Back in a temporary base in one of the Pacific islands, two Gundams were parked in special containers.
These were GN-001 Exia and GN-002 Dynames. The pair of pilots was giving their reports to the captain of the Ptolemaios.
"Miss Sumeragi, I am sorry, Dynames got damaged." Lockon Stratos, the pilot of Gundam Dynames, apologised to the Captain
"Our plans got affected by this."
"Well, it can't be helped, like people usually say: No plan survives the first contact," the woman on the screen replied.
"For now, you need to return to Ptolemaios. We will divert Exia to minor Interventions." She looked at Setsuna.
"Roger, Miss Sumeragi." Exia's pilot nodded at the Tactician.
"Just don't do anything reckless, Setsuna. We can't underestimate the Union. They have that man." Lockon recalled the Over Flag and what it can do.
"I won't. I have seen what they can do. Exia and I will eliminate them." Setsuna seriously said to them.
"Good. Then be on standby and you Lockon, return to space."
The pair nodded as the call ended. Soon enough, Lockon and Dynames left their container and flew towards the Human Reform League's Orbital Elevator.
Setsuna was left alone as he pondered about Union Flags and how they could keep up with their Gundams.
'Gundam and I will fight even if there are hundreds of those Flags.'
~~~
[Sir, Gundam Dynames is on route to space. We are in position.]
"Graham did his part." Marcus smiled as he leaned into his chair in his MSWAD office. He was ready for his first move and begin to conquer this world.
"Take pictures of the Gundam getting loaded into the Linear Train. The Corner family will have a lot explaining to do."
[But, sir. The Linear Trains company's leader is elected, currently it's Laguna Harvey, and their executive board is elected from all 3 power blocks.]
"Yes, but it's the Corner Family that has recommended Laguna Harvey. Corner will be investigated for it." Marcus smiled as he sprung his trap.
[Understood. Compiling the message.]
"Send it to Euphemia; the public needs to know," Marcus said with a growing grin.
"And tell Marry to get into position for her promotion."
The Emperor smiled, he likes these political games.
'My inner Lelouch is getting giddy at the prospect of manipulation on a planetary scale.'
[Understood, sending message to Princess Marrybell.]
With that done. Marcus closed his eyes and began to hum. All that he needs to do now is wait for it.
Sure, Lockon might leave for space, but Exia, Kyrios and Virtue are planetside.
'Though I don't want them to get caught. They still have much use until the world is united. For now, I need them to rely on me.'
Marcus smirked as he enjoyed Palpatine-style games.
A bit later, there was a knock on the door.
"Commander! You should see this!"
The blonde pilot of the Over Flag interrupted his downtime.
"Oh? Something that important?"
The Lieutenant Commander stood up and walked out of his office and to the mess hall where engineers and mechanics rest. On the large holo TV, he saw a familiar face.
'Oh, is she serious? She took that surname for her cover?' Marcus deadpanned for a second as he saw Euphemia on the screen talking about the Gundams.
What got his attention was her surname. She is calling herself 'Euphemia Clyne'.
He joked that she should take that surname when they first arrived here. But to think that she took it.
Regardless, he looked at what was written with big letters.
[Corner Family and Linear Trains Companies assist Celestial Being!?]
There were pictures and videos of Dynames being loaded into the cargo train bound for Space.
"We asked for an explanation from UN Diplomat Alejandro Corner, but he, along with his entire staff, disappeared from Union-controlled territories," Euphemia said on the screen as she showed the expensive-looking manor behind her.
'She is working quickly.'
It had been a couple of hours since he sent the message.
'Was she in the area when I did that?'
Marcus sometimes worried about how seriously she took her job.
"We shall not stop until we get to the bottom of this mystery."
The girl seriously said to the camera.
"Unbelievable. Someone so high in the UN hierarchy is helping Celestial Being." Graham said with a frown.
"Some of Celestial Being's investors no doubt help them just because they want Celestial Being to change the world, where they could get even more profits," Marcus explained with crossed arms.
"...That's disgusting."
"Never thought you were an idealist, Graham." Marcus looked at him, a bit surprised.
"Regardless of what you think. Celestial Being needs money. Those Gundams cost a fortune to develop." The Lieutenant Commander of Anti-Gundam Force explained to him.
"I know… it's just… I expected more." He said with a frown.
"Oh, there is more. Just as the reporter said, what we see is just the tip of the Iceberg. There is no doubt, even more connections between Celestial Being and the Space Elevators of what we don't know about."
As the pair talked, one of the officers ran into the hall to find Marcus.
"Commander, sir! We have been ordered to deploy to the Tower and do a full investigation if there are any clues of Celestial Being there!"
"...Great. Guard duty." Graham mumbled under his breath.
"It's better than just waiting here." Marcus smiled as he began ordering transport planes for this mission. He will be deploying his Over Flags. Not that he has many troops to speak of. He will be relying on Union regulars for this one.
~~~~~~Meanwhile, In Space~~~~~~
'This is… I didn't foresee this.' Sumeragi Lee Noriega, Celestial Being's Tactical Forecaster, looked at the news happening on the planet's surface.
Lockon's Gundam was recorded by someone and spread online.
This was unforeseen. Orbital elevators were firmly on their side. It was part of the plan for many years. Yet, they got noticed from the very start.
'This is bad… Celestial Being is truly compromised.'
