Kenny sighed and nodded at Mark's suggestion. It might be a lot of fun getting a freakin' Princess drunk! Admiral Zala might not appreciate it though - the man seemed to have a mild daughter complex. Best save that stuff for when it really mattered. Like when they won the war... But how far away was that victory?

"Yup, that sounds like something Dad would do." Izumi's eyes rolled, "That shock tool was actually made to stun 'Glitch' there should he get too close for comfort." She chuckled as the Haro playfully waved its little shock arm around. Yeah... Athrun Zala definitely had a major daughter complex! "...Dad's comfort, that is."

---

As soon as the ringer chimed in Lucia's room, she answered the call. Apparently she didn't even check the caller's ID! "Is that Cronic? How is she? Izumi's awake now, right?"

"Slow down, Lucia. Deep breaths. It's good news, anyway." Cronic said, reading a document on some of the schematics of one of the new gundams being produced with his other hand holding it.

"Izumi's awake and responsive. A little shaken up from the whole thing, but she'll make a recovery. She's lucky as all hell. A compromised cockpit typically means the Pilot is toast. It's a miracle she's still here. Along with that little Haro." Cronic said, turning the page to a completely different unit, a few annotations made on the page.

"Though it'll be a while before she's back on her feet and kicking ass. What with the Saviour being fried n' all. Not to mention she was pretty badly roughed up. We've got plans to remedy that, but that's if she wants to get back out there on the field. Near-death experiences are something you're not likely to forget in a hurry, and can do a serious number on people's minds."

---

"Well, I owe him one for that. Despite it's intended purpose, that Haro helped greatly. Though it did shock me a few times while I was carrying you to Cronic's ZAKU. I'm not normally an MS Pilot, but Cronic suspected something was off, and knew that if he sortied, he'd likely be toast too. Not sure how it works, but... " Mark said, before pulling out a small dossier that had the words the words "Aethon" on the front.

"ZERENIS~!!" Lucia could be heard yelling and running out of the room after Cronic finished speaking, and a few moments later she returned, dragging the team leader into her room to get in on the call. It might just be overreaction, but when you consider how low her best friend's survival chances were, it was something to be pretty god damn excited for!

"She's gonna be just fine! Mental damage or no, our Izumi is a stubborn pilot. I'd be surprised if she wasn't out of bed within the week!" The overly-excited Redcoat chattered, literally shaking with happiness.

---

Izumi curiously took the files from Mark and began to flick through. With a mere scan of the specs and diagrams she quickly understood the machine. She also understood that humanity didn't have the technology or resources to make this kind of mobile suit... ZGMF-X72A Aethon Gundam, a prototype transformable assault-type mobile weapon with experimental psychoframe technology... This seemed very much like the Saviour, but oh so much more powerful in every way. But...

"...Psychowhat?" Izumi asked, blinking in confusion at Mark. "The heck is that?"

Needless to say, Cronic had the foresight to hold the phone away from his ear after he'd finished his sentence, while a bewildered Zerenis was generally confused and alarmed, until he heard why Lucia was so excited.

"Izumi's pulled through? I know she's a fighter, but damn. Those were grim odds. I'll have to be a little more respectful of her from here on out." Zerenis said over the phone, before breathing a sigh of relief.

---

"I don't know the details. But the Junk Guild boys when they went Reverse Engineering on the Mobile Doll we captured must've found something of value to contribute to it. Frankly, I was just trying to make sure said mobile doll didn't try to tear the ship apart from the inside out, so I didn't have time to gather the specifics. From what I gathered, the "Psychoframe" tech lets the pilot's mind directly interface with the unit. I couldn't tell you much more than that, other than that certain... traits, are needed for it to work. Traits you have." Mark said, scratching the side of his head in the earlier part of the description.

"...Psychic powers and mobile suits. Huh," Izumi smirked, "Now all we need is something to defend against whatever unleashed the wave of mindfuck. That reminds me... How's that other pilot, the one who piloted a modified Dagger? I heard his voice out there too, gasping for breath just the same as I was."

