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>>2377623
You chuckle quietly. “You picked up on that. The original Federation Charter gave priority to involving any 'new type' of human that evolved in space in governance.”

“Which would make Zeon Zum Deikun correct?”

“Not quite,” you shake your head. “But close. The 'Newtypes' as he envisioned them would be given positions in the Federation government, not emancipated or made custodians of some 'sacred Earth' nature reserve.”

“And so what the survivor stole was a copy of the unaltered charter?” the older Captain asks.

You nod again. “That's right. And the name of that survivor was Syam Vist.”

“Why keep that hidden?” the younger Captain asks you.

>Because letting the truth out would just embolden the Principality remnants. The wars would never end that way.
>Because Syam Vist entrusted us with the information. Because of that we erred on the side of caution for years.
>The Principality and Federation are gone, and the Vists were quiet for years. There was no point reopening old wounds.
>Other?

>>2377630
>>Because Syam Vist entrusted us with the information. Because of that we erred on the side of caution for years.

>>2377630
>Because letting the truth out would just embolden the Principality remnants. The wars would never end that way.

As a sidenote, this DST crap is bullshit

>>2377657
DST? Spell it out like I'm an idiot please.

Also waiting for a tiebreak.

>>2377700
daylight savings time, jumping forwards and back and all this crap x.x
I'm not sure we're gonna get a tiebreaker, king...

>>2377701
Ah, that thing I was talking about earlier today.

I'll give it a few more minutes, then move on as best I can. Shit like that does sometimes mean a slower start.

>>2377630
>Because letting the truth out would just embolden the Principality remnants. The wars would never end that way.

T-t-t-t-iebreaker!

>>2377708
>>Because letting the truth out would just embolden the Principality remnants. The wars would never end that way.
You can change my vote to this if it helps you write if no one shows up.

HEY, here we go lads.

>>2377630
>>Because letting the truth out would just embolden the Principality remnants. The wars would never end that way.
I thought it was up too early. Then just saw the tweet.

>>2377721
“When did you join up?”

The younger Captain stares at you in confusion. “Excuse me?”

“When did you join up?” you repeat your question. “How long have you served in the military? Did you join before or after Titans?”

“After...” the man admits, eyes narrowed. “What are you getting at?”

“Anyone who fought in the War, on either side, would understand why we kept quiet,” you explain. “Billions died in the span of about a year, and even after the formal declaration of peace entire fleets of Principality loyalists were everywhere.”

“There were remnants on Earth itself, all over Africa and southeast Asia,” Cima adds. “Bands of space pirates like mine who couldn't return home. The Delaz fleet, that slipped away from battle after Gihren Zabi was killed.”

“There was even a safe haven on Axis,” you continue, “and any number of colonies where former Principality soldiers could hide out.”

“Now, try to imagine what would happen if we told all of humanity that the Federation regime had effectively buried a chapter of its own Charter that would have given spacenoids fair treatment, and Newtypes a hand in shaping government policy?”

“Nothing would change,” the older Captain sighs.

“What do you mean?” his younger peer demands. “The whole point of this argument is that it's a crucial fact, why the hell wouldn't anything change?”

“That isn't what he meant,” Rossweisse observes, drawing the younger Captain's attention.

The older man nods quietly. “The young lady understands, as I expect her partner and Miss Garahau do as well. What I mean is that nothing would change... ever again. The endless insurgencies and rebellions under the flag of Zeon would never end if the self-righteousness if it could be excused, or even justified in the minds of their supporters.”

“That's exactly right,” you nod in understanding.

>Knowing the truth as we did, we had no choice but to try and be the leaders that the original Charter intended us to become.
>Ours was a holding action... we had to keep things from getting worse so that the memories of hatred and bitterness could fade.
>That's why we hunted down the postwar extremist factions one at a time. Not just the shadows of Zeon, but of the Federation too.
>Other?

>>2377742
>>Ours was a holding action... we had to keep things from getting worse so that the memories of hatred and bitterness could fade.