'I can't have Dynames with me the whole time.' The Woman bit her nail as she thought of tactics to get out of this.
"...Miss Sumeragi…" One of the CIC operators, a girl with brown hair and Hazel eyes, looked concerned at this development.
"I know. If we can't use Orbital Elevators, we will struggle with our operations." She said before looking at Christina.
"I want you to contact Wang Liu Mei. Maybe she has something for us." The captain of the ship said to the CIC operative.
"On it!"
~~~~~~Meanwhile~~~~~~
'Impossible, how did this happen!? Who rat me out!?' Alejandro Corner was pacing left and right in one of his Safehouse Manors. He needed to run away as if people started snooping around him or his assets, it could end up even worse for him. So he decided to bail out and take whatever he could.
The best thing he could do is go underground and wait for his moment.
As he was doing that, one of his assistants was looking at him with mocking eyes. This was Ribbons Almark.
The Innovade, Veda's Biological terminal, could not believe he was in this situation. He thought that by helping Alejandro, he could reach the peak and take over Veda, but it became like this?
*THUD*
At that moment, something heavy landed outside the manor.
"Who? Go check it out!" The annoyed head of Corner Family barked orders at the guards.
As the men rushed out, one of the butlers turned pale.
"Umm… Sir…" The butler tried to get his Lord's attention.
"...What is it!? Don't you see I am—" Before he could finish, he looked where the butler was pointing.
His eyes widened. It took him a second to process what he saw.
"...A Gundam? Who is it!? Who sent this Gundam here!?" He began to worry and panic.
Alejandro grew angry just at the sight of it, but Ribbons knew better.
'This is not… Celestial Being! Another faction!? What is going on!?'
The Innovade could easily tell when it was Celestial Being's machine and when it wasn't.
*BANG*
*BANG*
Gunshots followed from the corridor where the guards were supposed to go.
Moments later, soldiers dressed in Black Tactical gear poured into his Safehouse from all the main doors, the windows shattered as well, and the same soldiers got through; in mere moments, they were surrounded.
"Who are you people!?!" The man who lost everything by this point didn't care about his well-being anymore.
'Who are these people!? They are not the Union's special forces.' Ribbons Almark looked them from top to bottom as he noticed three letters on the shoulder, which said A.S.P., and on the other shoulder, there was a double-headed eagle.
This was their affiliation… but who? He never seen this crest before.
The soldiers didn't answer as they pointed their futuristic rifles at them.
"For the Empire."
*BANG*
*BANG*
*BANG*
*BANG*
In mere moments, screams ended as the A.S.P. ended the Corner family and its ambitions.
One of the soldiers walked over to the green-haired assistant.
Ribbons was still alive as he saw one of the soldiers place his foot on his shoulder and point the rifle at him.
The innovade could see the soldier's eyes; they were glowing red, and a bird symbol replaced the regular pupil.
'...Who are you? I can't believe my destiny ends here like this! I was supposed to lead humanity to dialogues to come!'
*BANG*
*BANG*
*BANG*
Instead of regular bullet wounds, the gravity rifles literally left holes in their bodies.
After making sure Ribbons Almark was gone, the soldier looked at his superior.
"Notify Lord Kururugi. All of them are dead." The captain of the squad said to the comms officer.
"Mission is success, My Lord."
"Begin Phase Two." The Gundam's pilot said via comms.
"Understood."
~~~
All of Corner's assets were confiscated. The majority of them ended up in Marcus's hands under the pretext of fighting Celestial Being.
With Geass's assistance, Marcus gained access to the Corner family's wealth and contacts. It was nothing for someone who had the majority of the government under his thumb.
It's especially easy for him now that he has a 'threat', and that is Celestial Being. His Father's Geass works even better with a real issue instead of an imaginary one.
What he used it for was to get close to Celestial Being's main agent.
And that is Wang Liu Mei. This girl has direct access to Gundam Meisters and Ptolemaios crew.
Most importantly, he has what she wants and what Ptolemaios wants, and that is direct access to space. He just got Tower under his control as well.
'Everything comes together to wrap Celestial Being into a package.'
Marcus hummed as he just finished reading Suzaku's report.
"Sir, we are arriving at the destination." One of his soldiers said to him.
"At ease, I am here for Anaheim's business; you can take a breather." As he said that, he looked at his bodyguard. It was Jeanne, only she was in Union colours. It was a bit strange to see her in blue instead of red or purple with black.
"Yes, Commander."
With that said, Marcus left his armoured car, and he went upstairs to a bar. This bar overlooked a sprawling metropolis.
His gaze settled on a woman with teal hair combed into twintails, dressed in a red dress.
When Inventor Emperor saw her, he smiled a bit. Slowly, he walked over.
Her eyes perked up as she looked surprised to see him.
"...Colour me surprised. I wasn't expecting you, of all people, to be part of HIS plan." She said with wide eyes. This was a shock of the century for her.
"Is it? I am more surprised that a Young Heiress of a wealthy conglomerate cares about politics."
"It's a hobby of mine." She smiled at him as she motioned for him to take a seat. The girl is quite intrigued to speak with Union's Golden Boy.
"Please take a seat. There are a couple of things that I would like to ask of you." Her eyes gleamed for a bit. She wondered how this situation could evolve now that he was here.
~~~
500 powers stones = 1 Extra Chapter
1000 Power Stones = 2 Extra Chapters
And so on, You know what to do.
~~~
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