Disclaimer: I do not own the anime series known as Mobile Suit Gundam SEED or its Manga side story Mobile Suit Gundam ASTRAY nor do I own anything from the SEED MSV that I may include in this Fanfiction.. I only own my own characters and mecha that I have created for the purpose of this story. At least all but the Character of Brian Carter for he is owned by my old friend RX-79(BC) and is not owned in any part by yours truly.
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED AU: Angelic Dawn
A Gundam SEED AU Novella
Part One of the Angelic Saga Series
Written by: William R. Woods
Aka"Deathzealot"
Co-Written by: Seth Klein
aka"Persistent Dreamer"
Author's Foreword:
First of all I like to welcome you all to the reimagined and rewritten version of Honor of a Knight, Angelic Dawn! Now I must explain my reasoning behind the reimagining of this already great story. Firstly, I noticed that I did not like where the story was going, and that the story was going to fall into a few plot holes. While I admit a few maybe okay in the long run, but these holes would have been huge which would have been unacceptable. Next, I realized the increasing amount of great AU SEED Fics that started to pop up, and I saw that my story was no longer unique like I wanted it to be. Don't get me wrong, Honor would still have been unique for several reasons, but it did have the flare that made it stand out anymore. Therefore I decided to pull the plug on Honor before it seemed like it would drift into the background of the other great SEED stories out there. Finally I realized that I was piling too much onto the character of Brian Carter, he was not supposed to be the main character overall he was supposed to be sharing the spotlight with Kira, but the story seemed to shift towards Brian as the main character of the story. I did not want that to happen. I could perhaps have changed my story around to do better, but I was already dissatisfied with Honor anyways. So here is the new version for you all to enjoy!
Now there are going to be several major changes in Dawn from Honor, hence the new tile, and my calling it a reimagining instead of just a simple rewrite. First up is that I am shifting the story back onto Kira, and Brian shall remain a supporting character. He shall not even going to be piloting at least at first anyways. Also Kira shall very much different from Canon!Kira, for he shall be basically a whole new character. For his family, the Yamatos are going to be the Fifth Noble Family of Orb, as well in charge of Heliopolis. This shall make Kira very different from the meek and innocent Kira we all know and love. Instead he shall be far more confidant and in charge of himself thanks to him being raised as a member of a Noble Family of Orb. Going hand in hand with that, is that the Orb Noble Families are far more in charge then they appeared to be in the series, for I have Orb as a true Emirate that it calls itself. This shall make Uzumi far more in control of the country due to his status as the Lord Emir of the country. While the other four Noble Families of Orb are supporting noble families of the Lord Emir and are in charge of certain aspects of the country. Like the Yamatos in charge of Heliopolis, the Seirans in charge of the countries House of Lords, the Sahakus in charge of the Ame-no-Mihashira Orbital Space Station which for the purpose of the story shall be some sort of Mini-Space Colony, and the yet unnamed fourth noble family which I have yet to decide what they shall do but they shall still be in control of something. I just have yet to decide what. So expect a very major change to the story thanks to this new Kira I am going to introduce to the story.
In a similar vein, thanks to Kira being different then normal he shall not be the pilot of the Strike. Instead like Maileesaeya's story White Queen, Kira shall instead pilot an Orb Machine, the Vanguard. Fiona Alexander shall take over piloting the Strike instead, while Fiona's old machine from Honor shall be seen in some form later on. Replacing the Ranger will be the Hunter, a similar yet different machine. Also unlike Honor, Kira will know that Athrun is pilot of the Aegis, though instead of Kira and Athrun meeting on top of the Strike, Athrun and Fiona will meet somehow. This changes things drastically between the three friends later on in the story.
Another major change to the story is two-fold; the first is the introduction of the Republic of Altair, a nation of Orbital Colonies located L4. Thanks to this and several other instances I have completely rewrote the backstory and timeline of the CE Universe to introduce Altair. The Republic of Altair shall play a major part in the story, and shall be an interesting addition to the story. This idea comes from the reasoning that besides the PLANTs, Heliopolis, and Mendel there are no other colonies. Granted there where other colonies before the war, but how every single colony could simply cease to exist, not to mention what happened to the people for those same colonies. Not to mention I wanted to introduce another nation of colonies into the story, for the Earth Sphere of Gundam SEED seemed kind of barren when compared to other Gundam series. Hence the reasoning behind the introduction of the Republic of Altair into this world filling up the once barren Earth Sphere in this story. The Republic brings its own series of mobile suits, ships, and its own back-story to the main story as well, hence the rewriting of the Timeline.
As I get the end of this Forward, I liked to mention several things shall be changed with ZAFT and the PLANTs. First of all ZAFT should have its own ranking system for I never really understood the reasoning behind it not having hardly any ranks, for some militia forces from our history had ranks. They where the same ones the normal military had, just where far more junior then the equivalent normal military rank. Like a Militia Colonel would be junior to that of a Colonel in the regular military. Therefore my reasoning behind ZAFT having ranks in this story. Granted, they do not have the same ranks as of the Earth Alliance or Orb. Instead they have their own special ranking system that I have created for ZAFT. This ranking system shall be posted on the website for Angelic Saga. Moving onto the PLANTs, I admit right off the bat I am very Pro-PLANTs in my stories because of several reasons. The most important one is that I look at the Earth Alliance or at least some of the top brass of said Alliance, to be big bullies that need to be put in their place, hence my Pro-PLANT stance. The reason I am saying this, is that I am having the PLANTs and by extension ZAFT pretty much Natural friendly, bar a handful of civilians and ZAFT pilots or soldiers. This is of course does not mean that the PLANTs are all friendly with the Alliance, no this just means Naturals. Like Naturals from the Oceania Union, and United States of South America which supported the PLANTs. The Oceania Union would of course later become the PLANTs main planet bound ally during the war. I never understood the anti-Natural thoughts of the majority of ZAFT for they did happen to have Natural allies, so it never made sense to me. With that out of the way I need to wrap this forward up.
Finally I liked to mention that I shall be using modified scenes from Honor in some of the early chapters of Dawn. So expect some sense of déjà-vu and familiar scenes. This is to make producing the chapters faster, and easier on my part. Even then there shall be many new scenes, thanks to the many changes I am introducing. So it shall not be completely made out of modified scenes.
