-Roughly three months before the decisive battle-
"Please. I beg you! Just hear us out."
A young military officer knelt down in front of a surprised and confused Sora. His forehead was already close to touching the floor. It was a near perfect execution of a classic Japanese 'dogeza'.
"Alright. I get it. I'll listen to what you have to say. So please get up already. A superior doing that kind of thing in front of someone like me just feels so weird."
A hint of awkwardness flashed on the young officers face for an instant. He hastily got up and directed a look filled with quiet determination towards Sora.
"So? What does a promising young CO like you want with an EX-Seed dog like me? You can't have troubled yourself to come all the way out here just to deliver new mission orders.
I don't even think you have the authority to do so in the first place. We get our orders directly from High Command. Unless they already changed that policy too." Sora probed.
He looked curiously at the young officer in front of him. Somehow, something about him seemed strangely familiar.
The young officer briefly closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He then looked Sora straight in the eyes and spoke.
"We need your help."
"Help? Sure. Whatever for sir? Two of the best traits of EX-Seed are obedience and diligence. Guarding VIPs? Serving as meat shields? Licking officers boots? Satisfying pervy fetishes? You just name it sir. We'll get it done."
Sora didn't even bother concealing the sarcasm in his tone. He could not openly criticize or harm humans. But he could do this much at least.
The soldiers that accompanied the officer displayed awkward looks after Sora's scathing remarks. They turned concerned gazes towards the officer, who just shrugged his shoulders and heaved a deep sigh.
"This doesn't have to do anything with the Initiative or High Command. In fact, it's the exact opposite. We want your help in disrupting their plans."
Sora's brows twitched slightly. He swept his gaze at the young officer and his men; sizing them up and trying to read their intentions.
"What plans?" he asked, unable to contain his curiosity.
The young officers mouth broke into a small grin.
"Finally got his attention..." he thought.
"These new orders are yet to be officially released. We've gone through great personal risk to acquire a copy, and I'm now showing it to you as a sign of good faith. Read through them first. We'll talk after."
He handed Sora a small data card. Sora popped it in his terminal and started reading through the contents.
"T-This..." Sora stammered.
"Quite audacious ain't it?" remarked the officer. His grin never left his face.
Sora scanned the contents a few more times and looked at the officer with an awkward expression.
"This isn't just audacious. It's completely unreasonable. Quite frankly, it's utterly insane!"
The officer gave a small nod in agreement.
Part 2
A massive structure located just outside the Solar system apparently served as a warp gate of some kind. The Arc used it to continuously send in supplies and reinforcements to aid in their conquest of Earth.
They had not even bothered to hide the installation from the UEDF's recon probes. It had been discovered fairly earlier on in the war and several attempts to take it down were made. They all ended up in failure.
The UEDF forces could not breach its defense net. They also hesitated to commit a significant amount of their forces towards the endeavor. That could render the Earth defenseless and failure would spell Earth's certain defeat. No one was willing to lay the chips down with such high stakes, especially after the takeover of the Initiative.
The Arc were equally passive. They kept most of their troops in reserve and only engaged the UEDF in intermittent skirmishes. But anyone with half a brain would notice that they were just biding their time.
The Arc forces garrisoned near the gate steadily grew as the years plodded on. They were actually going for a long, drawn out war of attrition.
The pressure those forces brought upon the UEDF was overwhelmingly frightening. It was just like watching in horror as a monster slowly bore down on you; its claws and fangs gleaming menacingly, ready to tear you apart limb from limb in a moments notice.
Slowly but surely, the monster approached. For now, the hunter was just toying with its prey. But once it pounces, it was sure to aim for the jugular.
It was only a matter of time before the prey broke down.
Part 3
"They've finally gone and completely lost it haven't they?" Sora exclaimed incredulously.
He looked at the new orders displayed on his terminal with a mixture of surprise, exasperation and disgust.
High Command was ordering the UEDF forces to take out the Arc warp gate at all costs. That in itself could actually be considered pretty admirable. After all, this was the first time in several years that High Command had initiated such a bold move against the Arc during the course of the war.
But the forces commissioned to undertake the operation were woefully insufficient. Any military officer worth his or her salt could see that fact plainly. They were essentially sending them to their deaths.
"That's not even the worst part. You've noticed it too haven't you." the young officer remarked.
Sora's brows furrowed. He went over the troop roster once more. He gritted his teeth involuntarily.
"They've practically ordered all EX-Seed still in active duty to participate in the operation. And we both know that the only time an EX-Seed gets relieved from duty is when he or she dies." the officer continued.
Sora smiled bitterly, being reminded of the naive hopes he once carried. He murmured Karen's name under his breath. He was too preoccupied with his own thoughts and hadn't noticed subtle change in the young officers expression when he uttered her name.
Shaking off his idle thoughts, Sora turned his attention back to the officer.
"Why do all this?" he asked.
"We EX-Seed are born and bred for battle and a concentrated attack with all of us at the helm would indeed be a powerful force. But we're not miracle workers. The total number of EX-Seed still in active duty is, at most, only barely a thousand strong. That includes fourth and fifth generation batches that have barely seen any combat.
The number of experienced EX-Seed soldiers actually comprise only a handful. About two hundred give or take. The Arc aren't exactly pushovers either. We've lost some of our best in the hands of their elite forces. I've almost been done in more than a couple of times myself. Without sufficient support from the regular UEDF forces, we don't even have a ghost of a chance of completing this mission.
