N.B.: ships and mobile suits images appear in order of quotation

IV. THE CIVIL WAR (THE TITANS’ CONSPIRACY).

On the 17^th of June 84 the Federal Assembly votes a motion by which they declare again the colonial population’s inferiority and submission, give restrictions for newtype, and keep tight Earth’s status quo. In July, meanwhile, the Bugh Concern, founded in 55 by scientist Charnlost Bugh Lona, comes to an end and the first spherical colony, Moon Moon, is completed. In the same month missionJupiter starts with cargo Jupitoris’ set-off to pick up from Jupiter’s atmosphere helium 3, rare and essential for nuclear fusion, the main energy source of universal era.

On September 21 Char Jion comes back on Earth from Side 3 with the false name of Quattro Bajina, and sets in the federal army to organize from inside a faction dissenting from colonial policy of Federation, that on December 4 will found a special corp inside the UNT Spacy, the Titans, at the orders of commodore Jamitov Heimann and settled at Green Noah colony, in Side 7. Group’s official task should be completely disarming Jion and definitively suppressing colonial population’s rebellions, but soon they reveal themselves to be a bloody and conspiring military oligarchy. On the 31^st of July 85, in fact, Titans’ commandos carry out a cruel outrage introducing poisonous gas into Bunch 30’s life-support system in Side 1 and wiping out its population. Both Federal Government and Assembly, unable to openly take sides against military exstremists, and concentrated on climatic emergency, consider the matter as an accident, but a crowd of very sceptical UNT officers against Titans’ terrorist policy, led by Quattro Bajina and general Brex Forra, charges federal army with underestimating Titans’ambitions and founds the Anti-Earth Union Group (AEUG) irregular troops. The organization — entered by many “one year war”’s veterans, including Amuro Rei and several republican ex-servicemen of Jion — is soon supported by Anaheim Electronics, opposed to Titans’ nationalization program and worried about the effects of a possible coup d’état, so that in a short time it will have got an its own arsenal.

On September 8 the Titans start building the satellite base of Grips 2 in Side 7’s orbit, while on the 6^th of February 86 the base of Axis, last stronghold of Zabis’ monarchist supporters, sets off for Earth. On the planet, meanwhile, glaciation’s effects cause large migrations from South and North to equatorial areas, bringing about strong conflicts in Africa, where both Government and Assembly have transferred their office (Dakar). The occupation of wide areas (Sahara, Nile’s Valley, Serengeti’s Plains) by a plenty of bureaucrats and soldiers brings the birth of Kalaba, a paramilitary liberation movement — it also supported by Anaheim, that will supply it with a specific MS, the MSK-008 Dijeh — immediatly joined by AEUG.

On the 2^nd of March 87 an AEUG commando, consisting of some RMS-099 Rick Dias (original MS types produced by AEUG), succeeds in penetrating Side 7 in order to steal three prototypes of a new Gundam type, the RX-178 Mark II, made at Green Noah’s military factories. Commando’s blitz, thank to the help of a local civilian, newtype Camille Vidan, succeeds and the mobile suits are loaded on AEUG’s flagship, the Pegasus III class Aghama, on which also Camille Vidan gets as mobile suit’s pilot.

Then Aghama, planning a full-scale assault on the federal base of Jaburo — now a Titans’ supply centre — comes back to Earth orbit and drops off espionage specialist Reccoa Londo to scout out the territory. Hostilities between the Titans and AEUG are now broken out and mobile suits fightings are more and more frequent and violent. Aghama, escorted by the three RX-178 (two of them driven by Amuro Rei and Camille Vidan) and a squad of MSA-003 Nemo sent by Anaheim, succeeds in reaching the Corporation’s seat at Von Braun City on the Moon, where it joins the rest of the fleet and receives a new mobile suit, MSN-100 Hyaku Shiki. Then AEUG General Staff meets Anaheim heads who, in spite of Char’sopposition and lasting Londo’s silence, direct to proceed with the Jaburo attack, which will serve as a bold declaration of war on the Titans. So, on May 2, EUG steals out of drydock several Federation Garuda class cruisers and battleship Radish, assembling a makeshift fleet that sets off for Earth. En route, Aghama’s crew rescue a refugee adrift shuttle where they find the former White Base captain, Noah Bright, who’s promptly pressed into service as captain of Aghama. On May 11 AEUG mobile suits launch their assault on Jaburo, but they meet with a surprising minimal resistance: Titans’ troops have abandoned the base, but leaving behind a time-delayed nuclear charge that, in a short time, wipes it out destroying several mobile suits. Then, AEUG fleet moves to North America to rendezvous with its terrestrial allies, the Kalaba. Hence the fleet launches back into space leaving behind Amuro Rei’s Rick Dias, Camille Vidan’s Mark II and some Nemo to escort Kalaba cargo Audhumla towards New Hong Kong City. On May 22 Audhumla reaches New Hong Kong, but here they have to fight against the huge MRX-009 Psycho Gundam. After beating it the AEUG mobile suits squad leaves Hong Kong and Camille Vidan leaves the Earth with his Mark II to join the fleet in space. On the Moon, meanwhile, Anaheim has completed a brand new MS for the AEUG, the MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam.