Anyways with all that out of the way, I like to get this show on the road. Therefore please keep all feet, arms, and hands inside the story at all times, for here we go! Enjoy!
- William R. Woods
story is rewritten on 2/15/12
Story Opening is Ash Like Snow by brilliant green
Chapter BGM is Unexplained Forces by Two Steps From Hell
Opening Phase: The Curtain Rises
Many thought that the first year of the war, and the proceeding events that lead up to the war was like an opening act to a horrible play of life, for while that first year was ugly and brutal it was nothing against the horror that was those last terrible months of the war. Nothing could have prepared us for that, nothing could have, nothing at all…
- Quoted from Lord Kira Yamato, Lord Yamato
Circa. CE74
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Helios City
Heliopolis Colony
LaGrange Point 3
August 19, CE69
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The daylight shining down at what appeared to be a quiet and peaceful park slowly darkened as day became night. The park was something of beauty with flower lined pathways, perfectly cut grass swaying slightly in an unseen breeze, three playgrounds for kids with many benches surrounding them for parents to watch their kids at play, and finally the jewel of the park, an awesome fountain smack dab in the middle of the park with a few more benches surrounding it. With all this some would think that this park is on Earth; however this is not correct, for this park was one of many inside a large colony slowly orbiting the planet itself. However this peaceful, tranquil sight was shattered by someone sobbing as a young girl about fourteen rushed into the park with tears pouring down her pretty face and her long light purple hair streaming behind her as she ran. As she approached the fountain she stumbled a bit but quickly managed to recover herself before she fell. Still sobbing the young teenaged girl sat down on one of bench surrounding the fountain and covered her face with her hands as tears continued to fall down her face.
"Why Kai? I thought you liked me, maybe even loved me," the girl mumbled into her hands as the park finally became fully dark as the colony finished rotating away from the sun and into its night cycle. It was then that lights sprang on throughout the park showering the area in bright artificial light. However the one next to the girl only flickered before finally dying out as if it was affected by the girl's sadness. As she continued to sob a brown haired teenaged boy watched with a frown on his handsome face as he watched the girl he thought of his best friend from the shadows. He wondered where the hell her boyfriend was at, for it was supposed to be his place in comforting the girl. However the boy simply sighed, before shaking his head for while the boy did not like the boyfriend, the purple-haired girl was still his best friend.
"Fiona, what's the matter? Sabrina mentioned something about seeing you running past her house in tears?" the boy one Kira Yamato asked as he stepped into the light from another of the nearby lights as he looked down at her. The girl Fiona Alexander gasped as she looked up at Kira with tears pouring down her face.
"Kira! Excuse me… I mean Lord Kira what are you doing here?" she asked in return stumbling over the others noble rank. For Kira Yamato was the son of the colony's governor and one of the High Nobles of the country that had built and controlled the colony. With a small laugh Kira rolled his eyes at her, before he gently sat next to her on the bench and gave her a funny look after her question.
"Like I said, Sabrina called me telling me that she saw you running past her house in tears, and what have I told you about calling me by my title?" Kira replied with a gentle smile. Fiona smiled behind her tears but then looked down on her feet and wrapped herself in her arms. Sighing Fiona knew that Kira knew her to well and would know if she would lie since they had been friends since they were little kids.
"Alright then Kira, I am sorry about it, but it will take me a while to get use to calling you by your name again. You know how my father is. Anyways I was out with Kai at the movies and we ran into a group of his friends when we were walking home. The group of them started to talk, with me in the middle. Finally one of his friends someone I did not know noticed me and glared at me. He then asked Kai why he was dating a..." Fiona stopped and broke out in tears once more. Kira raised his eyebrows in silent shock since Kai is Fiona's boyfriend; they had been together for about a year. With a shake of his head and a soft sigh Kira took Fiona in his arms and hugged her gently towards his chest not even caring that his shirt was getting wet from her tears.
"Fiona what did he say?" Kira asked with some concern wondering how the usual cheerful and kind natured girl got this way. However right then he knew something bad happened between Kai and Fiona, so he waited patiently for her to calm down enough to answer him. Finally after a few moments Fiona managed to calm down and relax in Kira's arms. Blinking Fiona finally noticed what position she was in and smiled in memory remembering the time after their departure from the Moon Kira had done the same thing. In were these acts of kindness and support that made Fiona secretly love him deeply. With a sigh she once more looked up at him and closed her eyes as she took several more breaths before she answered his question.
"He asked Kai why he was dating a fifthly Coordinator bitch. Kai told him he knew that I was a Coordinator and really did not care at all. However it was then that his other friends told him that it was either them or me. At first I thought he was going to choose me, but another friend reminded him that his uncle was in town and he would be angry if he was seen with me. So right there he told me to go away and never come back to him, not to mention he never loved me he was only dating me because I was the most beautiful girl in class which made him look good to his friends. So anyways that is the reason why I am now a single woman," she finished with the story with a small light smile appearing on her face at her attempt at humor. However it soon turned into a frown when she saw Kira's expression, an expression that clearly shouted that he happened to be very angry which Fiona hardly ever saw, since he was usually calm and in control, sometimes even gentle and caring. However Fiona knew that like his father Lord Haruma he had a mean temper, one that you really did not want to have directed at you for it was very much a force of nature.
"Those racist bastards, how could they say that to you," Kira ranted with much anger in his voice. He unfolded himself from Fiona and started to pace in front of the bench with a snarl.
"I cannot believe this, I know Kai is not really a real Orb National and I admit I never really liked him all that much, but still I never pegged him for a supporter of Blue Cosmos, though now that I think about it, I do believe that same Uncle is indeed a Blue Cosmos member. Well after I have a talk with father, I don't think they are going to be here for much longer. I shall really enjoy watching them get forcefully ejected from the colony by the Fusiliers. They shall regret ever hurting the one woman that I shall ever care for, someone that I really could end up loving… OH," Kira said continuing his rant before freezing in shock when he realized what he said and slowly looked at Fiona to see her staring at him with wide and shocked eyes.
"Kira you really love me?" Fiona asked with wide eyes as she looked at Kira standing majestically before her with a shocked look on his face. She used to think she had a childhood crush on him, but valued their friendship a lot so she never pursued much more than that. It was also the reason why she dated Kai in the first place. However over the last two years that little innocent crush became even more, even with the distraction provided by Kai.
