The Ex-Gundam Meister of Celestial Being, Setsuna, has spent several weeks trying to find some sort of rebellious elements inside the Holy Britannian Empire.
The only thing that he found was that people thought the Emperor was too slow in his expansions. Actual extremists that made Marcus Anaheim look moderate.
Now these, in Setsuna's opinion, don't count.
In the end, he decided to change tactics, join the regular workforce, and understand people in this reality.
What he found was that people in this Empire are highly motivated, and everyone feels they are part of something bigger.
He meets people who want to live on Venus, Mars and even moons of the Gas Giants. The only issue is that they didn't win the lottery to move there.
In other words, they are extremely hopeful and motivated for another chance.
All of them remember the days before the Empire, and none of them wants to return to that period; in fact, it was so bad that they started a new calendar.
"Such a deep and thoughtful look."
Setsuna's eyes widened as he heard a familiar voice. His gaze snapped to the side as he saw Marcus dressed in simple running slacks, a black t-shirt, and a light blue hoodie. The Emperor kept his hoodie unzipped, though he used the hood to hide his black hair and black sunglasses to hide his eyes.
"Marcus Anaheim!" The Gundam Pilot exclaimed in shock.
"Keep your voice down. As you can see, I am in incognito." The disguised Emperor motioned him to calm down.
With that said, the Emperor took a seat on the bench next to Setsuna.
He then pulled out a blue plastic bag and a white plastic box, offering one to the confused Ex-Celestial Being member.
"...What is…"
But then Marcus opened his, and it was Doner Kebab slices and fries.
"..."
One thing is for sure… he didn't expect food from the Emperor of the World.
"Sauce?" The disguised Emperor offered a plastic pot full of Garlic sauce.
"..."
"One thing about Constantinople… is Kebabs…" Marcus commented as he pulled out another plastic box that was full of vegetables like cucumber, tomato, beetroot, onions, lettuce,
"...What are you doing here?" The ex-Gundam pilot eventually asked, his curiosity was at its peak.
"Enjoying what I achieved, Setsuna." The Emperor replied as he began to eat without hesitation.
"..."
"How is the capital?" The disguised ruler asked after several bites, as he looked into the distance; the flying cars and skyscrapers made quite a sight, and the parks, especially this one, made the contrast. People are exercising or relaxing, kids and teenagers are playing basketball on the courts, and football in the larger parts of the parks.
"...You keep it clean." The guy replied, then looked at the kebab box in his hands. He then opened it, and it was a huge portion, making him grimace a bit.
He then took a pot of sauce and sprinkled it on the meat and chips.
"That much is given," Marcus replied as he continued with his food.
"...What happened to Celestial Being?"
"Hmm, well, Lockon is in the army, special forces. I occasionally enlist him as my bodyguard. Allelujah is in the reserve army as he found his girlfriend, so he doesn't want to fight that much. Your Innovade friend is still in his cell, though I gave him a bunch of classic books to read." The Emperor explained before taking another bite.
"...I see… I didn't imagine Lockon in the army." Setsuna looked conflicted about that!
"Temporary." The disguised ruler replied between bites.
"There is no way I keep him like that. I gave him a copy of his Dynames." Marcus looked for a certain expression on the ex-Exia pilot.
"..."
There was a bit of jealousy in that silence.
"Most of Celestial Being's scientists are in my G-Force Lagrange 3 colony. Like the Gundam maker Ian and his family."
"And what now?"
"Depends on you. Our deal is still there, you can concede, and I can enlist you today in my G-Force."
"..."
"You will get your Exia, upgraded Exia as your personal machine." Marcus stopped eating and looked at him.
"..."
"..."
Seeing that he is not responding, the Emperor continued with his kebab.
Around two minutes later, there was a reaction from Setsuna.
"This is good." The guy tasted the kebab.
"Why do you think I sneak out of my palace when I have a chance?" Marcus chuckled while saying that.
"The meat is sourced from actual farms, not some factory, and its from trusted people." The disguised Ruler explained in a proud tone. He then offered some vegetables.
"Try these, they are fresh as well."
With that said, the pair continued eating while looking out at the park before them.
The Emperor didn't truly think that the Ex-gorilla fighter before him would easily accept the offer to be a G-Force member, which is why he is not pushing the subject.
If he wants, she can accept it; if he doesn't, it's fine either way. There are more than enough people who want to fight for him.
Eventually, Marcus was done with his food as he pulled out a can of fizzy drink and opened it with a click, taking a large sip before leaning into the bench.
"It has been a while since I had something this good. LA food is not bad, but the local stuff is always the best."
"...True."
"Anyway, Setsuna, watch TV tomorrow, it's a grand day." With that said, the Emperor got up and threw the empty boxes and plastic bag into the bin next to the bench.
The Gundam Meister watched the disguised ruler simply walk away with a can of a drink. It was a bit wild how no one could recognise him.
But then again, no one would expect the Emperor of the World to dress so casually and act like a simple civilian.
It's something else how he can do that.
Regardless, he returned to his kebab.
"This is good. I think I know where I want to work next." The ex-Gundam pilot said to himself. His next target is a takeaway restaurant.
Marcus didn't realise yet, but his visit left an impression on the ex-terrorist kid.
He might not have a new G-Force member anytime soon, but it was a start.
