Dirty Hands

[Cream]

Over a brief period, a small fire had been lit. The boundary of political change was surrounded at every angle by personal motivations that rarely extended beyond mere velleities. In this case, personal motivation was potent enough to compress the boundary of political change into a hyper-condensed explosive. Pioneer Group (PG), the Commonwealth’s leading multicolony manufacturing group had been in a state of virtual perpetual freefall for the last two years: their relative monopoly had been usurped by the (military) state-owned junta, which had established a manufacturing arm with ample operating privileges. The attempt to siphon extra profit from the private sector for political ends had been one step too far in the eyes of Pioneer Group. They had begun to exercise their robust influence over Commonwealth affairs to re-establish their standing as the leading manufacturing group.

A mere week of back and forth communication on the part of a PG shell company representative was enough to organize emergency measures that were well beyond treasonous. Gavin Frost, the second half to the back and forth, had been selected as a conspirator and lead provocateur: his notoriety among CESTUS, Lance Screamer especially, was well publicized, and would speak well to those who had qualms with the ruling junta. A personal vendetta against Screamer made the opportunity particularly appealing for Gavin, in addition to the financial compensation. The plot itself hinged upon rebranding the fugitive narrative that had been established into one that emphasized freedom and democratic virtue.

Being well-connected to certain elements of the Commonwealth underground useful: Gavin was able to identify quickly small pockets of dissidence amongst the Commonwealth military. For some, the junta was not working. The direction of resources toward unifying the colonies seemed frivolous at this point, when held against more pressing political and state security concerns. The abundance of space piracy had gone largely unchecked, relative to years prior to the junta: too many resources were being funneled into the Commonwealth’s stated political mission, and there had been tangible consequences that some soldiers were acutely aware of.

Several potential targets were discussed, over a secure line of communication. As this was largely an attempt to stifle the state-owned manufacturing venture, factories were the obvious target. Gavin had disagreed.

Levi was vaguely aware that something had been going on: his father informed him that he would be going into Space for a period of time, and given the extreme risk of doing so, Levi naturally was inclined to probe and question the circumstances. The more the young man learned about the situation, the more he realized he was better off knowing less.

“They’re already after us, you’re going to make things worse. They don’t seem too interested in coming down to Earth to find us, but now you’re going to change that.”

“Levi, wouldn’t you like the possibility of returning home at some point? Don’t you think the Commonwealth would be better off were it to be governed justly?”

“I think it’s pretty clear that I gave that option up when I decided to help you.”

As much as Levi did not want to get involved, he figured that his father might have some information that Levi himself did not- the possibility that his dad was acting out of a need for personal revenge had not occurred to him. He was stalwart, though, in deciding to remain removed from the situation- at least until he knew more about it. The Commonwealth citizenry knew all too well that the purpose of the junta was to establish a unified colonial banner, but it was less known that the Commonwealth had designs that extended beyond the colonies alone. Gavin knew this and was inclined to believe that the junta would stay in place until that ultimate goal had been achieved. It made little difference to him, in fact, how the Commonwealth decided to manage itself, though it was useful information to have for the purposes of enacting disorder upon the government.

“The Commonwealth, Levi, has ambitions beyond the unification of the colonies.”

Levi had come around to the idea that any contiguous body functioned better with unipolar governance. The colonies, it was argued by Commonwealth loyalists, were continuous in spirit, and this was a premise that most colonial spacenoids were in general agreement on.

“How so? What are you talking about?”

“The Commonwealth wants control of the entire Earth Sphere. This is an objective that is not as widely known about.”

Levi recoiled. The thought of the Commonwealth trying to take over the Earth was so alien: the government made a point of staying out of Earth affairs. Thinking back to the raid on the mass driver in Italy, things seemed to make a little more sense. He struggled to rationalize what would make the Commonwealth leaders want to take over the Earth Sphere in toto. It was going too far, Levi concluded in his mind, which had been thrown into disarray at the new information. Uniting the colonies was an admittedly admirable goal: it would be easier to distribute the means for prosperity. There already was an Earth government, and as far as Levi was concerned, it wasn’t to the worst group in the world. Suddenly, whatever his father was planning seemed a little bit more justified: any body that seeks to control everything in sight is less than trustworthy. And there was also the matter of the junta, which may very well exist until its greater goal is accomplished or forever, if the goal is never met.

