Gundam SEED: Orb
"Talking"
'Thoughts'
Location
Author's Notes: Essentially this is a "what if" story wondering what would happen if the G-Weapons and the Archangel weren't part of the EA's weapons development, but actually belonged to Orb. Now what I like about this idea is the number of possible ways this story could go. Even following the storyline to a degree is interesting because that would mean that ZAFT attacked a neutral nation's colony and stole that nation's top secret technology, and Orb's hands wouldn't be tied about how they can respond. There is also the Archangel's interaction with any EA forces in space such as Artemis or the 8th Fleet.
Well I hope you enjoy.
Earth, Washington D.C. Office of Muruta Azrael
"So, were you successful?" Asked Muruta Azrael to the shadowy figure displayed on his office terminal.
"Yes, I ensured that the specified documents made it into the hands of ZAFT spies, and I included enough evidence to give the appearance that the Atlantic Federation is the driving force behind the project. It's up to the Coordinators now to take the bait." Replied the shadowy figure.
Azrael gave a smug grin as he heard the confirmation report. "There's no need to worry. Coordinator's aren't stupid and anyone with the slightest understanding of how this war is going would realize the threat such a project represents. The risk is simply too great to ignore and soon they will make their move. Fortunately Coordinator's are gullible, so when they do it will undoubtedly be the beginning of their downfall."
"And what about Orb? How will they respond?"
"That depends on how the Coordinators respond to the bait. It's likely that nothing they do will incite Athha to consider joining the war, but the people of Orb aren't quite as stubborn as he is. I'm sure that after ZAFT's initial actions it will only take a bit of prodding before they'll finally see the light and join us."
"Very good sir," said the unknown individual. "And you should know that have I managed to obtain the blueprints and technical specifications for the new assault carrier. Its design is…very impressive."
"Wonderful."
Heliopolis
Within the resource satellite of Orb a small mechanical bird flew through the air before landing upon the computer monitor of its owner Kira Yamato.
The young man was typing away on his laptop with one hand as the other held several papers with information concerning one of the many projects his professor was asking his help for. At the same time he was listening to a week-old news report about the refugee problem in South Africa and the ZAFT attack on Kaoshiung.
"Kira!"
Hearing the call Kira paused in his work so see his friends Tolle and Miriallia approaching.
"So this is where you've been hanging out," said Tolle, "Professor Kato's been trying to get a hold of you."
"What again?" Groaned Kira, suspecting the reason the professor wanted to see him.
"He asked us to bring you to him right away," said Miriallia. "Well, are you assisting him on something else?"
"Too much," said Kira as he placed the computer on the picnic table, Birdy switching its perch to his shoulder. "I still haven't finished all the stuff he dumped on me yesterday." Although he was speaking to his friends he kept an eye on his computer screen.
"Some development in the news?" Asked Tolle as he looked over Kira's shoulders.
"Yeah, there's a battle in Taiwan." Kira enlarged the image and increased the volume so his friends could more easily see and listen. The news broadcast showed a field reporter reporting the known details of the battle taken place near Kaoshiung, ZAFT mobile suits visible in the background as they made their advance.
"If this is footage from last week than they may have already taken over Kaoshiung." Said Tolle.
"Kaoshiung isn't very far from us, will the homeland be alright?" Asked Mir.
"Sure, there's nothing to worry about," stated Tolle with confidence. "They may be close by but our nation's neutral. Can't see Orb turning into a warzone."
"Really? Then I guess we're OK."
Over at Heliopolis's port an old Marseille III class transport operated by the Earth Alliance was just finishing the docking procedures.
"Well another successful run for this old girl," said the old captain as he let his hat drift in the zero gravity. "I thank you for escorting us Lt. La Flaga. It does the crew good knowing someone of your skill is protecting us."
"Sir, I'm just glad there weren't any incidents. By the way, are there any ZAFT vessels in the vicinity?"
"We've spotted two but there's no cause for alarm. They know they can't initiate any hostile action once we're docked. Since Heliopolis doesn't want any conflict to occur nearby they'll let us wait here a few days before sending us on our way to the moon, and by then the ZAFT ships should be long gone." Said the captain.
"Great, does this mean my men and I can get some shore leave?"
"I don't see why not. But we'll have to get permission to extend our stay first. And if you do leave try and be discreet, you tend to stick out like a sore thumb. Until then you may as well continue watching over us like a hawk, making sure we're safe and sound."
Mu grinned as he saluted the captain and began to leave. "I have to admit; this is the first time I'm actually hoping ZAFT sticks around."
