Major Sone looked very uncomfortable as he stood in front of the growing crowd in the radio tent. By now many of them had whispers of the announcement, the pleading look on their faces saying that they prayed it was just propaganda. Axton had managed to slink away from the Major, integrating himself into the crowd. The Second Lieutenant had neither the mental fortitude nor desire to break this kind of news to his brothers-in-arms.

“Yes, it’s true. Preliminary reports are stating that a treaty was signed between Zeon and the Federation,” stated Major Sone, several of his pilots cursing under their breath in response, “However, we have yet to receive any orders directly so we will follow our last command and defend this area. Thinks should get clearer as the day goes on.”

The assembled crew then made a rabble, as they asked all kinds of questions to the Major. Unfortunately Sone had none, as he was just as in the dark about it as the rest of the Steel Sharks. Knowing that he wouldn’t find any answers with the crowd, Axton left the tent and headed to the landing strip.

If his internal time was correct, the night patrol should be landing right about now. And sure enough they were, as several Dopps had just landed. While not super close to the fighter pilots, as he was a mobile suit pilot, Axton was friendly enough with the other type of pilots.

Axton walked over to one of them and began to ask, [color=#5DE62C]“Did you hear the news?”[/color]

“Yeah, our comms picked it up about a half hour ago,” replied the pilot, “It’s crazy right? The war actually being over? I mean were still doing a lot of fighting here on Earth.”

[color=#5DE62C]“Honestly I’ve heard rumors that the Federation was gaining ground up in space, but I never thought that they were that close,”[/color] pondered Axton.

“Yeah, I know,” the pilot replied, “Actually we’ve got to get going. We have some stuff to report to the Major.”

[color=#5DE62C]“I’ll accompany you,”[/color] offered Axton.

By the time the Dopp pilots and Axton reached the radio tent, the crowd had mostly dispersed. Only a few were remaining by the radio, waiting for more information, including Major Sone. The commanding officer didn’t even notice the arrival of his pilots, instead staring at the radio with a sullen look. The pilot then cleared his throat, getting the attention of the Major.

“Sir, we’ve made visual contact with some Federation activity just due south of here,” stated the Dopp pilot.

This snapped Major Sone out of his trance, “What kind of activity?”

“We saw a Big Tray-class land cruiser and several GM-type mobile suits,” answered the pilot.

Major Sone then turned to Axton, “Second Lieutenant Huber, assemble a small team and assess the situation. If they don’t shoot at you, maybe the war is over.”

The pilot then interjected, “Actually, Lieutenant Thompson has already departed to survey the situation.”

Major Sone swore under his breath before continuing, “I forgot to inform the day patrol about the development. Axton, get in your Zaku and find Lieutenant Thompson before anything bad happens.”

[color=#5DE62C]“Yes sir!”[/color] exclaimed Axton.

Within a few minutes, several members of the Steel Sharks had made it to their mobile suits. Unlike Crea, they had not left their machines ready to go, so they had to boot them up. While Axton was doing this for his Zaku II, he looked over at the picture of his older brother he kept in his cockpit. The thought of loss of family members caused Axton to worry about what was going on with his family at Side 3. He didn’t trust the Earth Federation and knew that they were capable of anything.

As such he finished activating his Zaku II, the massive machine standing up. The Dopp pilots had said the Federation activity was due south of the makeshift base, so that’s where he was heading. From the amount of mobile suits and a land cruiser mentioned, Axton knew that even a skilled pilot like Lieutenant Thompson could be in trouble. With that in mind, Axton’s Zaku II began to walk in the direction of the Lieutenant’s Gouf.