonies.

[Once doors slide, Satsuki is more focused. His answer was far darker than she expected.]

That is unfortunate.. My apologies.

[As curious as she is about the details, she suspects he hasn't mentioned details for a reason so decides against asking.]

[Athrun simply gives a murmur of acknowledgment. The less he has to talk about Heliopolis, the better. He leads the way to the front desk where the receptionist greets him.]

"Hello again, Admiral! You've been busy lately."

Yeah, I've been heading back and forth quite a bit -- but this guest is our most important yet. She's the one I mentioned before.

[The receptionist flits through computer files before acknowledging Athrun's statement and allowing them through. The door nearby opens and Athrun leads the way through.]

['Most Important'? Oh how long Satsuki had been waiting to hear those words. Now if only the general populous would think that way. Ego aside, she is uncertain if she should introduce herself or not and ultimately decides against it, instead following Zala- or rather, The Admiral's lead once more.]

Actually, do you have to be a particular rank to be assigned a Gundam?

[Athrun shakes his head.]

More than anything, Gundams are test beds for experimental weapons and technologies. Only a handful exist, and they're all unique. Generally, if someone is assigned to pilot a Gundam, it's an acknowledgement of their skill as a mobile suit pilot. Rank doesn't factor into it.

[Athrun leads the way down the hallway, then turns a corner. He stops in front of two elevators, and presses the down button.]

[And Satsuki's mun suddenly realizes there's actually a difference between a gundam and a mobile suit, so actually shouldn't have known about the Gundam. Sorry. D:

She glances about a moment to take in her surroundings; hopefully this trip won't be too much of a maze.]

I see, I believe I asked the incorrect question then. So it is the mobile suits that are standard?

[No worries! Mistakes happen.

The elevator doors open and Athrun steps in. He places his thumb upon a panel below the standard buttons, and the elevator closes its doors and begins to descend once Satsuki follows him inside.]

Yes. In order to be a mobile suit pilot, you have to be a commissioned officer. The minimum ranks for it are ensign and second lieutenant, depending on which branch of the service you're in.

Fascinating. And you are an Admiral.

[Satsuki is quiet for a moment, perhaps pondering on the information for a moment, then,]

That is quite impressive for someone so young. What age were you when you entered the service?

I'm something of an anomalous case in that regard. It's due to a combination of my war record and Orb losing a lot of military personnel during both wars.

I first enrolled in the ZAFT military academy at age 14. The curriculum there takes a year to complete, and upon graduation, you're immediately given an assignment.

[Hmn.. That rather explains his loyalty, she thinks.]

Was joining the military something you always wanted to do?

[Athrun shakes his head somberly.]

The PLANTs -- the space colonies where I was born -- were attacked. I took up arms in defense of my homeland. Prior to that, I had wanted to be an engineer.

[Satsuki frowns. Well she is certainly batting a thousand today, isn't she? The young lady isn't certain how to respond to that, but at the same time.. That was worth learning.]

That is an incredibly difficult trial for one to experience, particularly at that age. So you wished to become an engineer, yet here you stand as an Admiral. Was.. The defense unsuccessful? Or perhaps the PLANTS are constantly under attack?

[He shakes his head.]

"You've got the power to make a difference. So, why not put it to good use?" Those were the words of advice given to my best friend, once upon a time.

Also, since that attack, there have been two brief wars. Neither went longer than eighteen months, but they were extremely brutal. Even now, we don't know whether the peace we've brokered will last or if it's just another Versailles.

And, well...I've grown accustomed to the life of a commissioned officer. At this point, it's unlikely I'll ever hang up my uniform until it's time for me to retire.

Those are splendid words..

[There's a moment of silence as Satsuki's expression visibly softens. But it gradually melts back to something more neutral.]

The decision makes perfect sense with that explanation. I am uncertain how I can immediately assist with your skills as a commissioned officer, but I would be more than happy to help plan how to best pilot your mobile suit in Nova City. I am counting on you to educate me on the policies and evacuation adjustments of your world.

Perhaps through that information I can figure something out.

[Athrun nods.]

Of course. The more quickly and efficiently it can done, and with as few casualties as possible, the better for everyone.

[At this point, the elevator stops and the doors open. The walkway just beyond the elevators leads into a massive underground cavern. Below the walkways is the sea, and there appears to be, among a plethora of mobile suits, what is clearly some kind of ship.]

This is our underground hangar. Anything in here cannot be detected, even via satellite imagery.

Edited 2015-12-11 23:06 (UTC)

[This hangar is much larger than the one at the Guardian Headquarters, so that is rather impressive, though hardly unexpected. On the other hand, the sight below brings Satsuki to a complete halt. She looks over the side, stunned.]

Is that a warship?

Edited 2015-12-15 00:25 (UTC)

[Athrun nods. He's glad to see her identify it as such. Saves him some time and effort from explaining.]

What you see before you is the LCAM-01XA Archangel general-purpose battleship, the most decorated in the entire military. She serves as my base of operations whenever I'm away from port.

Unfortunately, she's without a skipper at the moment. I'm afraid Captain Ramius hasn't made it here yet, so until then, it's just another facility to make use of when I can.

It is a fascinating ship; I have never seen anything quite like it. Are you allowed to say how much it can carry?

[Beat.

Come to think of it, I have yet to witness any sea dangers in Nova City. Perhaps this should be something that should be looked into in greater detail; would you happen to have any vehicles suited for such a task?

It can house up to eight mobile suits, though it rarely goes out with that many.

[At present, the only mobile suits that it disembarks with are the Infinite Justice and the Akatsuki. But, to be fair, that's really all it needs.]

Er, well. We have no amphibious mobile suits -- mostly surface vessels and submarines. But how much of Nova City is occupied by water?

[ .. That's actually a really good question. Satsuki's mun should follow up on that.]

I do not have exact numbers, but I would say very little. There is no sea trade that I know of, and I have yet to witness any sea attacks. Yet there is water beyond the beach, so I am rather curious to know what might be out there.

[She shakes her head.]

Anyhow a mobile suit would be overkill, a submarine or a water drone should be enough.

Edited 2015-12-22 22:34 (UTC)

Perhaps. It depends on what there needs to be a defense against.

[Athrun leads the way through the series of catwalks. After several more minutes, they arrive at some mobile suit holding mounts down near the bottom of the hangar, but still above the water that could be seen glistening below the Archangel.

It's in this part of the hangar that Athrun's Gundam stands.]

This is it. The Gundam-class mobile suit, ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justice. My personal machine.

[Now that they're up close, its size is all the more apparent. Athrun wasn't exaggerating when he said it was nearly twenty meters tall.]

[It's certainly something for her to think about. She has been so concerned about spirits she hadn't really put much thought into and aquatic dangers aside from flooding.

Once they arrive at the mobile suit, up close and personal.. It goes without saying she's impressed, but it's so much more interesting seeing it in person.]

It is massive...

[ She.. She kind of wants to fight it.]

I wonder; why is it so large? Are the threats you face normally of that size?

More or less, but that isn't the real reason. A mobile suit has to have enough room to house a pilot and enough versatility to cover multiple options and weapons configurations.

Essentially, mobile suit war doctrine is similar to air doctrine in World War II. Some mobile suits are designed to establish air superiority, others are designed to support ground troops. All are meant to be capable of sinking a battleship with either proper placement of weapons fire or through liberal application of ordinance.

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[Action] In which I yet live

Yay life!

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