Kira was barely able to give an answer when Athrun reminded him of his own personal conflict in his first few instances of war. The feelings of conflict were something he tried to push away from earlier but knew that Athrun was correct in his warning. He could only sigh acknowledging the thing he was doing to Sousuke when he added, "Unfortunately I had as much choice for my entry as Sousuke does now. And he made the same choice I did at his age as well. All I can do now is find some way he can survive this war like I've hoped." Athrun made his way to the Izanagi when Kira saluted in parting, "She will be in good hands."

Sousuke entered his assigned quarters when he threw his schedule to the side and kicked his nearest wall out of frustration. He threw both of his fists to the same area out of frustration from the situation before he cursed, "Damn it dad! Why?!"
A few minutes passed before Sousuke took out his cellphone and saw the two contacts he was hoping to address. He found his mother's contact name and began writing his message, 'Hi Mom. Please help me. Dad has made me pilot a mobile suit. I need your help to get me out of here. Please help, I don't want to die. Please respond soon. Love, Sousuke.' The message was sent and he found Li Mei Hsu's address. He wrote another message when he told her, 'Hi Mei. I'm still alive. Dad's dragging me with him and I can't escape. Don't worry about me, I'll be back with you at your side soon. You have my heart encircled around your finger my cosmic queen. Love, Sousuke.'
Sousuke looked up at the ceiling from his bed when he considered everything that had been thrust upon him that day. As he tried to ponder what could have gone through he permitted a feeling of song when he decided to cope with his situation the way he knew best.

[i]Here I am out among the stars
Being given more of my scars
Living through pain my will shall drain
Here to wonder of my wondrous queen's reign
Cast to the lands I never knew where I never sought to live
What things should I seek as my drive?
I look out and see myself deprived
But who is to there to see my hope revived?
I hold on to faith
I'll overcome my odds
I'll never be torn asunder by the demons who seek my soul
And at the end of that faded light
There I will soon see my queen again[/i]

Sousuke let go of whatever grudges he had for the evening and forced himself to get some sleep for the night.

"Good morning Ambassador. How well has the Alliance accepted your meeting?" The ZAFT Chairman greeted the Ambassador on her shuttle leaving the grip of the Earth Sphere.
The Ambassador sat in the leading chair of her FFMH-Y101 Eternal when she reported, "Quite warmly Chairman. The Alliance has grown more open to ZAFT presence since the recent treaties. Unfortunately I feel that much like the recent agreements it is being done for the wrong reasons."
The Chairman looked up from his desk when he pointed out, "I have no intention of questioning the legitimacy of your claims Ambassador but I would think the Alliance leadership wouldn't operate with anything but the well being of Earth in mind."
"Even so Chairman, I feel there is very troubling news in regard to the Alliance's state."
"Could you briefly give an idea of what issues are most troubling you Miss Yamato?"
Lacus presented a holographic map of the Earth when she reported, "Recent riots in South America are questioning the legitimacy of the recent attacks on Port Two going so far as to call it a staged attack from their own government. The Eurasian Federation is rallying its forces to the Arabic regions to quell economic frustrations. Worst of all it would seem the proposed Mutual Enforcement Through Arms act has gone in effect... What the President sees in this motion I cannot currently imagine."
The Chairman checked another sheet when he brushed off the concern, "Nor is it your mission to discover why Ambassador. The Alliance has simply set forth motions to protecting its unity and it will only be a matter of time before they pass from being necessary."
Lacus sighed at the dismissal when she finally accepted, "I hope you are correct Chairman. These actions on Earth will prove to be a troubling time for us all."
"Only if the Actualizers learn to use this situation to their advantage. in the meantime you are to ensure that the current mutual agreement is maintained."
"I remember my mission Chairman. I will have a full report ready upon arrival and suggestions for maintaining our relations with Earth."
"your arrival is eagerly anticipated Ambassador. Have a safe journey home."
Lacus took a look at her message system when she found the recent message from her son. "Kira... Sousuke..."
"Is something wrong Miss Ambassador?"
Lacus turned to see her assistant nearby when she answered, "No. It's only a personal matter."