“What are you planning on doing up there?” Levi didn’t quite want to take part, after all the Commonwealth was not trying to take over Earth right now, but he felt that under the right circumstances, he might want to assist- maybe. Fortunately, he knew, when acting on your own, it is moderately acceptable to bend rules of engagement.

“I’m going into Space. There is a group up there that is seeking to weaken the military’s control over the population. If we can call into question the legitimacy of the Commonwealth junta, then perhaps the citizenry will be willing to express their frustration with it.”

“Are you going to let them know what the Commonwealth military is really planning?”

“Yes.”

“Do you need my help?”

“No. It’s not your battle to fight.”

Levi was relieved at the virtual absolving of his responsibility to contribute to the situation, but now that it was out of his control, he felt differently about it.

“How are you going to do this?”

“Don’t worry about it. Just stay here. I’ll be leaving for Space tomorrow.”

[ZeonDad]

Over the next week, several instances of civil disobedience began to sprout up amongst the citizens of Georgia colony at Side 1. At first, relatively few took to the streets, citing food shortages, perceived corruption, and various failures of local government as their rallying cry. Well organized, the anarchists were quick to rally more people to their cause as the local government failed to quell the unrest, and the foolish actions of a few peace officers would spiral the situation out of control. By the end of day five, the local government offices had been ransacked and destroyed, and chain of command and rule of law had largely broken down. To their credit, the local governors had done their part, urging their neighbors to stay vigilant and monitor the situation, but to stay out of the affair until otherwise desired. However, after a week of unrest, the situation called for an outside solution.

“We should just let them destroy themselves from within,” remarked Tennille with ice, as she zipped up her flight suit. “How long do we have to keep subsidizing this trash for?”

“You must be mistaken counselor,” replied Kate Lake with some disgust. She moved to distance herself from the woman, and ultimately move to enter her own mobile suit strapped to the exterior of the Nelson-class Longsword. Once she was ready, she radioed back her response. “This isn’t Side Five or Side Two. This is heartland territory. This is my home, in fact.”

“Then maybe you can talk some sense into these clowns,” Tennille offered in rebuttal over the comm. link. “Because I have a job to do, and my time is valuable, Ensign. Remember that.”

Kate chose to ignore the comment and chose to focus on her thoughts of home. Still, she couldn’t help but worry about what the counselor, sent by Lance Screamer, had in mind. The pilots all relayed their status, and then disembarked to enter the colony through the many maintenance hatches available to them.

1 x Nelson-class Longsword, orbiting Island-3 Georgia colony.
1 x Correl – Entering colony through Maintenance Hatches
1 x Gable – Entering colony through Maintenance Hatches
1 x Britova – Entering colony through Maintenance Hatches

[Cream]

Through brute force alone, anarchists began pouring into the Georgia colony military district. In a homogenous mass of people, they pressed against the plastic barriers of the riot police. Many them had air filtration masks and those without seemed virtually impervious to tear gas. They pressed against the barricade, swaying backward and then barring down against the police, gathering more force with each push. The defense contingent retreated, and the rear guard resorted to violent measures. Once gunshots had begun to impact the mass of people, some retreated- it was difficult, however, with so many pushing forward.

It didn’t really matter at that point: the barricade had been removed, and anarchists were running this way and that, working their way deeper into the military district. As they advanced, slogans echoed throughout, and then, chanting.

The Pioneer Group executives could see everything from their high-rise. The workday was still in effect; kids were still in class. The world pressed on. The executives looked on, some disgusted, some regretful, others perversely enjoying the display. Eventually, the sound of gunshots had ceased completely. As the morning ended, all colony districts were put on lockdown; there was little effort to subdue the rioters, the military began to focus its efforts on civilian security.

There were pockets of dedicated saboteurs amongst the rioters that had broken into the military district. Some of them were disgruntled soldiers, others were on a payroll. They hijacked vehicles in service of their greater target, mobile suits.

