In just a minute the once tranquil Chrysia Forest is now a war zone, the once fresh air that came from the fauna is now tainted with the fumes of the weapons while some plants are trampled and destroyed as both the Mechs of the Sisters of Peace and the Orthos Forces clashed with the Mechs of Memento Mori and Wild Hunt.

Alon looked out from the view and saw the forest slowly getting destroyed by the fighting. He let out a disappointed sigh silently thankful that he was able to enjoy a quiet evening with Marina in the forest before this.

"You people have no idea how beautiful this place is!" He complained as his Beam Saber met with the Kinetic Sword of an Orthos Kataphract, unlike the other Orthos who had silver-coloured armour plates this one stood out for a bright red and orange colour scheme.

"If there's anyone to blame it would be you and your fellow terrorists!" The Orange Kataphract Pilot retorted through the proximity communications. "We pursue a path to restore the glory of Earth, but you and the Principality are the very barriers that block out the path to the bright future you denied us!"

The Orange Kataphract reeled back and then used its shoulder-mounted shield to bash at the Zio sending it and Alon inside tumbling.

"Dammit, I can't get past this guy." Alon recovered and then fired the Kinetic Rifle at two incoming Kataphracts used by the Sisters. To his luck, he was able to disable its optics while it took two more shots to fully down it but he had already heard of calls for support on Tsuna's end where he's already getting a large concentration of Z13s.

He then pushed his luck further and went full throttle as he dropped the Kinetic Rifle and shield in favour of dual-wielding the sabres on this gamble he was working on. The plan was that he would move at a faster speed to tackle the Kataphract as they are far bulkier than the Z series Mechs developed on Venus and that they are more flexible than most units. This is why upon contact he would aim for the head and limbs hoping he can disable it buying him more time to get out of dodge. If he succeeded, he was not able to disable the Kataphract but also humiliate the Orthos as this Orange Kataphract is an Officer or an Ace pilot.

"Alright, you need to get out of my way now!" Alon called out to the Kataphract as he rushed forward as the Kataphract prepared its sword and—

Hum!

Crunch!

Clang!

Alon let out a shout of relief as he was satisfied with the outcome. While he had been able to decapitate the Kataphract, it retaliated by slicing off a huge portion of its right leg leaving only the thigh and a few wires exposed but the Zio retaliated by kicking it on with its good leg hard enough for the Kataphract to tumble on the ground and sliced the back and left arm off as the Zio flew off to help Tsuna.

Upon arriving the Zio then held the two sabres in reverse grip and slammed them on the back of two Sisters of Silence Knights who were in the middle of overpowering Tsuna's Ronin who was holding off three at the same time and the only damages it had sustained were the destruction of the extra plating but it was more likely he had to remove it for mobility.

"You looked like you have things under control." Alon joked hoping with a little banter it'll lighten the mood as he flew and used both sabres to slice a pair of Kataphracts in half.

"Very funny, but thanks for stopping by," Tsuna said as he used the thrusters sparingly as his Ronin danced around the battlefield cutting down other mechs by taking down their joints to save more time in mobility.

"Don't get the Zio too thrashed," Tsuna added referring to the already missing leg forcing Alon to rely on the thrusters to remain standing. Oh, right forgot about that, Alon thought as he then turned to a pair of discarded rifles the Zio then proceeded to sheathe the sabres and picked up the said pair of Kinetic Rifles and began to open fire on the other Z13s that began to close in towards them.

I wonder if we can retrofit the Z13 Parts into the Zio? Alon wondered as he flew away and began to shoot down the remaining Z13s alongside the other Knights used by the fellow Wild Hunt Mechs in the area Alon was about to let out a sigh and—

Bang!

Bang!

The Head and left arm of the Zio had been shot off throwing the Zio off balance causing it to crash on the ground. This caused Alon to be thrown off his seat if not for the belts keeping him in place.

"I'm down!" Alon said looking at the damage done to it, currently, all of the damage done to it was minimal as all of it was from the limbs, thankfully none of the vital spots like the backpack or the cockpit was hit.

"Just sit tight we'll cover you!" The Pilots of the Wild Hunt said as they surrounded the Zio while one helps it stand up. "Thanks to Ars and Fenrir's on the spot thinking, we were able to establish yet another secondary base from afar. All that's left is to provide a distraction enough to make them believe we fended them off."

Alon let out a sigh of relief, not only they were able to get away safely this also meant that Marina was among those that got away safely as the retreat flares were launched by the Sovereign forces.

