Those souls shackled to Earth could never understand. They could never understand the absolute peace that a Spacenoid could know. The spirit elevated and the mind calmed by the absolute silence of the never ending darkness. What was Thenia doing now? She had always been fond of the dirt rock and it's pollution and wars and noises and that always struck the Lieutenant as absurd. The slightly crinkled picture looked back at Viktor like some haunting memento reminding him of the choices that he'd made. That Spacenoid lives mattered more than his own and that he had once had the power to affect change to make their lives better or so he had thought. The futility and powerlessness he had felt at the close of Operation Stardust was nothing short of a shattering experience. They had sacrificed countless lives, magnificent machines, and had ultimately accomplished their mission but the ripple did little to stir the soul in those seeking shelter at Axis. Every moment walking the halls of this mausoleum scratched at his being; that he would be reduced to living among the very cowards he'd sought to stir to action. He kept mostly to his quarters aboard Axis now aside from the minimal time spent attending to his duties and maintaining his Kämpfer.<br/><br/>"Thenia. . . "<br/><br/>A brief fantasy of smiling faces and a warless Viktor danced through his mind and the Lieutenant fought back a tear for just a moment and steeled himself. No there was no higher calling than Zeon than to setting Spacenoids free from the Earth Federation and their Titan watchdogs. She was likely happy now with a man who's fire burned dimly but would be there for her and Lio. He put the picture aside and picked up a news clipping of Aiguille Delaz from when he pronounced war in 0083. The man stood straight as a beam saber with an unshakable conviction in his ideals. The final words still echoed through his mind<span style="font-style: italic">Zieg Zeon</span>, even as death lingered at his shoulder his thoughts were with the people of space and the holy endeavor they carried. Viktor slumped sinking into the chair of the room resigning himself to a night of company with beer and memories when a jingling burst through onto his computer. It was hauntingly familiar:<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">"This is Captain Arlen Jaryk. . ."</span><br/><br/>"Is that the Pheonix? Or. . . "<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">  . . .  Zieg Zeon!"</span><br/><br/>The Lieutenant bolted upright at the beginning of the speech, the hairs bristling on his arms and the back of his neck and ripples of emotion traveling down from his spine like a favorite song. At the conclusion he could only mouth in barely a whisper, "Zieg Zeon." There was a dizzying sense of purpose that caught Viktor like a hay-maker and all at once the soldier knew what was needed to be done. A duffel was filled with an impeccable uniform and he was promptly dressed in his Zeon space suit a personalized gray blue with gold trim matching that of his mobile suit and with the helmet in one arm and the duffel slung over his shoulder the Lieutenant left the room the only personal items being brought were the two pictures.<br/><br/>The soldier found a zeal he had not possessed in months if not years and grasped one of the conveyer handles that moved personal with much more haste about the asteroid to the localized hanger where his personal MS-18E was stationed and all at once the beautiful suit came into being alongside other Zaku's and various Doms. It had its own charm about it though the suit was worn and had seen him through lull between the One Year War and Operation Stardust. It bore the scars of an oppressed people and it carried within it the fire of that people like a mighty standard. He hopped gently and floated towards his Mobile Suit like a paper airplane until brushing gently against the titanium armor plating. One of the engineers came over to him more out of curiosity than anything else.<br/><br/>"Sir! What are you doing? Oh! Lieutenant Romav! Doing another test run?"<br/><br/>"Nope, we're sending her out with the Abyssal Fury. Going to decommission the whole set of relics I guess."<br/><br/>"Huh! Didn't even know. That's a Damn shame! These are monuments to the Zeon ideals! Why it's almost collectible!" The engineer laughed and Viktor had to muster what self-control he could to not berate the man for insulting his Mobile Suit so. He plastered a weak smirk onto his face and responded after a deep breath.<br/><br/>"Guess so. . .  Anyway-I wanted to take her over myself, give her a final send off. You mind?"<br/><br/>"Heck no, I could use the extra hand. Going to miss seeing her around here that's for sure."<br/><br/>"Yeah, take care." The cockpit closed before the engineer could make a remark. If there was something afoot that no one else was aware of then likely he wouldn't have much time to get over. Placing the duffel bag behind the pilots chair Viktor secured the helmet in place and ran through the start-up procedure and almost like being awakened the Kämpfer stirred to life under him.<br/><br/>"MS-18. . . Moving out." Hopefully they would overlook a decommissioned mobile suit that was still fully armed.