Gavin had taken an HLV into Space. After meeting with a contact, he was ferried over to Side 1, along with his mobile suit. He had been told that by the time he arrived at the target colony, it would already have passed the point of explosion. In fact, by the time he did arrive, it was not particularly bad: inside the colony, the saboteurs had yet to locate any accessible mobile suits, and when they would go on to do so, their instructions for what followed were vague at best. The V-Dash Gundam was draped in cloth and secure to the exterior of the small shuttle, and once the ship had drawn close enough, its pilot exited the ship and boarded the mobile suit, removed the restraints, and boarded the mobile suit. The machine drifted, fallow, as the ship separated from it.

Gavin could see the Longsword from his position, although the group of mobile suits had made their way into the colony before they could be spotted. Instructions had been radioed to him from the ship, began to make its way to the other end of the colony.

[GEAR]

The demonstrations were getting out of hand - in fact, it had long since ceased to be a protest, and was now certainly a riot.

Shop windows were smashed, masked men and women pouring in to plunder the contents of local businesses. Electronics, food stores, and supermarkets alike were targeted by opportunists. The cracks and whisles of mid-flight bullets started to fill the air as local property owners and looters alike exchanged fire, punctuated by the occasional cry or dying scream as one side or another found their mark. The noise was almost lost, however, against the chanting din and sound of sirens that was filling the streets. Down the main streets of the Colony, protestors marched en masse, pushing aside barricades, holding signs, roaring chants and threats into the air towards the oncoming mobile suits, daring them to strike them down.

"Freedom for the Colonies!"
"Down with the junta! DOWN WITH SCREAMER!"
"No representation, no democracy, NO PEACE!"
"DEATH TO THE TYRANT!"

Most were not bad people, really - they were ordinary men and women reacting the only way they could to a regime that was increasingly authoritarian, fighting back in what ways they could. Justice, after all, was frequently on the side of the oppressed, and nothing quite united people like the hovering jackboot of the would-be-dictator, pondering whether to strike their stomach, or their throat.

However... Concealed among their number, a greater threat lurked, one that most certainly was not benevolent or noble hearted in its intent.

Seated at a roadside cafe, a woman watched the demonstrations airliy. Her long green coat and blonde hair contrasted well with her pale skin and sharp, dark blue eyes, which were currently focused on the arriving mobile suits in the distance. This was her favorite part, she thought, the calm before the storm... and she took a moment to savor it, as well as the fragrant tea currently wafting up to her nose from the table below.

On her lap, she carried a tablet of sorts that displayed a map of the Colony. On it, several sections had been highlighted, and were being updated in real time - some of it from public sources indicating the main locations of the disturbances, and some of them from her own. As the din continued, she unhurriedly pressed three of five small circular icons, turning them from green, to red, causing three small holographic projections of helmeted heads to appear before her.

"Begin the operation." She said, giving an affirmative nod.
"Vae Victis." Each replied in turn, before fading into the darkness.

Not wishing to waste any further time, she rose, drinking the last of her tea as she did, delicately wiping her mouth as a small smile formed.

At the Office of Colonial Affairs building - an administrative arm of the labyrinth Colonial bureaucracy responsible for translating the complaints of its residents into actionable plans - armed security guards held back a gate of protestors, holding their riot gear tight in the afternoon light. Few would have noticed an innocuous youth exiting the rear of the building hurriedly, leaping atop a set of garbage cans to clamber over the dividing wall, melting into the crowd below.

Not even seconds later, the Office of Colonial Affairs ceased to exist.

Suddenly, the roof of the building exploded in flames, fire bursting from every widow and door as those inside were instantly incinerated. Across the Colony, several other institutions were attacked similarly - the Veteran's Clinic, the Colonial Ambassador's Office, and the Mayor's Office - all were torched in sudden, violent blasts, all at once - four points of flame lighting up the Colony as roars of anger began to turn to shrieks of panic from the populace.

At three key, predetermined points, floodlights lit up, and the sound of a roaring engine tore at the ears of those who heard it.

In the city's manufacturing district, two buildings suddenly imploded as a pair of green and brown suits burst from their interiors, each one loaded for bear with an array of menacing looking equipment, bright red monoeyes gleaming to life as they rose to their feet, scanning for targets of opportunity.

In the Colony's spaceport, a third GINN Insurgent emerged from a parked cargo ship, tearing through its canvas covering with ease. As it did, the barrel of its machinegun came up, tracking the control towers that guided ships into - and out of the Colony - and lit up, heavy bullets smashing into the glass, pulverizing those within in an instant. Its job done, it stepped out of the ruins of its covering, hovering forward on twin wings, searching for the last known position of the Commonwealth military suits...

