2130, Three hours after Trabia launch,
Galbadian Army Missile Base

[b]'Sir. Final targetting coordinates are being uploaded to the mainframe. We will be ready to launch in... T minus 7 minutes.'[/b] The hulking purple figure of the Commandant nodded slowly. [b]'Very good, soldier. Inform coms to update the capital.'[/b] As the command room staff busied themselves with their tasks, he slowly walked around, marvelling in the joy of being the first man in living memory to launch a nuclear warhead... A lesser man might have shied away from such a burden, but his loyalty to Her Majesty was unwavering. The former PSA had flourished under Her insightful leadership and could lead Galbadia into a glorious new age... once Garden was dealt with.
He checked the clock; three minutes remaining.

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[i]Not my finest plan, but as needs must...[/i] Shifting his weight in the cramped confines of his little cubbyhole, Duncan was not happy with how things had gone. Infiltrating the base, fucking with the coordinates and sabotaging the nukes had been easy enough, but there was simply no way he could prevent the missile from launching and so he had opted to take a more... roundabout approach. Outside he could hear the final countdown ticking down, like the last few moments of his life stretching time in a desperate attempt to avoid the inevitable. Which, incidently, was a distinct possibility if this went tits up. Still, couldn't be helped. After all, if you can't prevent something from happening, then the next best thing is to interfere [i]in situ[/i]...

The countdown finally ended and far below, Duncan felt the great engine start to burn. The Gs came slowly at first, as the missile inched up the first few feet, before accelerating to near sonic speeds within the first minute. Only by drawing deeply on Artio's power was he able to stay conscious as he rode the missile up and over the desert. [i]Why do I do this to myself..?[/i] After three minutes, he opened the service hatch just a crack, in time to see a mushroom cloud erupt over the desert as the base obliterated itself with a conveniently timed mislaunch. One down, one to go... Now in all honesty, Duncan was the wrong man to be [i]deactivating a nuke in flight whilst riding on the missile,[/i] but short of magicking up Xerox to do the job for him, he didn't have many other options. Grumbling as he pried off the casing of the navigation computer, Duncan got to work.

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Four students stood ready as the group alighted the airship, all looking equally confused by Gardens current state of affairs. The first stepped forward, brandishing her halberd with near-SeeD skill, if not motivation. [b]'By order of the Garden Master, all SeeDs are to be arrested for the murder of General, uh... Larrick? No, [i]Lerwick![/i] General Lerwick of the Galbadian Army.'[/b] It was pretty clear that she had only found this out herself recently. Her classmates also raised their arms as a small swarm of bitebugs congregated above them, clearly under some kind of control. [b]'Please come quietly.'[/b] In the background the Faculty member was muttering into a radio and edging away slowly.