"Fiona, yes I realized that I could love you when you started to date Kai. Granted, I don't know if it will last for we are still young. However I do admit that I had a crush on you, but I was afraid I would ruin our friendship if I told you anything about that. The revelation of my true background hurt our friendship a bit and I did not want anything else to ruin that same friendship. So Fiona I know you don't share the same feelings toward me, but please I happen to value our friendship very much so," Kira said with a sad smile as he knelt in front of Fiona. He mentioned that time when Fiona moved to Heliopolis three years ago with her mother, and ended up in his class. It was later after school when Kira was getting picked up, that Fiona found out that Kira was not just the normal boy that she thought he was during their time on the moon. Instead he was son of one of the four High Nobles of the United Emirate of Orb, and the Lord Governor of the colony. That revelation shocked and surprised the young Fiona, before she got angry at Kira for hiding it from her. Eventually they started to recover their now strained friendship which made it far stronger then before.
"Kira I don't believe it, it is the same thing for me. I have always loved you Kira even when I was dating Kai, I only dated him because I wanted a distraction from my so called crush on you," Fiona said with a grin as she started to cry once more but this time in happiness. Kira looked at her with wide eyes and slowly grinned as they did indeed share the same feelings for one another, something he never thought possible. Before he knew it Kira found himself sharing their first kiss together. They stayed like for a few minutes before they broke apart once more to get air.
"Let's go, for I think you should stay at my house tonight since it is starting to get a bit late. We will call your parents when we get there," Kira stated a little breathless after his first kiss. Fiona only nodded in understanding and got up however the young couple where still kind of wrapped around one another, hence ended up on the ground on top of each other. Both teens after getting over the brief shock from the fall started laughing in pure joy. Before long found the new couple in a slick black car heading for the large manor that was the home of the Yamato Family.
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The next day found the couple walking to meet up with their friends at the same park they were at last night. Both of them where grinning since Kira's parents Lord Haruma Yamato and his wife Lady Caridad Yamato had known about the attraction between the two of them for a long while. In fact Lord Haruma embarrassed the two by mentioning that he had been considering talking to Fiona's father about a betrothal. Luckily, Lady Caridad managed to convince the Lord Governor to wait a year till setting the betrothal up in case they broke up or something, though Lord Haruma did not think they would for the two had been friends for a long while. He mentioned that Caridad had been his best friend before they got married and in fact the two had grown up together, similar to Kira and Fiona. It was also had been quite a sight to see when Lord Haruma found out about the words that Kai and his friends said to Fiona. Like his son, the Lord Governor raged on and immediately had the Fusilier Guard, the Yamato Family's private guard force forcefully escort seven families, including Kai's, off the colony. All seven where pure Blue Cosmos supporters and would never return to the colony as long as a Yamato was Governor.
Now after all the excitement of the previous night the new couple wanted their friends to know about their new relationship, and hence meeting up with them today. As they reached the fountain where they shared their first kiss the previous night, they found all their friends gathered around a nearby picnic table. The first one to see the two of them walking up was Tolle Koenig who started to wave at them in greeting, however soon stopped cold when he saw their matching grins not mention their hands clasped together, making his jaw drop in surprise. After recovering from his shock he gently elbowed his own girlfriend Miriallia Haw, in the side to get her attention. When he had her attention which happened to be an open face glare, he pointed to the still grinning couple. Miri, as she liked to be called, took one look and squealed happily in surprise before jumping up from the table. This attracted the attention of the other two boys and one girl sitting at the table. Blinking the three other friends slowly followed Miri's line of sight till they saw Kira and Fiona. Kuzzey Buskirk spit out the juice he was drinking, while Sai Argyle blinked very rapidly before taking out his slightly tinted glasses and rubbing them with his shirt before placing them back on. While the third, a sixteen year old girl by the name of Sabrina Tamoguchi, simply grinned widely for like Kira's parents she had known the attraction between the two for a long while.
It was her who had seen Fiona running towards the park in tears and had called Kira. Of all of the friends, Sabrina was one of Kira's oldest friends, for she had known him since the two where toddlers. Later, when Kira started school he had gone to a small boarding school on the Orb mainland where to the two continued to be friends. They soon lost contact when Kira went to Copernicus on the orders of his father while Sabrina went to Heliopolis, and had been reunited when Kira returned to the colony. The other friends in the group where all recent friends Kira meet since his return to the colony and what was most important they all already knew of his noble background. While it had been uncomfortable for a while, the group soon got over it.
"I got three words for you two, ABOUT DAMN TIME!" Miri said with a grin as she rushed over to congratulate the new couple. She was soon followed by the other three and as the group gathered around them. They then sat down at the table, but not before separated into boys and girls groups on either side of the quite large table.
"So all of us have girlfriends now but you Kuzzey, I think it is about time to get you one as well. Maybe Sabrina is willing to date you," Kira said with an evil grin followed by Tolle, while Sai only raised an eyebrow. Kuzzey only gulped in fear looking between the amused forms of his friends wondering what his so called friends had planned for him now. Thankfully their talk turned to how Kira and Fiona got together. Meanwhile in the girl's group where chatting excitedly about the same thing as the boys but with more phrases thrown in. The talk would finally got around to what happened between Fiona and Kai.
"I am seriously going to kill them," Miri growled out, which was echoed by Tolle and Sai at the boy's side of the table. It was then that Kira and Fiona told them about Lord Haruma's reaction and the following exile. After some light laughter from the group, the talk soon turned to better things like school and what they were going to do for the rest of the day. However Fiona and Kira's eyes were glued to one as the talk continued another thing which did not go unnoticed by Miri, Tolle, Sabrina, and remarkably Kuzzey. Even if there was a war brewing on outside the peaceful Colony they lived in, love was still going strong, however this peace would not last long, and soon these young people would be pulled into the war even if they wanted to or not.