>>2377742
>>Ours was a holding action... we had to keep things from getting worse so that the memories of hatred and bitterness could fade.

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>>2377742
“For more than a decade we fought a holding action,” you sigh. Just thinking about the amount of time involved provokes a sudden sense of exhaustion, which you have to fight to maintain an even tone. “We had to keep things from getting any worse, to give people's hearts time to heal, time for their memories of hatred and bitterness to fade. Otherwise they'd never come back to the table.”

“Because of that Delaz had to go,” Cima declares. “And for other reasons too.”

“Then Titans threatened to over-correct,” Rossweisse adds.

You shrug. “Also their leaders were pricks.”

“Then there was Mars Zeon,” Cima adds.

“That got real personal real quick,” you recall. “Their leader was... we had a history. Let's just say he deserved what he got and leave it at that.”

But it did give us a sense of closure though.

“That too.”

The younger Captain stares at you in confusion. “What?”

“It's complicated,” you grumble. “And irrelevant. So ignore it.”

“So let me get this straight,” the senior officer says, scratching his chin thoughtfully. “For more than a decade, you and a small band of Newtypes have personally been shifting the balance of power away from armed factions with radical political agendas, regardless of their affiliation? And that this most recent action was the unforeseen result of an attempt to deal with the source of the current political instabilities?”

>The only one remaining, yes. That's basically correct.
>Not quite. We were actually trying to build the case to act against them.
>No. Most of the time we were just trying to do the right thing.
>Other?

>>2377812
>>Not quite. We were actually trying to build the case to act against them.

>>2377812
>>Not quite. We were actually trying to build the case to act against them.

>>2377812
>Not quite. We were actually trying to build the case to act against them.
<"It actually started when we uncovered circumstantial evidence that the Titan's founders had supported the Delaz fleet to accomplish their goals. So we infiltrated them to find concrete evidence. Ironically, that was about the only crime we could never pin conclusively on them. Things have escalated."

>>2377812
>>Not quite. We were actually trying to build the case to act against them.

>>2377812
“Not quite,” you admit, crossing your arms and drawing all eyes in the room towards you. “Actually, most of the evidence we've ever had has been circumstantial. In the case of Titans we infiltrated them when we began to suspect their founders had a hand in the Naval Review massacre, and used it to push their own agenda.”

“This time our case reads even more like a wild conspiracy theory, including a 'secret document' that nobody else has ever seen and confidential financial records we technically shouldn't even have.”

“And so you needed something more concrete,” the older Captain summarizes.

You nod. “Exactly. We've known for years what the Vist Foundation is capable of, but until yesterday we had no tangible proof of their wrongdoing.”

“And now thousands are dead,” the younger Captain spits. “How's that for evidence?”

“We only knew about their cyber-newtype and cloning experiments,” you insist. “That was where we ran into Alpha in the process of being reconditioned. I interrupted the process by accident and had to make a quick decision.”

“Spoilers, she took the girl with her,” Bianca finally chimes in.

“We didn't realize until we'd already slipped out of Magellanica that they were using Alpha to calibrate the AI aboard their mobile suits,” you explain. “Or that they had so many of them. Even up to the point where they broke off pursuit and attacked Side 3 we were preparing to meet up with our own ship and deal with them ourselves.”

“And now we're here,” Rossweisse concludes.

>We're going to release you to the Republic fleet, then we're going to deal with Martha Vist personally. Too many innocent people have already been dragged into this.
>We're going to meet up with the Republic fleet, and we'll want a cruiser or two to help us establish a perimeter around Magellanica. We'll do the heavy lifting.
>We'll need to speak with the fleet's brass in person, give them the same account we gave you. The only way to stop the Vists is to destroy their Foundation.
>Other?

>>2377922
>>We're going to meet up with the Republic fleet, and we'll want a cruiser or two to help us establish a perimeter around Magellanica. We'll do the heavy lifting.