Attempting to bring down that damned gate with these numbers will just end up in one sided slaughter. It's like they're actually hoping we get wiped out."
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Sora already had an inkling as to why High Command would give such absurd orders. But he still wanted confirmation from the young officer. And if his suspicions were true, then all his and his comrades efforts would have been for nothing. He shuddered at the thought.
"It's as you've already concluded." the officer answered.
"High Command is offering the Earth up in a silver platter. And our deaths would be a token of good will."
Part 4
Sora bit his lip until he drew blood. High Commands actions were like spitting in the face of all that he and his fellow EX-Seed stood for. They were created for the purpose of defending the Earth and protecting humanity. But the orders he held now rendered their existence meaningless.
If this was going to be the case in the end, then why the heck did they even fight? Why did they die? Why were they even born? They who were fated to be humanities loyal pawns.
"How long?" he spat.
"Just how long have they been planning this?!"
"Shortly after the leadership take over took place. Maybe even earlier. We're not clear on the specifics. But it's confirmed that High Command had somehow gotten in contact with the Arc and struck a deal.
They'll hand over the Earth, but would be allowed to keep a portion of their power as formally appointed local overseers once the Arc finally turns our planet into one of their colonies." the officer answered.
"F*ck!" Sora swore in anger.
"Actually, the plan has already long been underway. Remember the earlier orders for decommissioning your personal T-Arms units a while back under the pretense of providing you with newer, more advanced models? It's been months and no new units in sight correct? This was part of the steps to gradually weaken the remaining EX-Seed forces.
The attack on the EX-Seed development facilities was also part of the whole plot. With that, they ensured that no new EX-Seed batches would be fielded out during the course of the war."
The more he heard, the angrier Sora felt. His frustration overwhelmed him. He jerked his head towards the officer after the latter mentioned the facilities.
"Y-You... That..." he stammered.
The officers brows creased. He made an uncomfortable expression.
"I'm truly sorry. By the time we caught wind of it, the plan was already underway. In the end, we were unable to prevent the slaughter of your brethren."
Sora reeled from the sudden revelation. Karen's death wasn't because of their leaders incompetence. It was actually deliberately planned!
"Aaah... Aaaaagh!..."
He clutched his chest in pain. He wanted to openly direct his rage towards the perpetrators. But the shackles that bound him prevented it. His agony stemmed from that.
The young officer also made an enraged expression. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.
"Please. We need your cooperation. High Command is planning to make a spectacle out of the whole thing.
The EX-Seed had implanted upon the masses a sense of security. There have been many accounts of your exploits during the course of the war. The people look to you as they would heroes.
And that is precisely why they're committing the entire EX-Seed force on this mission. It would display a false sense of earnestness regarding the goal of winning the war. If the people of Earth were to taste defeat under the false pretense of going all out, it would be far easier for the ones behind this plot to manipulate public opinion towards their desired outcome."
"Why reveal all this to me?" Sora asked.
"You should know about the EX-Seed's circumstances." he continued.
"We can't go against orders from High Command. The moment this thing is officially handed down, we'll have no other choice but to carry it out to the letter.
You can't be seriously asking me to aid you in a coup de tat are you? Chances are, I'd even turn my weapons against you once someone from High Command orders me to. I won't like it. But I won't have any choice either. That's just how wretched of an existence we EX-Seed are."
The young officer nodded slightly and firmly replied.
"That's just it. We're not asking you to defy orders. Far from it. We want you to accomplish your mission. And we want it to be a resounding success."
Part 5
"What?!" Sora exclaimed.
"You expect us to destroy that gate? With this kind of odds. With these numbers. You and I both know that's borderline crazy talk."
The young officer grinned mischievously.
"Who told you you'd be taking them on with just these? We'll be providing support of course. We'll mobilize sufficient forces in order to bring the gate down. We'll initiate a coup after that has been accomplished."
Sora blinked a few times, unsure what to make of the officers remark.
"You guys must have one hell of a character backing you up. To nonchalantly waltz in on an EX-Seed barracks with this kind of intel, without even minding High Commands surveillance. Not to mention proposing a crazy plan like this..."
"Haha. Well, I admit, the ones behind us do have considerable influence within the ranks. And they also happen to hate the notion of surrendering to a hostile alien foreign power with a passion." the young officer replied.
"So, are you in? You don't have to sweat the details. We'll handle that on our end. All we want from you is a commitment to follow through with those orders and destroy that warp gate.
We'll provide you with the equipment and manpower. You just need to do your damn job. And do it flawlessly. Simple ain't it?"
Sora turned silent for a moment, considering all that he's learned. He then looked up with determination apparent in his sharp gaze.
"I'm in." he finally answered.
The young officer and his companions released sighs of relief. He then made a gesture for shaking hands. Sora hesitated a bit, but took the offered hand anyway.
"I'm afraid we must be going. Any more and it'll get troublesome."
The officer turned to leave.
"Wait!" Sora bellowed.
"You never did tell me your name."
The officer smiled lightly and pointed towards Sora's terminal.
"You can look it up in the troop roster of the copy of the orders we left you. I'll be accompanying you through hell too after all." he answered.
"How the heck am I supposed to recognize your name in this damn list?" Sora asked.
"Oh, I'm sure you'll manage." the officer replied cryptically and left without turning back.
Sora turned to the terminal and scanned the roster. One name caught his attention immediately.
Lt. Cmd. Ken Hoshikawa
He started laughing. He laughed so hard, tears formed in the corner of his eyes.
He laughed for a long time. Even he didn't realize just when he started to cry.