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Jacques Family Residence
Lucretia City, Luna
October 13, CE69
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The silver ball of dust and rock known to humans as Luna or just the Moon had always been a sight of peaceful exploration and later during the start of the Cosmic Era it was a sanctuary for those who needed it from the madness brought to the Earth Sphere by the creation of Coordinators. Now in the middle of the war it was the centerpiece of the combined forces of the Earth's presence in Space with no other base or colony anywhere else in the combined Earth Sphere under Atlantic Federation or allied Control. Even then on the cratered and almost scared surface of the moon the Federation had small bases and outposts, many of whom are hidden in the various craters around the moon, but located in the Ptolemaeus Crater is the Atlantic Federation's Main Luna Headquarters. A little to the north of this large base was the small supporting Lunar City of Lucretia where many officers in the Earth's various orbital fleets had their family residences. In one of these same residences, Captain Charles Jacques entered his home with an exhausted air that came from a long deployment. However he stopped in shock to see the entryway of his home a mess with various bits of furniture upturned and destroyed. With a pounding heart and panicked thoughts the young Federation officer ran deeper into the house.
"Diana! Are you here? Diana!" Captain Jacques yelled out as he looked into the kitchen before finally running into the living room of the home and stopped dead in its tracks as he saw his wife of twelve years Diana Jacques laying on the carpeted floor of the living room in the middle of a expanding pool of her own blood, her long and beautiful pale blue hair covering her face and neck from his view. With a strangled cry the naval officer went to his knees in despair and with trembling fingers he brushed his wife's hair from her face to see her open and dead eyes staring almost accusingly at him. Charles cried out in raw anguish and pain before his thoughts started to think about his children. Jumping up the anguished man looked around desperately trying to figure out the location of his children in the large house. However before he could do anything else, he felt a cold piece of metal pressed against his head. With gritted teeth he raised his hands above his head showing that he was unarmed.
"Well…well how the mighty have fallen Captain Jacques. You know you really should have moved your family away from here after that last attempt on your life. If you did, your wife maybe alive now, though you would still be dead. What a shame," a cold and emotionless voice said from behind him, one that he immediately recognized right off the bat.
"Lieutenant Anderson, I never pegged you as a Blue Cosmos Assassin," he replied with an equally cold voice. The other man chuckled lightly which sounded very weird for the usual cold and emotionless man.
"No Captain not Blue Cosmos. While I believe in some of Blue Cosmos ideals, I am not a member of that puny little terrorist group. No I am LOGOS Man through and through, and while I do not know who you are really working for behind the scenes. I along with my friends in LOGOS know that you are aware of us. Therefore, the reasoning behind this wonderful day you are having Captain," the assassin replied with a dark emotionless laugh. Charles flinched at this for he had indeed been snooping around where he was not wanted. However before he could say anything in response he saw something at the corner of his eye and sighed slightly in relief.
"Jeez. I never thought that the high and mighty LOGOS where willing to get their own hands dirty like this. Maybe if you had been a real Blue Cosmos assassin you would have not allowed the cavalry to arrive like it just did," Charles said with a vicious smirk as he saw a form sneaking behind the dear Lieutenant thanks to the strategically placed mirror along one wall.
"What…" the assassin started to say, but was cut off as a pistol barked three times behind him dropping him to the ground dead before he hit the carpeted floor. Charles sighed before turning to see a white-faced Captain Lewis Halberton lower a smoking pistol and staring at the black ninja suit wearing LOGOS assassin now dead on the ground in the middle of the growing puddle of his own blood which started to mix with the blood from the corpse of his wife.
"You alright Charles?" questioned the other man with a gulp looking down at the dead man before looking over at the dead wife of his best friend in shock.
"My wife is dead, how do you think I am right now Lewis and my children maybe dead as well," Charles said in a bitter tone of voice and was in turn surprised by the small smile on his friends face.
"Who said they where here Charles? They where with Sara and I for the last few days getting them out of Diana's hair," the other Naval Captain responded with a slight humorless laugh. Charles sighed in relief before rubbing his weary face as he stared around the house with relief spreading across his face.
"Oh thank god. I was worried that I would find them dead in their rooms," he said with a shake of his head, and another sigh of relief.
"So what are going to do now Charles? You can not raise three kids by yourself?" his friend asked looking around the house as well. Charles only flinched before nodding and looking down at the dead assassin at their feet.
"Well first I am going to get the hell away from the Atlantic Federation. For now that they know about my knowledge of LOGOS, their masters are going to do everything they can to get rid of me. I should have done it a long time ago," he responded turning to look down at his dead wife with a pained look on his face. Lewis blinked in surprise before shaking his head as if clearing it.
"Leave the Federation? Where would you go?" Lewis asked looking around the house as if he was looking through the walls and past the miles of rock that separated the house and the city it was in from the cold deepness of space around the planet. Charles chuckled before shaking his head.
"Altair of course, where else would I go. I still have family living there which can help me look after the kids. You should come with us Lewis," Charles said looking over at his friend with a pleading expression on his face. Lewis only shook his head sadly at his friend.
"I can't Charles you know that. Our friends in ANGEL want me to stay with the Atlantic Federation, for with you gone, I am one of the few senior officers they have left in the Federal Space Forces," the other man said with a pained expression for it looked like he really wanted to take his friend's offer.
"Well it won't hurt to ask..." Charles started to say with a small pained laugh, but was stopped when he suddenly remembered something, something very important.
"Oh god! William! How the hell can I explain this to him and can I take his brand spanking new career from him," Charles said with a moan mentioning his oldest son who was now a raising star in the FSF's Mobile Armor Forces. Lewis blinked before shaking his head at his worried friend.
"He would want to come with you Charles you know that he loved Diana dearly though she never was his mother, but anyways I shall send him a message through our old channels. He should be on his way to Altair in few days. For now let's get you packed up here and get you over to my house to see your kids. We really need to get you out of here before anyone comes to investigate the shots. So let's get going buddy," Lewis said shaking his friend's shoulder, who soon nodded before looking around the house.
"You are right as usual Lewis. Let's get the hell out of here," he said softly before leaning down and kissed his fingers-tips before placing them on his dead wife's face before turning to start packing. Before long found the two men rushing out of the back door with a few bags, and days later would find Captain Charles Jacques along with his remaining family no longer on the moon and out of reach of his enemies.