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>>2377922
>>We're going to release you to the Republic fleet, then we're going to deal with Martha Vist personally. Too many innocent people have already been dragged into this.

At this point I'm gonna take a break for dinner and to get home. It's still a reasonable time for me.

>>2377922
>>We're going to meet up with the Republic fleet, and we'll want a cruiser or two to help us establish a perimeter around Magellanica. We'll do the heavy lifting.

>>2377922
>>We'll need to speak with the fleet's brass in person, give them the same account we gave you. The only way to stop the Vists is to destroy their Foundation.
They'll need something solid to explain to the colony residents at the very least. This is already a recipe for unrest if the series of events that led to what happened is unclear to the majority in the colony.

I reckon it'll get even more confusing on the Republic's end if the Vists opt to spread misinformation to downplay their involvement.

>3d10, best of three

Rolled 2, 3, 8 = 13 (3d10)

>>2378075

Rolled 3, 7, 8 = 18 (3d10)

>>2378075

Five more minutes and I'll be open to someone rolling a second time.

Rolled 10, 4, 8 = 22 (3d10)

>>2378075

>>2378119
Nice, anon.

>>2378119
Well then, that escalated.
>writing

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>>2378119
“ALICE?” you ask the room.

“Yes, Captain?” your AI assistant's artificially-generated voice greets you.

“You've been listening?”

“I have,” she confirms.

“Do me a favor and dump copies of all the data and corroborating records onto a portable drive,” you order, “and organize the files according to significance. Laplace first, this most recent incident second, the paper trail we followed third including all the relevant financial details connecting Vist to... well, to every bad actor in the system really.”

“That's going to take...” the younger Captain beings, only to be interrupted.

“Complete,” ALICE reports. “The drive is waiting for you on your personal terminal in your quarters. Will that be all?”

“Thank you ALICE, yes,” you reply cheerfully. “That will be all for now.”

“Then allow me to inform you that there is a Republican cruiser on an intercept course.”

“All basic navigational input is yours,” Rossweisse replies crisply. “Voice recognition protocol Alpha.”

“Excuse me?” Alpha asks, her interest piqued.

“Don't worry about it,” you mutter. “Listen, can you be ready to follow my lead in a few minutes?”

“Yes, master,” Alpha nods dutifully. “What will our task be?”

“Nothing too serious...”

>I just need some of the other officers to see your face. You won't have to interact with any of them.
>I may need you to answer a few questions. I'll stick by your side the whole time, okay?
>I won't ask you to do anything you're not comfortable with. I can handle things on my own if need be.
>Other?

>>2378220
>>I may need you to answer a few questions. I'll stick by your side the whole time, okay?

>>2378220
>>I may need you to answer a few questions. I'll stick by your side the whole time, okay?

>>2378220
>>I may need you to answer a few questions. I'll stick by your side the whole time, okay?

>>2378220
“... but I may need you to answer some of their questions,” you admit. “I'll be right there at your side, so will that be okay?”

“Thank you for your concern, master,” Alpha bows sightly, “but it is misplaced. I can assure you it is not a problem.”

“Then let's be ready to welcome our guests.”

“I'll be in the cockpit,” Rossweisse tells you before heading out of the room.

“Bianca,” Cima catches your fellow pilot's attention. “Let's make sure these Republic crewmen are ready to be moved.”

“Right,” Bianca agrees. “Especially the wounded.”

Several minutes later a large cruiser fires its braking thrusters: it appears to be a variant of the Zanzibar-II rather than a Musai. Although you're not on the bridge yourself you can feel when Rossweisse docks with the other ship, and you quickly head for the ventral docking port with the two Captains and Alpha in tow.

As you sort of suspected, it's a combat team that immediately surrounds you within moments of the hatch opening.

“Easy Alpha,” you mutter, your hands raised with the portable drive held in one of them. “They won't shoot if we don't.”

Next to you, the clone finally mimics your own gesture and raises her hands.