~~~~~~Next Day~~~~~~
Setsuna's question: Why do people fight? People of the Empire answered it, and the ex-Celestial Being's pilot realised that, by watching all sorts of professional girls get excited by the new life they were living.
Everyone was doing something; there was no time for his question. It was surreal for Exia's ex-pilot.
And it made sense; in the end, people don't think of such things when everyone has a goal, a mission, a dream.
In the end, Marcus' world taught him a lesson, but it doesn't mean he would forgive a guy who manipulated his world and ended Celestial Being.
But it was a start.
'He said something about a Grand Day.'
The ex-Gundam's pilot looked around, but then the clock hit twelve in the afternoon and holograms of Marcus's face popped up all over the Capital City. Even large skyscrapers turned into projectors.
[People of Empire! Today is a glorious day for our Empire and as a species as a whole.] Marcus began to speak as a certain Gas Giant was behind him some distance away, clearly showing where he was at this moment.
[Today, we officially add another world to our growing Empire.
Jupiter and its moons are now officially part of the Holy Byzantine Empire.
Four colonies are in position, and the first batch of people is moving in as I speak to you.]
The camera moved from the Emperor and zoomed in on the largest planet in the solar system.
There were four sword-shaped colonies next to the Gas Giant.
[I am proud to announce that the first projects regarding Jupiter are up and running. Soon enough, its moons will be open to the public.
Details regarding Europa's research and exploration are now officially on the Government's web page.
People can sign up for those positions, starting now.]
At that moment, Setsuna saw everyone around him pull out their phones.
"..."
"There should be an open slot for an engineering job, right?"
"Who cares about that! It's Europa! A frozen water moon, there should be a job related to water, physics, and all that stuff!" Another guy declared that everyone around the ex-pilot began to gush with excitement at getting a job.
'Never seen someone that happy to get a job.'
Setsuna thought to himself as he continued to walk. As the announcement ended, the holograms around them showed Jupiter and projects about the Gas Giant; there was a huge list of them.
There were a bunch of projects that one could sign up for early and get training for. Among them was communications, one of the upcoming projects in Jupiter's orbit: the Sentry Array.
A huge project that will assist in communications for the whole Empire.
Jupiter is simply perfect for such a job. The Sentry Array will utilise the Gas Giant's enormous magnetic field and radiation to boost its radius and speed of transition of information.
Once the Array is operational, other solar systems will simply need to build 'outposts'. This method of information flow is Marcus's variant for having a stable flow of information.
Since he knows about the reapers and what they can do, he will build megastructures, if need be, to ensure stable communications between Imperial provinces.
And Jupiter is crucial for that.
~~~
Orbiting Jupiter, there was a fleet of ships. Aboard the flagship Sirius Class Mobile Suit Carrier, Marcus and three of his wives were discussing the latest Imperial expansion.
"I knew that you were a bit crazy, my dear husband. The fortress above the sun is proof. But damn…" Leila commented as she looked at the Sentry Array design.
It was an enormous space station full of satellite dishes and antennae. A bit similar to a mushroom. There was a large 'head' and then a 'spine' that goes down.
"According to the schematics, this thing will be almost as big as a small moon.
How are you planning to build something like that?" The blonde asked him. She was speechless because of how big this thing was supposed to be. The resources needed for something like that. It's at least five times the size of the Star Fortress.
"The ones who help me to build this will reveal themselves to me in due time. What you look at is simply the schematics."
"Last time you said 'simply schematics' was your Star Fortress; people can now see that thing from Earth." Leila sighed as she massaged her forehead. She was responsible for resources, and her husband is like a small child who keeps stealing cooking from a jar!
"And what do you even mean by that!" The Logistics Empress asked with a frown, Why is he pulling his 'mysterious' card on her!
"In seven years or so, there will be an invasion of living metal in another reality. I will mix Quantum brainwaves with Geass to gain control of these metals. Once I have them with Legion's assistance, the construction speed and possible scale will increase by around 250%, building moon-sized or even planet-sized things won't be an issue." Marcus said to his wives, who looked at him in silence.
"...You…"
"You asked me what I meant by that, and I just explained to you." The Emperor explained to her in quite a detail.
"Do you know how many things can go wrong in this plan of yours!" Leila exclaimed in worry.
"Already did my calculations, used my improved Geass and discussed with Veda and Legion." He shrugged.
"And you didn't say to me?" The blonde complained to him with a small pout.
"Well, you were worried about Euphemia more than anything else," Marcus replied with another shrug.
"Pffff.." Kallen, in the background, snorted. She found this funny.
"You do know how many resources we need—"
"Sweetheart." Marcus shook his head. He summoned a hologram and sent her several pictures.
It was two volcanic worlds and two moons.
"I already paved the path forward. I thought you already knew that everything is calculated and thought through; there is a reason why I am the Emperor." He smiled as he leaned into his throne, making her stop and look at him.
"Yes… true… but this is what happens when I am out of the loop. Not knowing the details." The blonde returned to massaging her head.
"You know that I love to stay on top of things. My hands twitch in front of not-sorted-out things." She reminded him of that!
"Yes. I know my gorgeous wife is pedantic." Marcus teased the beauty.
"Hey! What about us!" All of a sudden, Kallen complained as she walked over.
~~~
500 powers stones = 1 Extra Chapter
1000 Power Stones = 2 Extra Chapters
And so on, You know what to do.
~~~
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