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Captain L. Halberton's Office
Ptolemaeus Lunar Base
October 16, CE69
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Days later found Captain Halberton sitting in his small office located at the large Ptolemaues Base, as his mind went over the previous days. For after Lewis helped get the Jacques Family out of the City and onto a transport heading towards Altair, Lewis had reported the incident to his superiors, both in the Anti-LOGOS group ANGEL, and those in the Atlantic Federation Federal Space Forces. He had then made it known that he felt betrayed and not very happy thanks to the actions of his so called friend with the later superiors. This was of course to make sure that no one knew that Lewis still indeed supported Charles. However Lewis was now worried about his godson, and Charles son William Jacques for the young pilot was supposed to respond after his initial warning message, yet Lewis had yet to receive anything from the young officer. As if summoned by these thoughts, his computer screen beeped at him from his tiny desk taking up on corner of the small room. With a frown, the naval officer made his way over to the computer to see that someone was sending him a priority message. With a confused and suspicious look, Lewis accepted the message wondering what it would be about. After a bit of initial security checks Lewis got to the message and Lewis was soon surprised that it was a live video feed from an unknown FSF officer.
"Captain Halberton, I regret to inform you of the death of your charge one Lieutenant William Jacques-Sheppard who was caught in a tragic shuttle accident. Further information and the Lieutenant's effects will be sent directly to you. I am sorry for your loss," the man on the screen said before the screen died. Lewis sat down shocked at this message and closed his eyes for Lewis was much of a second father or uncle to the Jacques children. He had been there for all their births helping his friend through them and watched them when their parents needed the peace. However William was special to Lewis thanks to him being the young man's godfather and looked at him as his son. With teary sigh Lewis prepared to go home to let his wife know of William's death. However elsewhere in the sprawling Lunar Base that same officer who had just notified Lewis of his godson's death turned to look at one of his own superiors and asked a simple question.
"What do you think Halberton would do if he learned the truth?"
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Morgenroete Inc. Facility
Onogoro Island, United Emirates of Orb
September 24, C.E 70
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On the coast of an the island white foaming waves of the Pacific Ocean constantly beat against the strong rocky shore of Onogoro Island part of the tiny island nation of United Emirate of Orb. Standing on one of the said rocks was Major Brian Carter of the Orb Defense Forces; however the young man currently wore the white t-shirt and blue pants of Morgenroete the country's premier defense contractor, instead of his usual blue and back ODF uniform. He watched as the waves hit again and again with little luck against the strong and powerful shore. His white silver hair streamed behind him as the wind caught the long hair of the young Major and his pale white face looked up as the sun continued to rise over the ocean. Major Carter even though only twenty had seen and lived through war. For he was once known as the White Knight of Jachin Due, a ZAFT Ace who had left ZAFT and the PLANTs to go back to his native land of Orb where he was born. He was no longer the hot blooded young fool full of revenge who left for PLANTs to fight against those he believe reasonable for the death of his parents. Brian was now part of the Orb Defense Forces, one of his dreams as a child, and in charge of the Wing Project, since he was a decent engineer besides being a pretty good pilot not to mention his experience in piloting Mobile Suits. However his project was being rejected in favor of the newer Astray Project hence his reason for standing on the shore bleeding off some anger that came from this decision. For watching the sun rise and set always calmed him somehow, hence his reason for being out here.
"Major Carter! There's a call for you!" called an unnamed engineer from the disguised personal entrance to the underground facility that he had been working in for the past few months. Brian blinked and turned to look at the other engineer and just nodded seeing the man heading back inside. The brooding pilot/engineer slipped on his red vest once more before running to the entrance were he saw the same engineer holding out a phone towards him. Brian thanked the young engineer before cradling the phone with his shoulder as he worked to close the entrance that he just used to enter the facility.
"Major Carter here," he said with a frown as the doors slowly closed before him blocking out the load roar of the crashing waves and the calm sight of the sun rising above the ocean.
"Major, the Lord Emir requests your presence at the Government House immediately," the nameless and faceless aide ordered on the other side of the phone line.
"Yes Sir, I'll be there as soon as possible," Brian replied before hanging the receiver back onto its cradle and stared at the close doors for a moment before turning away. Sighing Brian went to change before heading back to the Capital to report to his country's one true leader.
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Government House
Izumi City, Onogoro Island
United Emirates of Orb
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Major Carter now back in the blue and black of the ODF walked through the halls towards the office of the leader of the entire nation of Orb. Normally someone in his position would be nervous about speaking to the Lord Emir, one Uzumi Nara Attha the man known across the Earth Sphere as the Lion of Orb; however this was not Brian's first visit to see the Lord Emir. In fact he had been constantly seeing the older man since he had been put in charge of the Wing Project, which was an attempt to build mobile suits for the use of the ODF. Therefore Brian calmly walked through the sprawling building known as the Government House, nodding to all the other officers and aides wondering the halls of the large building. However he did not make it to the Emir's Office, as somebody tackled him to the floor making him curse in shocked anger, before he suddenly found himself staring into the hazel eyes of his childhood friend Cagalli Yula Attha as she stared intently down at him with a frown marring her youthful features.
"Hi Cagalli," he said with a sheepish grin his anger temporally forgotten, knowing why she had tackled him in front of several military officers and some of her father's fellow nobles. Since he had basically not talked or even looked at her since he had returned from the PLANTs five months previously after his departure from ZAFT and the PLANTs.
"Is that all you can say to me Brian, you never write, or talk to me since you started working for my father, nor have you even looked at me since you arrived back in Orb" Cagalli angrily said to him unleashing her dreaded anger out at him. Brian flinched as she pushed him a little harder into the floor.
"Hmmm… Cagalli can you let me up before everybody gets the wrong idea about us," Brian quipped with a grin watching her looking around the hall seeing several amused and annoyed faces spread out around them looking down at the two of them making her blink in surprise before she cried out in shock and surprise before letting him get back onto his feet.
"Brian come and see me after you are done talking to Father please," she requested before taking off uniform tassels flying behind her. Brian grinned since he liked her uniform, though he still liked seeing her in dresses from time to time, though he knew if he even mentioned that he would be on the business end of her famed anger. Shaking his head with yet another grin he resumed his walk to the Lord Emir's Office noticing the knowing or disgruntled looks everybody was now giving him. Rolling his eyes as he finally stepped into the foyer of the man's office. The secretary upon seeing him quickly rushed him into the large main office of the Leader of Orb. Brian flinched as the heavy oak doors closed with a bang behind him, before he finally looked at the gray haired man sitting at the large desk reading through a file before him.
