The atmosphere in Neo-Veridia, East Asia, felt immensely heavy as dawn began to break. The Alliance forces, fresh from their desperate retreat at the Neptune Colonial fleet base in Kalimantan, landed with stiff, mechanical movements. They carried with them the lingering trauma of their brush with death against the Titan. The Dark Resistance flagships were quickly hidden beneath the dense canopy of the mountain slopes where the secret base was nestled. The massive, ancient trees served as a natural shroud, shielding them from the prying eyes of Colonial spy satellites patrolling the heavens.
In the main hangar, the cockpit of the White Gundam hissed open. Zaki, Maki, and AIRIS—in her android form—descended with weary steps. There were no cheers of victory. There was only a suffocating silence. The technical crews, usually bustling with questions about unit damage, could only look down in silence at the scorch marks and soot marring the pristine white armor of the Gundam.
Airi Kimeza was already waiting below. The moment she saw her children descend, she cast aside her status as a commander. She ran toward them, pulling Zaki, Maki, and AIRIS into a single, crushing embrace. Her body trembled visibly—a physical manifestation of a mother's relief that death had not yet claimed them.
"Thank God... thank God you're home," Airi whispered, her voice raw. She didn't ask about the failed capture of the Garuda Base or the Titan that had nearly obliterated them. For her, seeing them standing before her was enough.
Zaki returned the embrace weakly, while Maki buried her face in Airi's shoulder, trying to swallow the bitter taste of defeat. Behind them, the sound of heavy footsteps approached. A tall figure in a dark cloak, still wearing his helmet—Ans Silvet—stopped a few paces away from the family.
The hangar grew tense as soldiers instinctively reached for their sidearms. However, Airi slowly released her children and turned, staring at the masked figure with a gaze that defied simple description. Beneath the dim, flickering hangar lights, Ans Silvet raised his hands to the side of his head and slowly disengaged the helmet's locks.
A hiss of depressurization escaped as the helmet was removed, revealing the face of a man with new lines of age and small scars, but eyes that remained unchanged. Eyes that Airi had held in her memory since they were last together.
"Klaus..." Airi's voice was barely a breath.
Her tears spilled over instantly. Without a second thought, she ran and threw herself into his arms. Klaus Kimeza—the man who had been hiding behind the identity of Ans Silvet—dropped his helmet to the concrete floor and held his wife tightly. Their sobs broke the silence of the hangar. Klaus buried his face in Airi's hair, whispering apologies that had been suppressed for years.
This moment of raw humanity was witnessed by every member of the Alliance and the Dark Resistance. For the soldiers, it was proof that behind the cold war machines, there were still hearts that yearned for one another. But time was not on their side. A mountain of problems was waiting to be addressed.
Hours later, the Alliance's main briefing room was filled with grim faces. Klaus now sat beside Airi, still in his Dark Resistance pilot suit but without the mask. The holographic map in the center of the table displayed a global situation that was turning increasingly red.
"Our problems are stacking exponentially," Klaus began, his voice deep and authoritative. "The Garuda Base has officially taken flight. With that unit in the air, the Neptune Colony has an unmatched logistical advantage. They can deploy the Titan anywhere on the planet within hours."
"It's not just Neptune," Augustina added, crossing her arms. "Intelligence reports indicate the Arancia Gundam from Saturn has begun moving toward our border sectors. Add to that the Nova twins from Jupiter we faced yesterday. These Kings are drunk on power. They are turning Earth into their personal chessboard."
Feres nodded in agreement, his face grim. "What makes it worse is the propaganda. The citizens in the space colonies have no idea what's actually happening down here. Their governments are experts at controlling the narrative. Up there, we are portrayed as bloodthirsty rebels trying to destroy the peace of the Colonies. The citizens are kept blind to their leaders' corruption."
"But not in Neo-Veridia," Tasya interrupted. "The majority of people here are Colonials who have lived on Earth for a long time. They've seen us protect them, and they are fed up with the central government. That's why public support for the Alliance and the White Gundam continues to climb."
Klaus sighed heavily. "And that is exactly why they want to destroy Neo-Veridia. To them, this place is living proof that their narrative is a lie. If they wipe this city out, they erase the evidence of their failure and pin the blame on us."
Hearing this, Maki and Tasya looked down. The weight they carried felt immense, as if the lives of every citizen in Neo-Veridia rested on their fingertips. Maki stared at her hands, which were trembling slightly.
Zaki, who had remained silent, clenched his fists under the table. He knew Augustina and Feres had mentalities forged long ago, but he couldn't help but wonder: Is our current strength enough? If the Titan is immune to beams, what happens when all three factions attack at once?
Aurora, sitting next to Zaki, seemed to read his anxiety—perhaps through their mental link or simply through a friend's intuition. She reached out, gently taking Zaki's hand on top of the table, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"Zaki, don't carry this alone," Aurora whispered with a sincere, faint smile. "I'll always be here to support you, through the Mind Space or whatever I can do. And it's not just me."
Aurora pointed toward the door, where Mili Anveil, Gills, and little Annette stood, watching them with hopeful eyes.
"My mother has already started working on a plan for a new weapon that can bypass the Anti-Beam Field," Aurora continued. "Gills and Annette are also gathering all the data they can find on the Garuda Base's weaknesses. You aren't alone, Zaki. We are all here because we believe in you."
Zaki looked at the faces of his supporters. He saw the sincerity in young Annette's eyes, a child already burdened by the technology of war for the sake of the future. He saw Gills' unyielding spirit. Zaki finally smiled, nodding slowly. The weight in his heart didn't vanish, but he felt he finally had a foundation to support it.
Maki, seeing her brother regain his composure, took a deep breath. She leaned toward Zaki, nudging his shoulder playfully as they used to do when they were children.
"Brother, we can't lose here," Maki said, her tone more energetic. "We are the symbol of truth, right? The White Bird doesn't fly backward just because of one giant robot."
Zaki let out a soft laugh, the fire of determination reigniting in his veins. "Yeah, you're right. We're going to show them that the truth can't be hidden behind technology or massive flagships."
Amidst a stack of problems that seemed endless, the light of hope flickered back to life at the Alliance base. They knew a massive storm was coming—greater than anything they had ever faced. But with their family whole and their support unwavering, the young pilots were ready to face whatever the Kings threw at them from the stars.
To be continued…