Out in space the two ZAFT vessels hid behind a large asteroid. As an exercise to hide the ships it was wasted as they knew Heliopolis and anyone else in the area would have already spotted them before they arrived. But it perfectly hid their current actions, the launching of a pair of shuttles.
The small shuttles' progress was monitored by the captain of the Nazca class and the commander of the team.
"Try not to look so frustrated Aides." Said Rau Le Creuset as he floated to the command table behind the captain's chair.
"Well I don't imagine it would be too late to hear from the council at least." Said the black suited captain.
"It will be too late," stated Rau with conviction as he picked up and examined a photo. "I have a sixth sense about these things." He let go of the photo and it floated towards the captain, its image showing the head of a mobile suit not of ZAFT origin. "If we don't seize the moment now later we'll pay for it with our lives for our reluctance to take action. The Earth Forces new mobile weapons, we must secure them before they attempt to move them."
The two shuttles ran silently to avoid detection, and had gotten close to the asteroid that was a part of Heliopolis used for mining and provided a direct path to the colony's manufacturing facilities. Once at the designated point 10 ZAFT soldiers, five wearing red and five in green, disembarked from the shuttles and floated towards a door within the asteroid which opened for them. One of the Red Coats checked his watch which was counting down. At the designated time the security system guarding that entrance deactivated.
Inside the colony Kira, Tolle, and Miriallia had entered the Morgenroete lab they were allowed to use as students from Kato's seminar and greeted their fellow students and friends Sai and Kuzzey.
As Kira walked in he noticed that there was an unfamiliar face in the lab. A guy that was wearing a large overcoat and hat that did a pretty good job of hiding his physical features. He overheard Kuzzey explaining to Tolle that the guy was a friend of Kato's and was asked to wait in the lab.
The ZAFT team had traveled through the zero-gravity shaft before finally reaching a grill that showed them what was going on beneath them. It was the hanger where a brand new ship was being built; the warship they came to destroy while it was still in dry dock.
With a signal from the team leader the soldiers split into three groups. They would place bombs with timers around the facility in key positions to maximize destruction. Than they would regroup and make way towards their next objective.
"It's time," said Rau Le Creuset. The second phase of the operation was to begin.
"Weigh anchor," commanded Aides, "Vesalius launch."
The thrusters of the two ZAFT ships lit up propelling the vessels from behind the asteroid and towards the colony.
The approach of the two warships set off alarms throughout Heliopolis's port control tower, the colony's central control room, and the Archangel's hanger. Another alarm also went off on the bridge of the EA transport in Orb's port who had been keeping an eye on the ZAFT ships.
The manager of the port control tower attempted to make contact with the ZAFT ships however little of his signal could get through the ships' electronic interference, likely from an N-Jammer.
Aboard the Vesalius Rau gave the signal to launch the three GINNs prepped for this part of the mission.
"Captain! What's with the alarms?" Asked Mu La Flaga as he entered the bridge, prepped in his pilot suit.
"The ZAFT vessels, one Nazca and Laurasia class, are approaching the colony. We confirmed the launch of three GINNs before communications jamming."
"Damn it! What the hell do they think they're doing taking such hostile actions against a neutral colony?"
"I don't know," admitted the old captain. "But Heliopolis is responding by deploying a defense force of Mistrals."
"Mistrals?" Said Mu in disbelief. "That's crazy. If ZAFT actually intends to attack those worker pods will barely slowdown 1 mobile suit, much less three. Have Luke and Gail board their Moebius units, launch them as soon as I'm ready."
"But Heliopolis hasn't given us permission to launch and this is their territory. And we only have three Moebius units and an old transport."
"It doesn't matter." Said Mu as he moved to leave the bridge and get to his own machine. "ZAFT is our enemy and if they attack a neutral entity than it is our duty to protect and aid them to the best of our ability. Besides, I'm the Hawk of Endymion. I make the impossible possible."
Within the Archangel's hanger the bombs finished their countdown and detonated. The resulting explosion ripped through the hanger, killing numerous technicians and breaking through the window of the control room, resulting in the death of most of the ship's officers.
The explosion was strong enough to be felt in the nearby Morgenroete facilities.
The Mistrals fired upon the approaching GINNS with their Vulcan guns but the mobile suits effortlessly dodged the light projectiles and returned fire with their much more powerful assault rifles. Within a second the Mistral force had been reduced by half.
While Heliopolis's worker pods were being annihilated one Moebius Zero, two Moebius units and the Alliance's old transport launched from the port. The GINNS fired a few rounds upon the new enemies to keep them at bay while two of the machines flew down the shaft the Mistrals launched from. They continued shooting, destroying walls, equipment, and a control room full of people, before they finally stopped shooting and entered the colony proper.