In the meantime, the Titans paradoxically alley with Jion’s Republic that, not to undergo harassments anymore, loans the asteroid fortress A Bao A Qu. Moving it to Side 7 and renaming it the Gate of Sedan, Heimann turns it into his headquarters. On June 8 the Titans begin converting Grips 2 into a solar conveyer, like the Solar Ray used by Jion during the "one year war", by which Heimann plans to destroy Anaheim Electronics on the Moon. Titans’ operations increase: after attacking Kalaba on June 29 at New Hong Kong City, on August 10, with Operation Apollo, a fleet led by new Heimann’s lieutenant Paptimus Scirocco occupies the lunar city of Von Braun, but AEUG is soon able to drive it out. The Federal Assembly is impressed by Titans’ action and, after a rough session in Dakar, on August 16 signs over more control of the federal forces to Heimann. With such power at their disposal, the Titans keep on with terrorist acts: on August 17 their agents assassinate general Brex Forra, landed on Earth to tighten relations with new UNT dissidents; on August 21 they attack with poison-gas Bunch 25 in Side 2,  a hotbed of support for AEUG; and on October 5 they even succeed in bombing Von Braun City’s spaceport on the Moon.

On Otober 12 of 87 the asteroid fortress Axis, after two years travelling, arrives to Earth-Moon system and soon AEUG sends the Aghama to negotiate an alliance; but Mineba Zabi and regent Hamaan Khan recognize Quattro Bajina as Char Jion and charge him of betrayal for his republican sympathies, so the negotiation aborts. The failure of AEUG gives a chance to the Titans, and so on October 15 Hamaan Khan and Paptimus Scirocco come to an agreement by which Axis monarchists assure their military help to the Titans for the power on Jion.

Meanwhile, Aghama is back to La vie en rose for refuelling and on November 2 it joins the Kalaba in order to launch an assault on Kilimanjaro Titans’ base, in Africa. The stronghold is defended by several own Titans’ mobile suits, including RMS-117 Galbaldy Beta and GM II RGM-179 Grips version, but besieging forces are stronger and the Zeta Gundam, together with AEUG pilots’ quality, makes the difference: on November 3 the base is captured by AEUG/Kalaba forces. The victory makes possible an AEUG/Kalaba diplomatic mission in Dakar and so, on November 16, Quattro Bajina makes a speech at the Federal Assembly telling he’s Jion zum Daikun’s son and giving the evidences of the crimes committed by the Titans, who plan a coup d’etat in order to establish a military dictatorship. Public opinion is shocked and the Federal Assembly decides to revoke all Heimann’s powers, causing a split inside UNT between AEUG’s supporters and Titans’ extremist followers. The chrisis’ main consequence, on February 24 of 88, is the mutiny of elite UNT officers stationed at the asteroid fortress Pezun, that, declaring themselves the New Decides (a hybrid of "decision" and "dissident"), under the command of major Brave Cod swear to fight on for the Titans. Although the Axis-Titans alliance is the major threat, Federal Government decides to open a new front to immediatly stop the rebellion: at Pezun, actually, there is a big industrial plant for full-scale mobile suits’ production, and in its hangars there are lots of units ready, including new Gundam Mark V ORX-013. On March 23 Federation forms Alpha, a taskforce of AEUG/Kalaba/UNT-Spacy veterans led by a Pegasus III home battleship with a powerful Gundam team including some FA Gundam ZZ MSZ-010 Full Armor and one brand new Superior Gundam MSA-0011, provided with experimental system ALICE (Auto-Learning Intelligence Core Equipment) deriving from old RX-78 ALCS. But the operation is harder than UNT Command expected. The New Decides, in fact, destroy Pezun and set off with all the mobile suits to shelter in the friendly lunar metropolis of Ayers City, using the civilians as a shield to avoid engagement. First Alpha’s assault is driven back by the rebels, also thank to a help from admiral Brian Aeno’s light fleet that, instead of supporting Alpha as ordered by Federal Command, surprisingly sides with the Titans. After losing the FA-ZZ Gundam, Alpha receives reinforcements and lays siege to Ayers City, that finally falls after ten days with Brave Cod’s death; but an Axis’ fleet intervention let surviving New Decides run away and reorganize themselves. Under the command of Tosh Cray and with Axis’ support, that loans them a re-entry capable mobile armour — the Zodiac AMA-100 — surviving rebels seize the relay station Penta, in low Earth orbit in order to launch an attack on Dakar from there. But a timely Alpha’s assault allows federal forces to foil rebels’ plan. In the running battle the Superior Gundam, controlled only by ALICE system, pursues the Zodiac through the Earth’s atmosphere and manages to wipe it out, but it inevitably burns up.

In the meantime, on the 7^th of December 87, the Titans have attacked and destroyed Bunch 18 in Side 2 using the solar mirror Grips 2, and they’ve arrived next to the Moon to aim the mirror on Anaheim’s industrial plant. But just when they’re about to win the war their alliance with Axis breaks out: trying to avoid their assault on Granada, an Anaheim’s ambascery to Axis succeeds in convincing Hamaan Khan to count on Anaheim’s arsenal to conquer Side 3 and not to trust Heimann, who definitely doesn’t want Jion’s Principality re-establishment. That’s why, on January 18 of 88, Axis enters lunar orbit and Khan’s troops capture Grips 2, then they move to the Gate of Sedan to meet Heimann. On January 25 the negotiate fails and Jion’s monarchists throw the asteroid fortress Axis into the Gate of Sedan destroying the fortress and breaking up the enemy fleet: during the battle Scirocco kills Heimann and becomes new Titans’s leader, charging Hamaan Khan of murder. The situation is soon exploited by AEUG and federal forces that, on February 2, launch Operation Maëlstrom and take control of Grips 2 in order to divert Axis falling down the Moon. Just around the solar mirror, on February 22, takes place the final battle and AEUG/UNT Spacy forces defeat Scirocco, killed while fighting with his PMX-001 Pallas Athena, and Hamaan Khan, who retreats on Axis. At last the Titans are totally wiped out, but also AEUG has lots of casualties, including Camille Vidan, in a coma, and Char Jion, missing in action.

index

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II

III

IV

V

VI

VII

VIII

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