"Your Highness, Major Brian Carter reporting as ordered sir," Brian said snapping to attention and saluting the older man before him as he looked up from his reading to look at him.
"At ease Brian, you know you don't have to salute me if we are alone like this," Uzumi said with a small smile standing up from his desk and waving from Brian to take a seat before him.
"Well habits kind of stick to me sire and beside I didn't think this was going to be a formal visit," Brian said with a small frown his anger and sadness coming back in almost full force. Lord Emir Uzumi flinched back at his tone but let it drop since Brian had every right to be mad.
"Yes I guess it's not, however I assure you I did not know of the Seiran's deal with the Earth Alliance or even the Sahaku's use of that deal to produce the Astray Project. I got quite the earful from Lord Yamato the other day about it when he found out about it," Uzumi said with an angry frown as he threw the report he was reading against his desk angrily which was not directed at Brian. It was Brian's turn to flinch for he did not want to be mad at Uzumi for he knew that very fact but his anger got the better of him.
"I know that Your Highness and I dreadfully sorry for my earlier tone," Brian replied with a grimace; however Uzumi only waved it off with a sigh.
"Brian you have every right to be angry. Anyways back to business for I am sure you are wondering why I called you here after all," Uzumi said back to smiling as he sat back down indicting Brian to do the same which Brian gladly did having been on his feet most of the day.
"Now that is out of the way I want you Brian to head for Heliopolis and be my eyes and ears. For you know I don't trust neither the Seirans nor the Sahakus, and I defiantly don't trust the Earth Alliance. However for a cover, you are going to be loaned to the Earth Alliance as a technical adviser," Uzumi said with a very rare grin on his face, which Brian copied with a low chuckle.
"Yes sire, I can't wait to see those racist Alliance slugs flinch when they find out that the White Knight of Jachin Due is going to be "advising" them," Brian said with a chuckle, even though he knew that not everybody in the Alliance fit that label just the majority of them.
"So anyways sire, when do I leave?" Brian asked now back to business. Uzumi opened a drawer in his desk and picked up a white envelope out of it before handing it to him.
"In there are your orders and travel visa, they expect you up there the 28th so you have plenty of time to finish your work at Morgenroete," Uzumi ordered as Brian took the envelope from the other man before slipping it into one of his pockets on his uniform jacket as he got up from his chair.
"Thank you Your Highness," Brian said saluting once more and started to exit the office when Uzumi stopped him for a moment with a raised hand.
"By the way Brian I think you should at least spend some of that time with Cagalli for she has missed you," Uzumi said with yet another smile on his face, this one a fatherly one he rarely used at all only in the presence of what he considered to be his family including Brian and Cagalli.
"I will do that sire, for if I don't I'm sure she would kill me if I didn't," he replied with a grin before finally walking out of the office in slightly better spirits then when he walked in. The secretary smiled at him as he stepped out of the office. Brian nodded at her and quickly made his way to his house to change before going to the Athha Mansion.
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Brian smiled as the Athha's family butler let him into the mansion, the older man smiled back at him as he started to lead the young man to his mistress's champers knowing exactly why he was here today. Once there Brian silently slipped into the series of rooms that had been seat aside for Cagille's use for many years. He stopped in awe when he saw a large picture hanging near the door that nearly sent him to his knees in surprise and shock. For the picture showed a young brown haired boy of about twelve or thirteen smiling at the camera with his arm thrown over a young blond haired girl's shoulder, both kids had their fingers displayed in a victory sign. Behind the kids was a group of adults, two men and a single woman looking down the kids with bright smiles on their faces.
"Surprised Brian?" asked a soft feminine voice behind him. Brian turned around to find Cagalli looking at him as she leaned against a doorway one that he knew led to her bedroom. Brian then noticed her uniform was gone replaced with comfortable green baggy pants and a tight red t-shirt that he knew she favored when she wanted to dress casually.
"Yes I can't believe you kept this picture after so long, for right after this picture was taken my parents died and I just went downhill from there. It was the last time we were all together being happy," he said with a sorrowful look in his eyes as he took another glance at the picture. Brian's parents James and Jennifer Alexander-Carter while only part of a minor noble family where still nobility, and had always been friends with the Athha family as long as Brian could remember. They always supported one another in anything from a battle to politics. However Brian's grandparents on both sides decided to make their children Coordinators and hence his parents where constantly targeted by Blue Cosmos. One day they got lucky ending up making one young angry teenaged boy survive without his parents. Brian in a fit of anger pushed away everything he ever knew, friends, the rest of his family, and even his own very best friend away from him before finally joining the newly formed ZAFT academy at fifteen.
"Yes even though I was hurt you pushed me away, I always looked at that picture to remind me of all the good times we had together. However you did come back to us in the end, but you never once came back here to apologize to me," Cagalli said with some emotion in her voice which was very different for her since she always went out of the way to be strong, to never cry. Brian having been pulled from his memories by her answer turned to look at the girl everyone thought was his friend, but in reality was the girl he loved, his one and only soul mate. Not that he would admit it to anyone, for he treasured their friendship a lot more. Right then and there he realized that he hurt her more then he thought he ever could. Wasting no time cursing himself, Brian quickly wrapped his arms around Cagalli and hugged her tightly against him.
"I can't say how sorry I am for hurting you, and not even coming back to try to fix my mistake. Truthfully I was afraid, afraid what you would think of me, afraid that you hate me for I had done during my time in ZAFT, and afraid that you would no longer want me beside you in your time of need. So Cagalli I am no longer going to be a coward and say it right here and now. Cagalli Yula Attha I am dreadfully sorry and I will use every fiber in my being to make it up to you" Brian said with a smile as he looked down at the mob of blond hair that laid against his chest. Cagalli tilted her head back looking into Brian's face, with her wet hazel brown eyes and smiled back.
"Apology accepted, and here I thought you weren't a poet," she said with a smile. Brian smiled right back but suddenly found himself on his butt looking at the ceiling as Cagalli took off.