---
Colony Liberation Front MS:
GINN Insurgent x 3

[ZeonDad]

Having entered the colony without incident, the trio of Kate Lake, Tennille Stelline, and Ash Wednesday took up positions over the next several minutes pacifying protestors at various crowded intersections and key control points. Their mobile suits had all been specialized for combat inside a colony if necessary, and most of their various armaments had been converted to birdlime launchers in this particular instance. Tennille took particular pleasure in wiping out wide lines and rows of protestors with bowling ball sized launches of birdlime at an ever quickening pace. At the speed they were launched, the stuff could certainly hurt, and perhaps even prove lethal if taken without care.

Another disparaging remark by Tennille was shouted silent by Kate, who shielded her eyes as the government buildings to her right and center simultaneously vanished into a fireball large enough to come up to her mobile suit’s chest.

“Oh my God!” she exclaimed, as her Britova leapt into the air, activating thrusters to hold height and get a better view. “Bunch of psychos,” Ash chimed in, maneuvering his Correl through the streets towards their Kate’s position. Tennille screamed something unintelligible as her Gable hurled a particularly large volley of birdlime into a massive gathering. The locals would be feeling that one for days, not to mention all the chemicals they would need to be unstuck from the artificial pavement.

“We need to put out these fires first!” Kate instructed, Ash already on the job as he began attempting to smolder the charred blackening buildings with birdlime. “There might still be people in there!” Kate screamed, but Ash was already too far ahead of her. Anyone trapped inside would likely cook to death, if the explosion and fires didn’t already manage that.

Elsewhere, another Gable, piloted by a yet unknown pilot, slowly maneuvered to the site of a mobile-suit oriented disturbance near one of the shuttle bays. Soon enough, the encroaching GINN Insurgent’s would have trouble on their hands, perhaps more than any of them even knew…

[Cream]

Things got even more chaotic moments after the explosions. People gushed out of every conceivable building in the area once it became clear that some structures had exploded. Fearing for their lives, and now exposed to the extra threat of rabid demonstrators, the evacuees were clueless as to what to do next: some of them ran, others paced back and forth, and some even started capturing live footage of the various ongoing catastrophes. It was unclear for a good while whether being outside was any safer than being in a building, which could explode at any moment. The majority decided to head back, any way they could, to the residential districts, where they could wait out the nightmare of a day in the security of their homes.

“It’s birdlime!”

Only marginally better than tear gas. The impact from the birdlime had been enough to claim the lives of some of the instigators; pockets of people scattered from the trio of mobile suits. Others tried their best to de-gunk the demonstrators that had been hit: it seemed to the humanitarians to be a waste, since the real criminals- the anarchists- were occupying the military district almost exclusively, and yet the riot task force was wasting their time on the more peaceful groups.

In the military district, a crowd of anarchists was gathered around a mobile suit hangar: the area had been secured of any riot police, and the three Commonwealth mobile suits, while visible, were still a way off. Cluelessly, the group was troubleshooting possible ways to break into one of several Gadeels being stored in the hangar. They argued about whether the Gadeel could even operate within the colony, though the row was abandoned when they realized they could not get into the cockpit anyway.

It took close to ten minutes to make it the colony’s spaceport. The V-Dash was almost entirely motionless as it floated into the opening, the pilot confident that he would go on undetected- or if they noticed him, they didn’t seem to care too much- for the massive distraction that was occupying the bulk of the colony’s attention. Gavin’s first choice had been to go through the maintenance hatch, though with the Longsword there, it would have been more of a challenge than it was worth. Confident as Gavin was, it came as quite the shock when a visible explosion erupted deeper into the spaceport. Had the saboteurs managed to infiltrate the spaceport, Gavin wondered, despite it seeming unlikely.

The radar clued the V-Dash pilot into what had transpired: there was a mobile suit nearby, though it was difficult to say who they were, exactly. Gavin followed it, keeping track of their position on the radar. The machine seemed to be headed into the colony proper; the V-Dash speed up a little, trying to catch up to it. The GINN pilot would probably catch on sooner than later.

