There will be actual canon events from the anime included in some of the chapters.
"Lost time is never found again."
-Benjamin Franklin
Chapter 1: Time Leap
It was all wrong. Everything was all wrong. Nothing was supposed to go this way. Nothing was supposed to be like this. No…no…NO! It was all wrong.
Another explosion rocked the Ptolemaios, eliciting a short burst of terror from the usually cheerful Mileina. Her fellow pink-haired friend and programmer, Feldt Grace, was silent; however, her shaking hands belied the sense of calm that she was trying to maintain.
Ptolemy's tactical forecaster gripped the armrests of her chair, internally wincing at the sounds of the raging battle just on the other side of the ship's hull. Another explosion filled the space with a burst of flame. Sumeragi Lee Noriega stared with a heavy heart as one of the remaining Katharon ships was destroyed.
A loud beep distracted her from the bright flames. It was an incoming message from one of the Federation Army ships. She allowed access and soon found herself staring at the grim and creased face of Kati Mannequin, her old friend and current enemy.
"Kujo, we're taking too many losses here. I'm losing ships faster than I can piece together decent plans. Have you thought of anything?" Kati said with a brisk, sharp tone.
Sumeragi Lee Noriega stared intensely at Kati, processing all the information she had just received. Plan after plan flew out of her head, most requiring more strength than they currently had. She slammed her fist into her armrest in frustration. Only one plan she thought of had any chance at all of succeeding. She opened her mouth and hesitated.
"Kujo, we don't have time for idle chatting," Kati admonished.
Sumeragi Lee Noriega remained frozen, her mind churning. Lockon. Christina. Lichty. They had died five years ago because of her tactical forecasts. Is she ready to sacrifice again? Can she bear to sacrifice again?
"Order a retreat of your ships and troops, Kati," she croaked, finding her voice at last. Without waiting for a reply, she opened a link with the Katharon commander, Klaus. She repeated her instructions to the grim commander. He gave her a puzzled look but obeyed without question.
"Kujo, I'm guessing you have a plan," Kati spoke without emotion.
Sumeragi Lee Noriega jumped, unaware that the link with the Federation Army Flagship was still open.
"Hai, but I need you to get out of here with all possible speed and request reinforcements," she replied.
Kati nodded curtly, then closed the link. She wasn't someone who was spooked easily, but the haunted look in Kujo's eyes just before she terminated the link sent shivers through her whole body.
~ G U N D A M ~
She did have a plan. It was high-risk, irrational, and downright crazy. No. She won't sacrifice any of them. She couldn't. But what other choice did she have?
Tears began leaking from her eyes as all other possibilities died out. She couldn't. She couldn't do it. But with every passing second, it seemed like she must.
"MARIE!"
Allelujah's desperate cry jolted her out of her self-perpetuated misery. Moments later, Feldt spoke in a nearly inaudible voice, "We lost Arios."
Her heart shattered. She couldn't do this anymore. Almost with an instinctive desperation, she glanced around for a bottle of alcohol, only to find none.
Feldt broke the silent atmosphere, filled with tragic air. "GN Archer, signal lost."
Another wave of despondency crashed over Sumeragi Lee Noriega. Not only had she broken her promise of keeping Marie away from the fighting to Allelujah, but she had also failed in protecting her.
Allelujah…I'm sorry, Allelujah.
Flashes of memories suddenly besieged her already fragile mindset: images of broken mobile suits and demolished buildings, images of blood and gore and body parts, images of Emilio lying still on the hospital bed, eyes closed, never to open again…
"We have a message incoming from… Veda?" Feldt shouted in a surprised voice.
"Put it up on screen," she commanded, equally surprised. A message and numerous schematics popped up on the main screen. Her eyes widened as she processed the message.
"Tieria," she breathed. "You're alive…you weren't in Seraphim when it was destroyed…you're alive," she repeated, tears gradually flowing from her eyes again.
"Sumeragi-san," Mileina spoke for the first time since everything started going wrong. "What's the mission plan?"
She opened her mouth to relay precise commands to her two programmers. Another message interrupted her. Suddenly, she lost her voice as she found herself staring at Setsuna's glowing eyes and haggard face.
"Sumeragi-san. Tieria is dead," he spoke in his usual monotonous voice, laced only with hints of exhaustion and sorrow.
She smiled faintly at the Gundam Meister. "No," she responded clearly. "Tieria sent us a message through Veda. He's alive."
Setsuna was silent as he continued to stare at her with unblinking, glowing eyes. He grimaced and blinked. When he opened his eyes again, they were no longer glowing.
"Sumeragi Lee Noriega…" he started with an unusually uncertain voice. She felt the elation of Tieria being alive dissolve as a cold fist gripped her heart. She had never seen Setsuna like this before.
"I found Tieria's body. He was shot multiple times, including one shot in the head that killed him." He paused. "He revealed to me that he had assimilated his consciousness into Veda, but before he could take full control, Ribbons assaulted him through an untouched portion of Veda. I lent my support to Tieria, but we were unprepared for the surprises that he had."
Setsuna took a deep breath. "He was connected to Veda for far longer than any of us. He knew Veda. Tieria threw me out just as Ribbons was about to wipe us from Veda." Setsuna took another breath. "Tieria wanted me to pass this message to you: 'everyone gets a second chance.'"
Sumeragi Lee Noriega felt like she was suffocating. Her lungs cried for more oxygen, more than the few shuddering breaths she took in between bouts of sobbing. Her heart just cried, cried and bled painfully as she began retreating into herself again.
Emilio…
A figure sprang up and dragged her out of her chair. "Lasse! Lasse! Take Sumeragi to…."