Predictably out of all pilots who were asked to follow their schedule, Sousuke was the one to discover how the schedule to work against him the most. He slapped his eyes awake when he heard the alarm 
He rushed to follow the pilots to the training area before Meyryth would arrive to evaluate the soldiers waiting for them. Sousuke rushed towards the nearest opening area where he managed to find an opening area to form up in rank even when he still managed to receive a few unpleasant eyes from his fellow pilots.
The gazes were broken when Meyryth marched into the preparation room when she observed the pilots waiting for her attention. Sousuke caught himself in mid-yawn when he tried to avoid getting any scolding from Meyryth. She greeted the formation, "Good to see no one has lost their sense of scheduling. Here's the situation, right now our best two chances for standing against the Actualizer Threat lies with the Gundams. I'm currently not at privilege to provide you with the odds of success for pulling this off. However it seems you have already determined who will be your best bet in providing security."
'Pft. Great. First day, I bother to show up and everything and she doesn't even show gratitude.' 
He stood at attention when he observed the remainder of his superior's instruction when she announced, "As you may remember, Private Zala will be leading you when we have a decent force to back ourselves. Right now only she and Yamato will be making missions for AERO but ZAFT will be doing its best to offer support. I do not expect you to perform miracles but I expect you to be soldiers for this mission to Earth. You are expected to perform with ZAFT pilots at optimal efficiency. Meet with the ZAFT squadron and report to PT right after."
"So you think any of them is worth investing in?"
Illiana shrugged his arm when she told him, "To tell you the truth I've had my eye on someone."
"Woah. Illiana's going for somebody."
"Ah man. For one of the AERO guys? Guess we better offer a warning."
As soon as another ZAFT pilot saw her making her way to the Archangel's celebrity he told them, "Hehe. No worries. She's going for the kid."
The questioning pilot agreed when he saw the sight, "Might as well see someone bust his high horse. Couldn't be a better pick than her."
"Hey Yamato. Nice to see you were anxious to be on time to see me again."
"Well uh... I never really had a plan for that. I never thought you noticed me."
She offered her hand in greeting, "Illiana Rydith."
Sousuke shook her hand when he greeted back, "I guess you know me. I'm the Yamato kid everybody is sour over."
Illiana began to walk towards the locker room when she asked, "Sour huh? I know you weren't showing any enthusiasm before but now it just sounds like you never had plans for the military."
"If you want me to be honest I didn't. The only reason I'm here is because I saved my father from being killed in battle and I guess this is his way of saying thanks."
"The way you describe him it makes it sound like he doesn't understand you."
Sousuke gave a glare to the ground beneath him when he confirmed, "Tell me about it. Just because I piloted a Gundam once now I'm a big time pilot who has to save us all."
Illiana took a look at the Centennial at the launching strip when she pointed out, "It's not like you gave a bad argument why. Only two Actualizers were killed in the entire course of our contact with them. Killing one in first flight is not something to dismiss. If anything it just show's you were clearly born for this."
He wasn't any more convinced when he added in a sarcastic tone, "Yeah if I was I might as well have told my mom as a kid that I wanted to follow dad into taking on Clarent and exposing Selda Crind. I'd like to see how well she would have reacted to that."
Illiana wasn't disenchanted with the idea when she instructed him, "If you're just going to keep coming up with excuses for why you shouldn't be here you're not going to handle this period any better."
Sousuke found his way to a wall to the separating area for the locker rooms when he asked, "And how am I even supposed to? I didn't want to go in and I sure as hell don't want to be here now."
"If you had the choice to do it again though, would you?"
Sousuke looked down when he was forced to pause at the idea. After considering the notion he could only muster, "I don't even know anymore. I'm starting to wonder if I even should have to begin with."
Illiana waited before she entered the locker room telling him, "A good friend of mine would probably like to give you a serious beating for saying things like that."
Sousuke gave a brief gaze at Illiana when he asked, "And this friend of yours is the most war scarred out of everybody?"
"Not too many can say they are. He never got to meet his father and losing his last girlfriend was enough to make everyone think he wasn't into women. At least you had the chance to save yours."
"Whatever you say. Why do you even have to get in my affairs like this?"
Illiana placed a hand on his shoulder when she told him, "Everyone has to look out for one another in a group like this. Ensign Bitalech won't say it out loud but it's what keeps us from losing against the enemy. If you don't have a clear head or feel like there's anyone to call a friend you won't last very long out there."
Sousuke realized the issue when he commented, "At least you have something constructive to say. All these people just want to kick me down just because I'm new here."
"If that's how you feel then I hope you can look out for yourself. If it's okay I'll at least try to help you stay alive out here."
"Guess it could be worse. Private Zala over there will probably just want to find any other excuse to beat me up again."
Illiana chuckled lightly when she agreed, "That could be a bit embarrassing. Just like I said earlier though, don't try to get killed out there." She realized the Ensign was about to glare at their location when she reminded, "Training is about to start. Hope you're ready for a soldier's daily training."