[GEAR]

As Kate's Britova took to the air, it was immediately spotted by one of the GINNs. The off-green suit wasted not even a split second - it lowered its bazooka over its shoulder and fired at her exposed form, the large round screaming towards her suit's chest as the suit ducked behind a building for cover. Its partner unit, however, was speeding towards the group, traveling downtown towards the protestors, firing its machinegun in bursts at the Police vehicles that had arrived to curtail them. It placed the civilians between itself and the oncoming suits, raising the blazing weapon in its hand to target the skeletal form of the Correl as it crossed its line of vision.

At a nearby detention facility, explosions suddenly rocked its eastern wall, causing it to collapse in on itself in a fountain of dust. Within minutes, convicts and political prisoners of the Junta were beginning to flee the scene, forming an orange-jumpsuited tide that surged their way towards freedom. The blonde haired woman waited nearby, leaning against a wall as she looked through the escaped throng, an island of calm in a sea of fear... As if looking for something, or someone, in particular.

In the docks, the remaining GINN Insurgent paid little heed to the arrival of the V-Dash and the advancing Gable - instead it began making its way quickly through the smaller cargo sections of the spaceport, stomping its way through the docks, machinegun blazing as it blasted apart anything bearing a Commonwealth insignia, and tore through reinforced shutters like they were paper mache. It was making its way towards the Colonial ship in port, evidently with something in mind.

[ZeonDad]

“We’ve got company!” Kate announced as she watched the GINN peak out from cover and take aim. With a grunt, she managed to twist wildly and scarcely avoided the bazooka shot. Off balance, the Britova landed on one knee, collapsing over on its side onto a large structure. There wasn’t little Kate could do except try to regain her bearings, for the moment.

Her compatriot, Ash Wednesday, looked to provide assistance, but the appearance of a second GINN upon him proved otherwise. However, unlike Kate, his feet were firmly planted on the ground. His Correl darted like a bee down a cross street, avoiding the GINN’s attack and moving to flank it with considerable quickness. Beam knife in hand and ignited, Ash popped out as quickly as he’d disappeared, charging into the attacking GINN from the side, looking for a clean downward swipe right through its machinegun.

Stelline, her Gable a fair bit slower, by now had managed to line up with the GINN Ash was attacking, although still down the street. She lobbed a massive quantity of birdlime at them both, seemingly not caring if Ash was caught up in the process. Meanwhile, her advancement spelled certain doom for the GINN, if he stuck around for her to get there.

Illustrating this fact, the Gable at the spaceport seemed a fair bit more capable than its twin in the residential district. The Gable maneuvered on the GINN with surprising speed, picking up a massive shipping container and hurling it for the GINN, all the while charging to pick the insurgent apart piece by piece.

Outside the colony, the Longsword was just getting reports of mobile suit combat inside the colony, as well the approach of at least one other vessel off in the distance. Captain Holden Clemente took a measured approach, choosing to keep the remaining forces docked for now. There had been no request for additional reinforces yet. In a best case scenario, he hoped, there’d be no such request at all.

[Cream]

The rioters were running out of steam. There seemed to be nothing left to do, after having made it as far as the military district, and without access to any of the mobile suits, they wouldn’t be able to pose a threat to the NRX trio.

“Look over here! These two have open cockpits!”

One of the anarchists had stumbled upon a pair of Daughtress Neos, at the back of the hangar. Ostensibly they were about to be boarded by Commonwealth soldiers before the hangar had been overrun. After some intense fighting over who would get to commandeer the two mobile suits, two of the older anarchists- a rarity amongst the crowd of youthful rebels- had assured the crowd that they were the best candidates, appealing to their age as a justification. “You young ones have a lot to lose if you get shot out there, let us go,” they both said, in different ways.

One of the Daughtresses stumbled almost immediately after being boarded, falling to its knees and hands. It took a few moments for the pilot to figure things out. The other one, however, seemed to have been boarded by a natural: it marched, as confidently as possible for a machine, out of the hangar, not even waiting for its partner. It took to the air, moving forward a great distance, then landing and taking off again, making its way toward the trio, and unbeknownst to the pilot, an insurgent GINN.