Kenny put on a blank expression and shrugged. Having an Extended on the ship felt strange... The guy needed to hibernate occasionally, and not in the high-powered system he would be used to. Junk Guild and CSC engineers were good, but none of them knew how exactly to build a strong, operational chamber for Calthorn. Yet another damnable problem Maddox had caused...

"He's in a room adjacent to this one. Though at the moment he's in a limited version of the maintenance beds used to keep Extended in top form. Courtesy of Maddox running off with his tail between his legs, leaving him to rot. The Junk Guild and the CSC pretty much had to pull that thing together in a hurry, and even then it's not what he's accustomed to. Calthorn's used to enduring the pain, but by the time we'd finished the thing, the poor bastard was barely able to walk. It's unlikely he'll be back on his feet in a hurry." Mark said, folding his arms.

"At the bare minimum, we'd need a copy of the schematics of the original machine to be able to create a perfect replica. Something we don't have."

---

"We'll see to it that we get transport to the ship as soon as we can. Lucia, try not to bear hug her. Remember she's likely to still be recovering from her injuries." Zerenis said, a smile visible on his face.

"Thanks Cronic. That's the best news I've heard all day."

Lucia nodded along and leaned in closer to the camera, a pleased grin on her face, "I'll admit, I didn't think she had a chance. Thank you so much, Cronic... You and your guys gave us back someone we wouldn't be whole without. Count on the Minerva's support, we'd love to return the favour some time!" She offered, as if the rest of the ship wouldn't mind delving into hell and back for the CSC.

---

Izumi turned her gaze up to the ceiling in thought for a moment, formulating some kind of probably-dangerous idea. "Admiral Maddox's ship was never destroyed... So he's somewhere in the system, with working hibernation units on board. It'd be nice if we could track him down and get one back.. Or if he's up for it, Maddox could come back to the fleet and face Uncle Kira like a responsible officer should... Bastard shouldn't call himself a man if he won't face the fleet."

Sighing, the injured pilot began flicking through Aethon's files.

"Duly noted. But just make sure you've okayed that with the captain and the rest of the crew first, alright?" Cronic said, a small smirk visible on the side of his face.

"Military regulations and all that. A problem I don't have, but still..." Cronic said, before scratching his chin in thought.

"Since I don't do things military, if I tried to pull what Maddox did, my crew would disagree with me and they would not be afraid to let me know it. As for the Extended Maddox pretty much left to die, I doubt he'll be so willing to work for Maddox again. Hell, the only reason he probably stuck by Maddox in the first place was because of the maintenance beds."

---

"Were it so easy. Cronic spent a lot of time trying to chart where the ship went. He's narrowed it down to three possible locations, but right now we just don't have the time to spare a search party. Not to mention a lot of our guys are busy helping cart resources to various ships in the fleet. Be it materials for upgrades or consumables like food and water." Mark said, folding his arms.

"If he had any pair of balls remaining, Maddox would come back to face the consequences of what he's done. While the task force may have intimidated the ETs for now, once they're done licking their wounds, they'll be back in force. I'm worried the new units won't be ready for deployment by then. A wounded beast is an angry one, afterall."

"Hey, I'm not going to be piloting any time soon. I could give you guys a hand building the suits while I recover! I'm a Zala, my tech talents are limitless~..." Izumi offered cheerfully, adding a little proud bragging on the end there. It was the truth though. Izumi's first mobile suit was hand-built at the ZAFT Academy, and it's performance alone wiped the floor with the other training suits, it's pilot didn't even need to try and turn the mock battles in her favour.

"Well, someone's eager. I'll see if I can get that authorized once you're back on your feet." Mark said, folding his arms, as he was reviewing schematics for another unit, codenamed "Phoenix" and began reading through it.

"Let's see here... Heat absorption and venting... Able to use the heat to generate flame-based attacks... MA-MS Transformation system, DRAGOON System..." Mark said to himself, not caring if anyone heard him.

"Hmm... A Custom-made pilot suit will be needed for this one, otherwise the Pilot will cook inside the cockpit...."