~ G U N D A M ~
"Damn it, she fainted," Ian cursed. He thrust the unconscious form of their tactical forecaster at an unprepared Lasse. "Take her to her room and stay with her," he ordered. Without waiting to see if his order was being carried out properly, he cursed and turned back to the main screen, where an emotionless Setsuna F. Seiei was staring calmly at him.
The engineer gazed at the schematics and message that was still open. After a few moments, he quickly downloaded it all into his portable working computer.
"Setsuna. Take 00 Raiser and come back to the Ptolemaios. I'll meet you in the hanger," he said gruffly.
"Roger," Setsuna replied and closed the link.
"Linda, Mileina, Feldt, protect the ship as best as possible," he directed at the three remaining operators in the bridge, then floated out the door.
Tieria, you cunning boy. This just may be crazy enough to get us all killed…or worse. But I guess we'll need to take any chance we've got now that we're backed into a corner.
Ian rounded the corner and entered the hanger just in time to see 00 Raiser dock. He quickly opened his computer and opened up all the schematics. Without a pause, Ptolemaios' engineer went to work.
~ G U N D A M ~
"Setsuna, stay in 00 Raiser," Ian's voice pierced the cockpit just as he was about to jump out. Reluctantly, he settled back into the seat, gritting his teeth every time an explosion shook the Ptolemaios. He should be out there destroying those ships, destroying every last bastard in those ships. He clenched his controls.
Lockon. I will change the world. I will change the world with my Gundam.
"Alright Setsuna. We don't have time for a test run, so you'll just have to launch and hope it works. What's that status of Trans-Am?" Ian's voice came through the speakers.
"57%," he replied.
A colorful stream of curses erupted from the speakers. "Well, we'll have to launch you anyways. Can't risk keeping the 00 Raiser on Ptolemy. As you as Trans-Am charges up fully, use it. Then go into 'Time Leap' mode. It should appear as an option. Got that, kid?" Ian said with a growl.
"Roger," Setsuna responded. "He powered on his Gundam. Setsuna F. Seiei, launching."
The 00 Raiser's twin drives quickly propelled the Gundam back into the raging battle outside. Immediately, he fired off multiple shots, destroying two of the countless suicidal mobile suits sent by Ribbons Almark.
Cursing silently, he pulled out two beam sabers and with deadly efficiency, began cutting through the thick swathes of kamikaze suits. A quick glance at his monitor showed Trans-Am as 76%.
"Ptolemy, starboard engine, critical damage," Feldt's shaky voice came through in a universal transmission.
"DAMNIT! I'll snipe every one of those damn bastards down! I'll sni—" Explosions interrupted Lockon's raging tirade. An eerie, static hiss followed.
"Lockon!" Setsuna shouted uselessly. "LOCKON!" An exploding impact sent shockwaves through his Gundam, temporarily dazing him. He shook the stars and pain from his head and glanced down at the monitor. 96%.
"Ptolemy, GN missiles low, starboard weapon ports destroyed," Feldt said with a tinge of desperation in her voice.
"TRANS-AM!" Setsuna shouted, activating the Trans-Am function of 00 Raiser. His Gundam glowed red and began speeding into the thick of the battle.
Lockon. Allelujah. Tieria. I'm going to kill those bastards. I'm going to kill those bastards.
"Setsuna!" Ian's voice filled his cockpit. "Activate Time Leap. It's our only hope. Don't argue with me. Just do it!"
Setsuna gritted his teeth, intending to disobey the old man's orders. He pushed his Gundam faster.
"Damn it, Setsuna!" Ian bellowed. "00 Raiser, Ian Vashti, command override. Time Leap!"
Setsuna's eyes widened in shock as his Gundam complied with Ian's command. The pink Trans-Am display was replaced by a purple display. Eight sharp letters, spelling Time Leap, pulsed softly on the screen.
A massive explosion diverted his attention from the screen. He looked back. Half the Ptolemy was in flames. The ship itself was crumbling as it tilted dangerously to the port side.
Before he could fully register the implications of what he just saw, he felt himself being forced back into his seat. A great pressure was pushing against his body, effectively pinning him. His head felt light and blackness soon seeped into the corner of his eyes as air was forcibly driven from his lungs.
He wanted to scream.
~ G U N D A M ~
The first thing he saw when he came to was an alert warning him of the low amount of GN particles in his Gundam's twin drives. He groaned, or at least tried to. A hacking cough escaped him as his starving lungs cleared a way for fresh air to flow again. His limbs felt heavy. It took all his effort just to clear the incessant and annoying beeping of the alert. His sore body screamed in protest as he righted himself and looked at his situation.
"00 Raiser. Location," he rasped.
A map appeared on the heads-up display. A blue dot marked his current location. Despite the constant flow of tears from his eyes, he stared, dumbly and unblinking at the map.
The location was Lagrange 1.
Unwittingly, flashes of memory overtook his senses. His feeling of desperation as Exia sped toward Lagrange 1. Explosions and shockwaves rocking the entire satellite system. One particular explosion which he was too slow to shield.
Lockon… Stratos….
A beep jolted him from the stream of memories. It was an incoming message. Partly curious and partly suspicious, he opened the message. His eyes widened further.
A few minutes later, he was ready. He was once again Setsuna F. Seiei, Celestial Being's Gundam Meister, pilot of 00 Raiser. Open on his display was Sumeragi's final mission plan.
Lockon. Allelujah. Tieria. Sumeragi Lee Noriega. Everyone, I will do this. I will change the world.
He clenched his hands on his controls. His eyes began glowing as he looked at the field of asteroids and satellites, where a desperate battle of pain and loss would soon be fought.
"Setsuna F. Seiei. Mission commencing."
Edited on July 5th. The names now follow the spellings on wikipedia, as much as I dislike some of the spellings.