"Why you..." Brian growled out and dashed after the laughing Orbian princess. From his spot outside the door Lord Emir Uzumi Nara Attha smiled as he watched the two ran after each other around the room and the entire house. Shaking his head Uzumi made his way to his office to finish some paperwork he brought with him from his office. The two teens stayed together for the entire day just talking, joking, and just enjoying each others company for the first time in over a year. The next day they went out and had some fun around the city, granted with a heavy bodyguard but still they had fun. Then finally Brian left for Heliopolis on the twenty-eighth and gently said good-bye to his friend and promised her he would be back when he was done with his duties on the colony. However they would not see each other for a long time, as that spark would be ignited and Brian would once again be caught in the middle of the growing war once more.
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AFS Thermopylae
Pilot Barracks
7th Orbital Fleet
December 27, C.E 70
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/dream sequence/
A lone Moebius Zero flew almost touching the gray lunar surface as the pilot desperately tried to escape a CGUE Mobile Suit hot on his tail. Bullets where flying all around the white painted unit as its pilot a Lieutenant Junior Grade Ian Goddard cursed the enemy pilot for playing with him.
"Damn you! Stop playing and get serious here!" he shouted to himself and the other pilot, as he flung the Mobile Armor to the side just in time to avoid another stream of bullets. The young pilot cursed as the enemy pilot finally managed to land a hit on his single remaining gun pod, which he frantically detached just in time as it exploded just behind him throwing him around the cockpit of the Zero. Suddenly the battle behind him erupted in a brilliant white sphere taking both friend and foe to death. Ian's eyes widened as the mentioned sphere grew and started heading straight for his own little portion of the battle. Cursing he tried to increase his speed but to no avail. He suddenly crashed into his controls as his Zero flipped end over end before resting half-buried in the soft lunar dust. However Ian was now on the brink of unconscious and his Zero was totaled with half of the machine vaporized or laying spread around the crash site. The pursuing CGUE who miraculously survived the explosion hovered for a minute over the crash site before lifting its single remaining arm and fired a white flare before boosting away from the downed Zero leaving the pilot alive and well.
/dream sequence/
Lieutenant Junior Grade Ian Goddard woke with a start as his dream came to its conclusion. With a sigh the young pilot wiped the sweat off his face and once again wondered why the enemy Mobile Suit had launched a flare which managed to save his life. The flare was seen by a passing Drake Class Missile Frigate limping away from the battle, if that enemy pilot had never launched a flare no one would have found him in time to save his life. Sighing once more Ian slipped out of his bunk before heading for the small bathroom attached to his room. Inside the tiny space that served as a bathroom, Ian slowly turned the faucet on letting the clean, clear water to fall from the silver faucet into the steel sink bellow it. After a while splashing his face with some of the water, Ian started to look into the mirror which like the room was pretty small, smaller then a normal mirror in a civilian use bathroom, as he looked into the bathroom mirror that one memory played over and over in his head. With yet another sigh the pilot shook his head before shoving his head underneath the cold shower of water. Ian gurgled for a minute before removing his now soaking head from the water. After grabbing a nearby towel he shut off the water and started to furiously dry his head. Once done Ian shook his head and still wet hair slightly before sighing in frustration and getting ready for the day ahead of him.
A half-an-hour later found Ian slipping out of his room and into the brightly lit main hallway of the pilot barracks on board the Agamemnon Class Command Carrier AFS Thermopylae of the Seventh Orbital Fleet, or better known to many as the Earth Alliance Orbital Patrol Force. The 7th Fleet was his latest assignment, and most likely the best he had since the Zero Corps all that time ago, granted the Fleet was underfunded and at the very bottom of the supply ladder. Even then it was good assignment for he was once again under the command of the famous Hawk of Endymion and several other Grimaldi Front veterans where in the squad as well. As if on cue the Hawk himself came around the corner to spy his wing mate moping along the hallway.
"Yeah Nova thinking of that dream again or dare I say it thinking of a woman," Mu's voice cut through the younger man's thoughts and which in response speared the other older man with a glare. One for mentioning his much hated nickname and the other joking around about his lack of a love life, which was pretty much not really all that much. Ian had been named the Nova Hawk at the battle of Nova where had brought down a Laurasia Class Frigate, and over five Mobile Suits by himself. Not mention protecting a fleeing civilian ship that had been targeted by a group of rouge out-of-control missiles from the battle. Since his nickname sounded so similar to Mu's many people just called him the Nova. Others with a sense of humor would go around and called the two of them the Double Hawks or the Brother Hawks.
"Mu, mate if you weren't my superior officer I would give you a good slug in the jaw," Ian said with his thick British accent he had since he had gotten it from having lived in the British Quarter of Copernicus City for his entire life. Mu only rolled his eyes at Ian before falling into step with him.
"Ian you know that same pilot who saved you not only saved you but two others from this Squadron. Both Franklin and Suez had been shot down by him but he never finished them off. Instead he flew off to battle elsewhere, most likely running into you. Also I heard from Franklin when I told him about your dreams, that he had been a hardliner for Blue Cosmos when this infernal war started, however after being saved by this mystery pilot who many other pilots called the White Knight, he decided to leave the group since he saw that not all Coordinators where monsters like the press say they are. Granted he was mad for a few months but eventually got over it," Mu said with a frown looking over at the younger man beside him. Ian nodded since he had heard about that before, but never the last part. Sighing Ian decided if he ever met this mystery White Knight he would shake the man's hand, and promise to be always by his side. Since little did his buddy know, Ian came from a long line of British Knights, and had the sense of honor engraved into him by his family since he was a boy. According to his honor code, sense this man saved his life, Ian would pledge his life to him and follow him anywhere. Right there in that hallway Ian knew he would enjoy meeting the Mystery pilot and would be honored to follow him anywhere even against the country he once protected.
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ZAFT Ship Vesalius
LaGrange Point 3
January 23, CE71
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At the Earth-Luna's Third Lagrange Point debris filled the area, debris that once been flourishing colonies but had been destroyed or heavily damaged during the course of the long drawn-out war. Cruising along the debris is the ZAFT Nazca Class High-Speed Destroyer Vesalius along with its single escort the Laurasia Class Frigate Gamow. In his large quarters on board the larger destroyer reading over various reports is one Commander Rau Le Creuset, the commander of the two ships. However he stopped suddenly and looked up to notice that his computer is now beeping at him showing that he had a message waiting for him. With a surprised frown, the masked commander reached over to the computer and opened the message which he started to read in confusion wondering this message was all about. As he continued to read his eyes hidden behind his mask started to widen in surprise at the information he was reading. A moment later he finished reading and leaned back in his chair to think on what he had just read and saw. After a moment of quiet thought the white uniformed ZAFT officer leaned forward and hit a control on his desk.