Gavin’s objective was to subdue any mobile suits trying to pacify the rioters. The GINN, which a bizarre appearance for sure, was relatively unimportant for the time being, and figuring out why it was there was more trouble than was needed. It would have been forgotten, if not for the emergence of a Gable onto the scene: that machine seemed hostile toward the GINN. What a situation, Gavin thought: apparently there was an unidentified aggressor added into the mix.

The V-Dash, still seemingly unnoticed by the Gable, took aim with its twin Overhang cannons. Two discharges of pink-coloured energy were sent screaming from the barrels toward the Gable, with enough power to obliterate even the massive Gable- in principle, anyway. It might have been easier to slink away into the center of the colony, as the Gable was not actively engaged in subduing rioters- but there was the chance that it might come back to haunt the Victory, if left unchecked. Gavin was entirely unsure if there were any other mobile suits deployed in the colony, although given that there was a military installation, there was a good chance. He would have been utterly shocked that the rioters managed to overrun the district.

[GEAR]

The first GINN's back verniers flared as the Britova dodged its attack, the suit leaping over the buildings as it began to close the distance between the two of them. As it descended, it tracked the Britova with a second shot, a deafening roar filling the air as it fired again - this time aiming to catch the large-shouldered suit square in the midsection as it landed.

Ash's attack on the second GINN struck home - the Correl's knife carved clean through the outstretched machinegun, to the considerable surprise of the GINN's pilot, with a spray of sparks. The front half of the weapon clattered to the pavement below as the suit staggered back, raising its arm against the spray of birdlime as it did. The missile launchers mounted on the suit's legs flared to life, six of the projectiles lancing out at the oncoming Gable as the GINN attempted to bring its bazooka to bear, struggling as the adhesive that now coated it began to take effect.

In the spaceport, the third GINN Insurgent seemed determined to outrun the charging Gable - but the thrown container stopped it as its boosters flared, causing it to stumble, and fall sideways into a pile of stacked shipping containers. Starting to recover, it dropped its machinegun, and instead brandished its heavy sword at the newcomer, daring it to come closer as it sought to disentangle itself.

[ZeonDad]

The Gable’s advance on the GINN stuttered by Gavin’s attack, but the unnamed pilot’s hesitation was only momentarily. The protective I-Field barriers prevent the V-Dash’s beams from causing the Gable any harm, and so it continued on, sending an absolutely massive right hand swing for the GINN in the spaceport, seemingly not knowing or caring of the GINN’s melee weapon whatsoever.

Elsewhere, Stelline and her Gable followed suite, although with a fair bit more brute force behind it. She refused to budge, and was prepared to test the strength of her machine against the oncoming missiles. Her confidence in the opportunity might have been worthless however, as Ash Wednesday seemingly danced around the GINN like it was truly a stationary object. A slice here, a cut there, he effortlessly poked, prodded, and carved the GINN with ease. To be fair, it wasn’t a massive amount of skill on account of the pilot. The GINN was simply not even in the same league as the slender, agile Correl.

Kate and her Britova remained off balance and on the defensive. Her only option for survival was to obfuscate and hope the GINN’s pilot was equally rushed. Her Britova rolled forward and onto its side, diagonally away from the building it had smacked into, likely crushing one or two unfortunate souls in the process. Whether the bazooka hit home, or the surrounding area, neither outcome was looking great for the young newtype woman.

Outside the colony, Captain Clemente received word that a ship of unknown IFF was encroaching on the sector. He furrowed his brow, issuing the order for all other pilots aboard the Longsword to wait in their mobile suits at full readiness until further notice. Whatever was coming, he would be ready.

[Cream]

One of the commandeered Daughtress Neos was within visual of the Correl, who had just finished dismantling the insurgent GINN. The Daughtress Neo’s pilot was worried, now, and regretted boarding the machine in the first place. As the panic was ongoing, the mobile suit idled where it was, visible to the Correl.

The Daughtress Neo that had fallen behind caught up, but its pilot, too, was unsure of what to do next. Stealing the mobile suits had been an act of rebellion, but there seemed to be no need or want to use the thing to cause damage.

The V-Dash, on the other hand, did not hesitate: Gavin watched the I-Field absorb the initial attack and knew immediately what was going on. A beam saber was readied as it took off toward the Gable, while it was distracted by the GINN.