<span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>EARTH FEDERATION STATION PIAZZI<br/>CERES<br/>March 12, 0422UC</strong></span><br/><br/><div align="center">(http://i.imgur.com/W2tWNdI.jpg)</div><br/>Narrow plumes of white smoke spiked from beneath<em>Marcenas</em>as the Federation Assault Carrier set down upon the rocky surface of Ceres.  One of the few remaining Perseus-class vessels in service, the starship retained the familiar design and aesthetics of classic Mobile Suit Carriers -- white with red trim and a pair of long flight decks wedged on either side of a command deck.  Its four long wings folded together on landing approach and keen eyes may notice the main body of the structure was a yellow-capped and slowly rotating cylinder that ran behind the flight decks and beneath a command deck; another holdover from years past to provide artificial gravity to the living quarters and sick bay.<br/><br/>The sound of hydraulics tightly hissed from within the starboard flight deck as technicians gripped handles within the weightless environment for landing.  Although the gates were closed and a semi-permeable energy field protected the the warmth and atmosphere within the hanger, standard procedure still required normal suits to be donned while landing.  On either side of the rear of the hanger stood a pair of 20-meter tall, 25-ton Mobile Suits.  The port hanger carried a similar compliment for a total of eight.  Standard procedure was to deploy two teams of three, with two Suits kept in reserve, but could sortie the entire compliment when needed.<br/><br/>Once the vessel came to a rest, the Technicians sprung to life, quickly and efficiently lowering the gate but pausing a moment to enjoy the view of Piazzi Station from beyond the lightly golden glow of the energy field that separated the hanger and launch platform.  Piazzi was the Earth Federation's base on Ceres, a dwarf planet within the Sol System's asteroid belt and a base of key strategic importance.  As the halfway point between Earth and Jupiter it monitored all traffic between Earth and ZAFT territories, and policed the mining activities within the asteroid belt as well.<br/><br/>The crew of<em>Marcenas</em>was returning from a completely uneventful voyage from Mars and the stop at Piazzi would see a rotation in personnel.  Lt. Hana Duet glided gracefully through the near zero-G environment before her smartboots touched down and secured her to the metal deck.  From behind the visor of her helmet she eyed a datapad and scrolled through the names of those coming and going; fortunately this rotation wouldn't have an impact on the ship's command structure, but did include a significant shakeup for their Mobile Suit pilots.  As the<em>Marcenas'</em>Executive Officer, that always gave her pause.  It was the Captain's job to make decisions, but it was her job to<em>get shit done</em>, and rookie pilots had a habit of getting in the way of that.<br/><br/>