Once the combat team is confident the hallway is secure, an officer joins you: based on his insignia this must be the second in command.

“You're the Captain?” the Commander demands, a booming, authoritarian demand from exactly the sort of man you'd expect to hear it from.

“I'm a Captain. Carya Marseille-O'hara.”

“You have ten seconds,” the Commander growls, his hand finding the grip of his sidearm.

Pushy bastard, ain't he?

“This is Alpha, a cyber-newtype clone of Artesia Som Deikun we rescued from the Vist Foundation,” you begin, jerking your free thumb at your companion. “That earn me a few extra seconds?”
>1/2

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>>2378331
After a few moments pass, the Commander's eyes shift to Alpha. “You have my attention.”

“We were investigating the Vist Foundation to build a criminal case against them,” you continue, waving the disk. “All the other details are on this drive. We ran across Alpha here last night, and I couldn't just leave her there. The AI mobile suits Martha Vist sent after us were meant to silence us.”

“And they attacked Side 3 because...”

“Targeting malfunction,” Alpha explains. “The AI misidentified your navy's Musai cruisers as the target vessel and deviated from their pursuit.”

“And these 'other details' you mentioned?” the Commander presses.

“Some of them will shatter your whole worldview,” the older of the two Captains declares. “But in the mean time, can we start moving our wounded aboard?”

“You are the Captain of the Crazy Horse?” the Commander asks.

The Captain nods. “Was.”

After considering the request for a few moments, the Commander nods and the old Captain heads off to wave his subordinates forward.

>Commander, you need to pass this information on to your superiors.
>I need to speak directly to your Captain. The Vists may already be making their next move.
>Commander, tell your Captain we need backup as soon as the wounded are transferred.
>Other?

>>2378360
>>I need to speak directly to your Captain. The Vists may already be making their next move.

>>2378360
>>I need to speak directly to your Captain. The Vists may already be making their next move.

>>2378360
>>I need to speak directly to your Captain. The Vists may already be making their next move.

>3d10, best of four this time
Let's see if we actually get four rolls.

Rolled 1, 5, 8 = 14 (3d10)

>>2378414

Rolled 10, 5, 7 = 22 (3d10)

>>2378414

Rolled 2, 2, 2 = 6 (3d10)

>>2378414

Rolled 4, 3, 4 = 11 (3d10)

>>2378414

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>>2378414
“We need to speak with your Captain, immediately,” you tell the Commander. “He needs to know what we know.”

“I can't allow that,” the Commander insists. “We still don't know what...”

“You don't understand,” you interrupt. “The same Foundation that sent an army of AI mobile suits that shredded your military is making its next move right now. And they're so desperate right now I can't even predict what that might be.”

“If that happens, the Republic Navy...”

“Will get slaughtered,” you interrupt again. “So far as I can tell none of your pilots downed one of the AI machines.”

“Face it... you have no choice here.”

After a few more moments of silence, the Commander grunts in agreement.

You and Alpha are led at gunpoint to the Zanzibar's bridge, where you're pushed towards a man with a full, grey beard and neatly-trimmed hair to match. He looks at you sternly as you hand him the portable drive.

Then he gets a better look at Alpha and his eyes widen. “What the...”

“Clone,” she tells him directly.

“I see...” the Captain nods, still a little shocked. Then he takes the drive. “Captain van Horn, of the Clausewitz.”

“Marseille-O'Hara, Colony Transit Fleet,” you reply. “Take a look, sir. We'll need the Republic's help in cordoning off the Magellanica, tracking down an escaped criminal. The one responsible for all this.”

“And you expect us to help... why?”

You gesture to the screen in front of van Horn. “That.”

The Captain reads over the first file. Then his eyes widen as he reads the next. And the next. He flips through them frantically, seeing page after page of evidence and leads and more financial logs than he's probably ever seen in his life.

“My god,” he mutters. “Is all of this... is it all for real?”

“Every word,” you nod.

