It was about three in the afternoon when Edward and Jane's transport ship pulled into a port near the border separating Peru and Chile. Originally, the ship's course was to take them to Ecuador where there would most likely be resistance fighters but Edward made a request to the crew navigating the ship to change course to the border. He had received a message on his mobile device from his close friend and comrade in the USSA military, Bernando Riviera. The message told him to head over there where he can be informed of the current resistance movement and be caught up in what's been happening to the USSA.
The port was fairly busy with activity as people loaded their goods to be transported to consumers overseas. For Edward, this was indeed a welcome sight. Under the Alliance, the overall quality of life in the USSA wasn't as prosperous as it was before the invasion. Their resources were used by the Alliance to fuel their war efforts against ZAFT and this angered most citizens. From the start of the Alliance's occupation, a resistance group dedicated to the liberation of the USSA had crafted a long term master plan to overthrow the Earth Forces. It had taken roughly a year to map out Alliance patrol routes, supply bases and additional facilities within the USSA and several months after that to plan an attack to seize the Alliance resources as their own.
Of course, things hardly went as planned and it had been a gruesome operation with their only saving grace being that a tropical storm made communications between the USSA and the Atlantic Federation next to impossible meaning that there would be no calls for backup to suppress the rebels. The resistance group had lost many members (probably several thousand people) and the Alliance made their victory quite costly. In the end, the rebels were only able to secure one military base with a war factory that could produce Strike Daggers, tanks and other pieces of military hardware. As for the actual military hardware they were able to secure, the rebels had about 55 Strike Dagger mobile suits, 68 helicopters, 71 Skygraspers and 149 tanks. These numbers are not ideal in terms of describing a sovereign nation's military power. Nonetheless, the rebels were quite pleased with the outcome of the operation and could turn their things to some other issues that had to be resolved.
One of these issues of concern were Alliance collaborators. There were some wealthy individuals who collaborated with the Alliance and gained additional wealth and influence. When they heard of the announcement that the USSA regained their independence, they tried to flee the nation so that they could plead for sanctuary in Alliance territory. Some were able to make it while others were 'convinced' to donate their wealth to the rebels. With new funds available, they could reinvest it back into the community and their slumping economy however military power had to come first because the rebels knew that the Alliance would be back.
As soon as Edward stepped foot on his home soil, he took a deep breath. "I'm home..." He had changed his attire to his old USSA military uniform (which bore a resemblance to the uniforms worn by the U.S. Army way back before the CE Calendar went into effect) and dressed in mostly dark green. Jane came up from behind and was still dressed in her Alliance uniform but with the Alliance patch thoroughly ripped off her shirt.
"So where are we meeting your friend?" asked the blonde woman. Before Edward could answer, his sense of hearing was bombarded as a helicopter descended near the duo. As soon as it touched the ground, the door opened to let out the dark skinned pilot. He had a red headband, a black vest and a green tanktop on his upper half. Military trowsers and combat boots covered the lower half. A Glock pistol and a combat knife rested on his waist and an AK-47 was strapped to his back. His appearance simply screamed out 'TERRORIST!!' but there was a kind smile on his face.
"Bernando!!" Edward greeted his friend with a brief hug. "You're looking well!"
"Thank you, old friend. Who's your companion over there?" asked Bernando.
"That's my lovely lady, Jane Houston." The two briefly shook hands as a gesture of friendship before Bernando glanced at his friend.
"What did a guy like you ever do to get so lucky?" The friendly jokes aside, the trio got down to business. After being told of the additional mobile suits that Jane and Edward brought (with Jane encrypting the OS to prevent them from being hijacked by someone else), Bernando immediately called for transport vehicles so that they could take them back to their base which was located in the heart of Paraguay. During the helicopter ride, Bernando explained some of their plans to deal with the inevitable Alliance confrontation. The USSA military didn't plan to make any custom paint jobs or anything with their Strike Daggers in an attempt to cause more friendly fire incidents on the Alliance end. Of course, they would need to be careful as well. Jane offered to write up some code which would allow each USSA mobile suit to distinguish each other on their radar to prevent such incidents on their end.
As the helicopter reached the base and begun its descent, Edward and Jane could visibly see a large amount of activity going on. Rebels were training recruits who wished to fight the Alliance and protect the USSA's new independence. Additional weapons and armaments were being repaired and examined. Strike Daggers were undergoing maintenance so that they wouldn't have any problems entering combat. One of the rebels recognized Edward and gave an excited shout. "Look everybody! It's Ed the Ripper!!"
As other rebels and recruits approached the helicopter to greet Edward, the ace pilot gave a small sigh. "I really wish that I didn't have that nickname."
Jane simply smiled at her lover's discomfort. "At least it sounds cooler than my 'White Whale' nickname. My waist size is nowhere near large enough to be classified as a whale!"
A female soldier quickly approached Bernando. "Commander Riviera! We found a suspicious character near our base perimeter and have taken him into custody!"
Bernando frowned before ordering her to lead the way. Seeing that Edward would be busy with his fans for a while, Jane decided to tag along and see what was going on. She could see a small hut coming into view and that was where the female soldier was headed. She opened the door to allow her commanding officer in but blocked the entryway when she saw Jane. Bernando quickly spoke up. "Let her in. If we have an Alliance spy, she may be able to identify him." The soldier stepped to the side to allow Jane inside.
The hut was small and cramped and there were two guards examining the prisoner's belongings which were mostly cameras and a few notebooks. There was also a wallet and a transport ticket too. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not an Alliance spy! I'm a photo journalist... or at least I was a photo journalist. Matias is so gonna fire me..." The tied up prisoner was dressed in a red vest with a green t-shirt underneath. A pair of goggles were hanging around his neck. Blue jeans, sneakers and fingerless gloves accompanied the rest of his outfit. As for his hair, it was a dark blue colour with streaks of yellow on both sides and in the front.
The commander briefly looked at the prisoner's wallet to check for his identity. "So do you know this... Jess Rabble?" asked Bernando roughly.
Jane shook her head. "I have no clue who he is but he's definitely no Alliance spy. That's what my instincts are telling me."
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(Posted Tue, 28 Feb 2006 19:05)
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