"This is the captain. What can I do for you Commander?" a voice soon responded from the tiny speaker built into the desk's communication unit.
"Ades change of plans, set our course towards the Heliopolis Colony. It looks like our mission to L3 is not a complete waste of time after all. Also send Lieutenant Aiman to my office, I some things to discuss with him. After you do that, have the hanger crew assemble one of our spare GINNs for the Lieutenant, since I don't think his own GINN would be ready in time for this new mission. Once I am done talking with the Lieutenant, I shall be up to discuss this with you," he ordered looking down at the COMM unit, wondering what others would think about what he was going to do.
"Understood Commander," the ship's captain one, Captain Fredrik Ades, responded in confusion but followed his orders nonetheless. The Commander simply nodded before frowning and nodding his head.
"Also see if the Cain Team is still in the area and if they are have them rendezvous with us at Heliopolis. We might need their help," Commander Le Creuset ordered with a nod of his own head. He switched off the COMM unit before the other man could respond, and looked down at the desk for a moment before suddenly grinning almost cruelly and laughing manically
"Oh yes. This is most entertaining! I wonder what shall happen in the days ahead," the almost insane man said as if to himself as he looked out through his office's large viewport towards the space that surrounded his tiny command. For this happened to be what he had been waiting for. With a final cruel laugh he sat down and started to plan for the battle ahead. The war was about to change once more.
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-o-END-o-
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Author's Post-Chapter Notes:
EDITED ON 10/07/2012
Alright thanks to my decision to rewrite the story, what I do have so far, some things have changed, though not much here in this chapter. Basically the most major change is the ZAFT forces being gathered for Heliopolis are larger then ever before. This is basically adding another team, but who knows how large this team happens to be. All I am going to say is that it is going to be a surprise.
Also if you haven't noticed the last update, I have changed the Earth Alliance Ship Classifications. Basically I made the Drake Class into a Missile Frigate, instead of being just an escort makes more sense in my opinion, the Nelson Class is now just a cruiser, and the Agamemnon Class is made into a Command Carrier or Command Ship depending on usage. Also I have introduced the Atlas Class Battleship to the line up along with the older Angelic Dawn Halsey Class Tactical Destroyer. However we won't be properly introduced to these ships till later in the story.
Another change from that last update is the changing the address of Uzumi from Lord to highness or sire, which in my opinion makes more sense. The question now is wither Cagalli should be addressed the same matter. /shrug/ This changes really nothing storywise but like mentioned sounds better and makes more sense.
The last change in the last update is that Mu and Ian's last assignment before Heliopolis is the Seventh Orbital Fleet, which is better known to many around the Earth Sphere as the Earth Orbital Patrol Force. They basically protect the near-orbit of the planet including the Debris Belt. However while they have an important mission, they are on the bottom of the supply ladder and are very underfunded due to the Alliance putting more attention into its main Orbital Fleets. The Patrol Force will be a major player later on in the story, so there is a reason for this.
That said I like mention that I have started adding pages on the Gundam Fanon Wikia for Angelic Saga. So we will have some hard-data to look at for those interested, it will perhaps cut-back on my data-dumps. /cross-fingers/
That done I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter from me time for the Omake! Enjoy!
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Omake 01: A Serpent is Born
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Joey Ray's Bar
Barnacle Space Dock, Lagrange Two
August 9, CE68
In a seedy bar located inside Barnacle Space Dock one of the only major third-party docks in the Earth Sphere the man known only as Gai Murakumo took a seat at a table in a darkened corner of the bar with his back against the wall. While Barnacle was pretty much friendly and such over some of the smaller darker docks located elsewhere in the Earth Sphere, the bar however was another story. He frowned as he looked at his watch before eying several figures around the bar wondering when his contact will be showing up. A couple moments later a figure slipped into a seat at the table which made Gai smile slightly.
"Gai right?" the other man asked after taking a swig from a bottle of something while Gai looked him other. He was not really surprised to see him in the uniform that been created for the new Alliance of Sponsor Nations, for he worn a similar uniform which while he hated it due to what happened to him it was the only clothes he had currently.
"Yeah Reed correct?" he asked in return turning to eye a couple figures at a nearby table before turning his attention back to Reed.
"So you want to put together a mercenary group I hear, is there any particular reason for that?" Reed asked as he leaned forward toward him slightly.
"Yes I don't want to continue to serve the Atlantic Federation anymore and I figured the best way to go with is to become a mercenary," Gai honestly answered after a moment of thought. Reed only nodded a bit before taking another slip from the bottle and leaned forward once more.
"Well I have an old Mustang Class Transport Shuttle and along with a few men to crew her. I also have a contact who may like to join up as well," he mentioned with a nod of his head making Gai smile slightly for while a Mustang was only a transport shuttle not really a larger transport or anything it was still a popular ship design due to it being easily able to be configured to carry mobile armors or even the new mobile suits.
"That would be perfect Mister Wheeler," he said holding out his hand to the older man who only grinned before reaching out his own hand to shake it.
"Just call me Reed and I think this will be the start of a great partnership!" he mentioned and so the Serpent Tail Mercenary Group would be born.
-o-Fin-o-
This is basically an older idea I had for a Cosmic Chronicle story two years ago and is basically whole the Serpent Tail got started. It was originally going to be a long one-shot story that started to bounce around time wise. With this meeting between Reed and Gai opening the story before getting how Elijah joins the group, and then some of their first missions. Also since I am kind of skeptical on the Group only have five members due to their later use of a Laurasia Class Frigate therefore they are going to have a few extra members who help run whichever is the current mothership for the group. Right now is a large transport shuttle which we seen them using in the Rescuing Artemis Side-Story in the Astray-R Volume One Manga. I know they also get another transport later during Astray X but I am thinking they would stay with this transport for a bit. I also know they get their hands on Laurasia Class sometime in the near-future.
That said time to get back to work!