“And here I thought seeing a clone of Lady Deikun was as strange as my day was going to get...” he mutters to himself. “Get back aboard your own ship, Captain. You'll have my ship and its two Musai escorts. I will send a copy of this dossier to the brass to explain where we've left.”
>1/2

>>2378516
Your impromptu task force uses Luna to slingshot towards Magellanica. Along the way you even get some unexpected backup: the Sadalahn closes in on a near-parallel course, eventually matching your course and speed and falling into formation.

>Use your multiple ships and mobile suits to form a perimeter, demand that the Magellanica's leadership hand over Martha Vist.
>Move in with full force, seize the mansion. Leave most of your forces at a distance to divert and follow any ships that try to escape.
>Hold off at a distance for now, check the Magellanica flight coordinator's records to make sure that Martha Vist hasn't already fled.
>Other?

>>2378530
>>Move in with full force, seize the mansion. Leave most of your forces at a distance to divert and follow any ships that try to escape.

>>2378530
>>Move in with full force, seize the mansion. Leave most of your forces at a distance to divert and follow any ships that try to escape.

>>2378530
It'll be bad if there's any MS Dolls left that will respond during the blockade. If some sort of control center exists, it probably needs to be disabled first.

>>Move in with full force, seize the mansion. Leave most of your forces at a distance to divert and follow any ships that try to escape.

>3d10, best of three

Rolled 3, 8, 8 = 19 (3d10)

>>2378589

Rolled 3, 9, 9 = 21 (3d10)

>>2378589

Rolled 10, 9, 8 = 27 (3d10)

>>2378589

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>>2378589
The other Captains know the plan: seize control of the access points and land as many mobile suits and troops as possible to seize the Vist mansion by force. And the operation goes off without a hitch: four cruisers and a patrol cutter swiftly secure the Magellanica, and a dozen mobile suits intimidate their way into the relatively small interior of the station. These surround the mansion and disgorge dozens of foot soldiers from specially-adapted transport pods.

“Eyes open sis,” you announce, hopping out of your own cockpit and dropping to the ground. “No idea what's going to happen from here on.”

Roger that, I'll keep the comms open. Good hunting.

You retrace your steps through the mansion, heading straight downstairs to the labs you remember... only to find them empty. Completely scoured, and without a single soul to be seen.

“Spooky,” one of the Republic foot soldiers mutters, staring at the operating table where you found Alpha. “What the hell is this place anyway?”

“A surgical theater,” you mutter. “Where they'd cut open newtype clones and modify their bodies.”

“Well, they're not doin' it anymore,” he shrugs, “not anymore at least.”

“But where...” you mutter to yourself. “Sis? Have ALICE dig through the flight logs. Look for a large privately chartered flight that left on short notice, between now and the time the AI dolls were launched. Should be in the dockmaster records.”

And if the dockmaster refuses to share?

“Then she can do what she does,” you reply, finding yourself in no mood for obstructions of any kind. “I don't particularly care what they think, they're giving us the info we need.”

'Fuck the police' mode it is, then.

After a few minutes you hear your sister's voice again.

Dockmaster reports one flight matching your parameters... you're not going to like it.

“Where were they going?” you ask.

Earth. North American continent, western seaboard.

“They're heading for California Base,” you realize aloud. “What the hell are they up to now...”

California Base, is it? That's where this whole mess began, where your team was first formed... and now, that's where you're going to finish what you started all those years ago. It's almost poetic.

>>2378754
And that's it for this weekend, folks. Thanks for turning out, and hope to see you next weekend for what will probably be the final session of SoZ: Aphelion.

Hope you've enjoyed the ride so far, and I look forward to seeing you next time!

>>2378763
Thanks for the run and see ya next time King.

One more test subject to take into account too. Good time as any to start a betting pool on whose genetic material was used there.

>possibly an omake on Friday, otherwise will continue on Sunday

>>2389116
Sorry boyos, will have to delay until next week so I can do this with my notes in front of me and more than about four hours of time cleared for it.