The silence hung heavily like the vacuum that surrounded them. It felt like the pause before a shootout in Western movies. The Lieutenant was running through various possible outcomes and none of them seemed that promising. To have to fight fellow veterans did not please him and the thought left a pit in his stomach. Why would those that bled together in the name of freedom be so ill fated as to fight each other for someone else's command? Fortunately he didn't have to as Shale responded appealing to his sense of duty to Zeon.<br/><br/><span style="text-decoration: underline">. . ."Jaryk, Romav, get out of here we'll cover your escape, Carn will be here any second." </span><br/><br/>And as if in immediate response to the remark the two HiZacks ceased to exist as sniper fire rent them open and in the distance gaining speed that would come close to his Kämpfer was the Gross Beil piloted by Carn, the Headsman of Axis as Viktor took to calling her. A very capable pilot seemingly without any of the moral quandaries that simple mortals held. Her own unit of various Rick suits in unison with the sniper fire turned the HiZacks into mush with ease. Every fiber in Viktor's being screamed out to engage the thrusters and to slay those wild beasts that Axis let loose upon them but the memory of Delaz barking at a wild ambitious Gato returned to his mind.  A Baoa Qu seemed like a million years ago now and Viktor was little more than a slightly gifted mobile suit pilot with a pinch more experience than all the cadets that were thrown into the grinder.<br/><br/><span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-style: italic">. . . For now you must endure. Until the day we can reclaim our glory, you must put your life in my hands. You will follow my orders on this one. Understood!?</span></span><br/><br/>While not being psychic in any way Viktor could feel the fury of Gato, it seeped from him like a toxin but he understood the message; and now so did Viktor. He couldn't waste his life on this meaningless battle he had to survive to complete the operation and that meant avoiding the smaller battle.<br/><br/><span style="text-decoration: underline">"Make for the Abyssal Fury, I'll hold them!"</span><br/><br/>"Space will remember you, Lieutenant Shale. Your burning soul will be the ember of our flame! All units return to the Fury!"<br/><br/>His voice was strong but only in its projection. It stunk of anger as Viktor struggled to keep it from cracking at the end as he turned to leave the Lieutenant. The Kämpfer remained outside the Fury as the other suits boarded and embarked last. He wished he didn't though as he watched the Gross Beil surgically dismantle the HiZack. The final bellow of the blazing soul in the mobile suit was all that was needed for Viktor. They would be the catalyst of a great movement and it would be built on the funeral pyre of Shale, his men, and all the souls that still swam through space like sparks from a bonfire in the night sky searching for fulfillment.<br/><br/><span style="text-decoration: underline">"Zieg Zeon!</span><br/><br/>And then silence. The flame belched out from the cockpit and the Lieutenant's HiZack ruptured; fire burst from its chest and limbs floated uselessly around it like so many Zaku's sent to their ruin. Viktor watched it all only capable of mouthing a response to Shale. The exterior of the Gwazine sealed and thumping rumbled through its walls as laser batteries from the warship came to life and sent the Rick Doms scurrying back to Axis.<br/><br/>"Liandra Zarn. Before I fall, before my heart stops, I will kill you."<br/><br/>With no one able to see the pilot for the moment he vented anger in the mobile suit striking his knee with a hammer fist before punching the front right pillar between the right side monitor and the forward monitor. His hand ached for the moment and he shook it out before composing himself. He needed to be strong for this, stronger than he had ever needed to be before as the men would need him.<br/><br/><span style="text-decoration: underline">"All pilots, meet me aboard the Abyssal Fury at the Assembly Station and I will brief you on our first mission."</span><br/><br/>The Mobile Suit's hatch opened and the pilot descended to the deck in a much more somber environment now. The engineers were still hurrying about but already having death's weighed on them. Some if not most of them knew of Shale and it was a personal blow and maybe for some of them this was the first time they'd lost a friend in battle. It wasn't right for him to give a speech here it was best to leave it to the Captain himself. He moved with haste to the assembly area where other pilots had already gathered. Viktor removed his helmet and clipped it to the suit's pack and waited there for the meeting to begin.