The session of training was harsh for Sousuke when he panted to make an effort at enduring the physical training a military pilot had to go through. Most of the exercises being as demanding as they were ended up draining him of his energy and yield in low results some of the pilots had to hold back laughing at. Even with such problems on his mind Sousuke was still able to find a safe area in speaking with Illiana when she began her kickboxing training.
Illiana was clad in her boxing gear when the first quarter of physical training was passing when she told him, "I think I get it by now. You never were interested in being the big bad Shinn Asuka or trying to be what your dad was. But did you ever hold anyone in the military forces to high regard?"
Sousuke took down his own target when he told her, "Not before. I think I can make an exception for you though."
Illiana made another kick when she told him, "Are you honest? If you are then you're certainly a lot easier to build trust with than you've been letting on."
Sousuke tried to keep his eyes level with her face when he told her, "It's not like I can say no to a nice lady can I?"
She took a sip of her water container when she looked up and asked, "Nice lady? You might be one of the more polite pilots I have a chance to work with."
Sousuke made a show of shaking his head at the idea when he told her, "Well damn, ZAFT must have really lowered their standards if ladies aren't given the treatment they deserve."
Illiana made her way to the women's locker room as soon as the alarm for first quarter of drills had been completed telling him, "You sure managed to get on my good side easily. Let's see if that does anything for us on the battlefield."

Avris answered his phone when he greeted his constant partner in crime, "Morning Private. The training been going well for you?"
Illiana's voice sounded when she answered, "Ensign Bitalech has been anxious to see our forces are ready to save the day and been treating the Gundam Pilots like the royalty they are. You should know how much of a pain it is working in AERO conditions."
Avris threw his wrench to the side when he told her, "Come on, I know like anybody else can you're trying to list excuses to get transferred... again."
"Oh come on it was just once, and I had to relinquish my promotion because of it."
"Yeah a real dilemma for you wasn't it?" He took a gaze at his monster of a Gundam when he reported back, "Me and the guys are making sure the Verity is able to make a big entry, A.S.S. swinging."
Illiana giggled when she agreed, "Sounds better than boomerangs. At least it's less likely to interfere with someone's line of fire."
"Yeah however Zala plans to act it might be a while before she has a level head about teamwork."
Illiana's answer when she delayed her response quickly telling him, "Maybe we should just agree to that. This sort of talk, not the kind to stick on her good side."
Avris flipped his phone closed when he agreed, "Okay. Sounds like everything is going as expected.

Before the third quarter of drills could begin Meyryth received an alarm from the bridge above when she heard, "Ensign! We have contact from the bridge! The enemy is approaching our location!"
"I should have known." Meyryth sighed. She sent an order to the crew within the launch bay, "Send the ZETA and Centennial out to engage! Don't let them approach our location!"
Sousuke took a look at his assigned Gundam when he shook his head, "Great... I get to go out there again."
Illiana walked up to him when she asked, "You're planning to keep them from approaching aren't you?"
Sousuke took hold of his helmet when he had his pilot suit on answering, "Whatever. All missions pretty much boil down to killing the other guy doesn't it?"
"If it is then I hope you're ready to do well enough to come back in one piece."
"I guess. It's not like too many people are going to be happy about it anyway."
"Does this give you incentive?" Illiana asked placing a kiss on his cheek.
Sousuke blushed as he "I... I guess it might."
Illiana patted his back when she told him, "Just go out there and do your job Mr. Soldier."
Now within the cockpit of the Centennial Sousuke prepared himself for the launching process after the ZETA shot forward. He announced to the crew of the bridge, "Sousuke Yamato. Gundam Centennial. Launching."

"Now I'm going to make them see what I'm capable of for real." Avris flipped several switches and announced to the crwe of the Terminus, "Avris Grimm. Gudnam Verity. Launch!"