[Legacy of Earth]

After the fighting, they were able to get away from the war zone and regrouped near an old Mining Quarry where all operations were ceased due to the fact no more resources were found in that area rendering it useless.

The Allied Kataphracts took the remains of the Zio gently on a nearby field for repair and as Alon climbs out he immediately sees Wu and a New Wild Hunt Mechanic, the previous one died piloting a Mech facing the Orange Kataphract, both of them are horrified and disappointed at what Alon had done to the Zio on what is essentially its second sortie.

"You can repair this right?" Alon asked Wu and a New Wild Hunt Mechanic as they looked over the remains of the Zio which had lost the two of its limbs, its right leg had sliced off thanks to the Orange Kataphract from earlier while the right arm was shot off alongside the head thanks to a Z13 getting their hands on a heavy kinetic rifle, though the silver lining to all this is that none of the irreplaceable parts is destroyed making the Zio salvageable albeit through extreme jury-rigging.

"With the amount of Z13 parts we scavenged from fighting we might even be able to give it some upgrades too," She grinned as she pointed to the large pile of dismembered Z13 Parts, all of which were able acquired thanks to Tsuna's efforts in limiting the damages from it.

"Does this mean that we have prisoners?" Alon asked as he suddenly felt sick as the realization of the fact he had killed someone inside those mechs had finally set in, she then pointed out in another direction causing both of them to turn and notice a line of Sisters of Silence Pilots were being lined up.

I feel sick, Alon thought as the feeling intensified as he sprinted off without bothering to excuse himself to both Wu and the Mechanic so he can get vomit his lunch earlier. What am I thinking Akunawa? I wanted to be a soldier and see the Galaxy right this is something to be expected! He mentally scolded himself as he felt another urge to vomit once more but he stopped himself as he heard the footsteps of someone walking toward him.

"A—Naga?"

He turned around to find Marina looking at him with a worried look.

"Oh hey Aqua," He said calling her from her appointed Code name, she wasn't an operator per se but it was safer that she be given a code name on the ground. "I'm sorry but I wasn't feeling very well."

"Is it the Prisoners?" She asked him as she pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the remaining vomit off his mouth. Her worried look made him feel even worse, he was the older brother and yet here he was unable to stomach the idea that he had and will kill people to live.

"Yeah I kind of expected to see this kind of stuff but I guess it's hard to deal with at the start," Alon faked a smile as he took a deep breath trying to calm himself from the reality that what he'll be doing from now on. And that the best he can do is to put up a strong front so he doesn't have to get her or his family worried.

I need to be strong even if it's just for her. He thought as he made a joke which made Marina smile for a bit to lighten the mood as they made their way back to everyone, Alon made it very sure to watch the Prisoners. If he looked at something like that even more maybe he'll be better at handling it.

"What do you think will happen to them?"

"Hard to say."

Considering Wild Hunt embodies the pacifist mentality of the Wild Hunt, it was unlikely that they'll kill them so the question remains where will they be held. It was unlikely that they have the resources to maintain prisoners as killing them would go against their goal of trying to end the war.

But then again, Memento Mori, Wild Hunt and the Sisters of Peace are direct players in the war. Though the Principality-Sovereign War is that simple, all Alon knew was similar conflicts are occurring in the galaxy, where a Planet's government is torn internally over politics in a conflict where the outcome of it would greatly affect the nations around them. But at the same time, they want the war to end in their favour without looking like they are favouring a side.

It was more likely they'll drop them at different locations where they won't realize where they are. Alon concluded but it felt unsatisfying and yet he couldn't decide what was the right way in dealing with them. But there was also a chance that they were just like him, naive and tricked into believing one side of the story instead through the use of propaganda and manipulation.

Is this the price of war? Alon thought to himself as he excused himself away from Marina and walked back to the Zio as Wu and the New Mechanic discuss ways to improve it through the use of the parts of the Z13.

Is this going to be my family's fate if we don't do anything? No, if any this alone should be a reason for me to be a better pilot and operator.

"Naga?" Alon turned to find that Ars, Dain and Tsuna running toward him, Ars had gone pale while Dain and Tsuna had a serious look on their faces.

"We need you on a Mech now, we're gonna be deployed on another mission. Matriarch Erys Zuhayir has been captured and a coup had broken out in the Capital." Dain explained as he hurried as Ars and Tsuna followed the same thing as they all climbed into various other Mechs that are still good enough to fight. Alon looked one last time at the Zio, he knew it won't be repaired on time as he let out a sigh and sprinted his way towards the next Mech that was still in pristine condition.