Situated on a hill that overlooked the Morgenroete factory district the ZAFT soldiers watched the ensuing chaos, waiting for their prize to appear. And they weren't disappointed as a number of large trucks with numerous smaller escorts emerged from the factory.
"That's it," reported Yzak as he viewed the procession through his binoculars, a smug smile on his face. "It's just as Commander Le Creuset said."
"What? That with the right amount of prodding they'll eventually come out of their hole?" Asked Dearka with equal smugness in a joking tone. "After all, the Naturals are stupid and pathetic."
The team transmitted the location of the target to the two GINNs, which immediately responded flying over the convey shooting at the smaller trucks. The pilots did their best to avoid damaging the trucks carrying the mobile suits.
The soldiers jumped off the hill's edge and activated their jetpacks, flying towards the machines they came to steal.
"Destroy the factories and anything we can't carry," ordered Yzak. "Intel indicated there were five machines."
"The other two must be still be in the factory. Rusty and I will get them," said Athrun as he, Rusty, and two of the green coats altered coarse to take them closer to the manufacturing facilities. "Yzak you take these three."
"Roger. If you're piloting one be sure to turn off the self-destruct first."
The students from Kato's seminar left the lab after the first big tremor. As they waited at the elevator subsequent tremors shook the building, cutting the power.
Sai immediately went to the stairwell and opened the door. "What's going on?" He asked to any one of the lab techs that was going up the stairs.
"We're under attack by ZAFT. Some of their mobile suits have entered the colony," answered one of them.
As soon as that was said the blond guy that was waiting for professor Kato immediately took off running back the way they came.
"Hey you! Stop!" Called Kira to the guy, taking off after him.
"Kira!" Called Tolle worriedly from the doorway.
"Don't worry I'll be right back," said Kira as he continued down the darkened hallway.
The guy was fast and made it a pretty fair distance, but Kira quickly caught up and grabbed his arm.
"What are you doing? It's a dead end up there." Said Kira as he stopped the guy.
The guy did not appreciate the student's concern. "Stop tailing me. Better get out of here."
That was impossible as at that moment the section of the hallway collapsed from an explosion. The displaced air rushed past the two whipping the blonde's hat off, letting Kira to finally get a good look at the blonde's face.
"You're a girl," he said a little stunned.
"Yeah, what'd you think I was?" The girl asked angrily. "Let's hear it."
"I- ah- just thought that," Kira's words cut off as a second farther off explosion went off.
"Go back now," ordered the girl. "I have something to check up on my own."
"Easy for you to say. How will I retrace my steps?" A valid question considering the hallway they had come down was likely blocked with rubble.
The girl gave him a look that clearly said "Figure it out for yourself."
Kira understood the look and immediately began looking around. "Let's see, this way," he said grabbing her arm again and leading her down the direction she wanted to go.
Not that the girl was grateful.
"Hey! Let go of me your jerk!"
"Jerk?"
The two ran down the corridor towards the factory district where there some more shelters they could take refuge in. Eventually the exited through a doorway out unto a balcony, and there they saw them.
Two mobile suits colored in grays and whites situated in large carrier trucks, with techs and guards standing around them, some shooting at a group of ZAFT soldiers that were approaching them. The massive machines, even lying in repose, appeared much more human and formidable than ZAFT's GINNs.
But as soon as the girl saw them she looked as if her worst fears were confirmed. "I knew it," she whispered. "The Earth Forces new mobile weapons." As if she lost her strength she collapsed against the guardrail. "Father, I knew you betrayed us all!"
That last shout attracted the attention of an armed woman in a tech's jumpsuit. She turned towards the two, aiming her rifle at them.
Kira saw this and immediately grabbed the girl's arm, pulling her with him as he ran towards the nearest shelter. "Come on." He said as he pulled her and avoided a single bullet. The woman had shot out of surprise and had no real interest in them so that was the only bullet they had to avoid.
While the battle was still going on in the factory, it was essentially over outside by the other three mobile suits which had been by ZAFT.
The first of the mobile suits, the GAT-X102 Duel lifted itself into an upright and standing position.
"Wow, pretty impressive," said Yzak, for the first time ever intentionally complementing something that Naturals accomplished. "Dearka, how's yours?"
"Great. Update activated, nerve links reconstructed, calibrations set. It'll move." Dearka said confidently. The GAT-X103 Buster followed the Duel's lead and stood up in its carriage
"And Nicole?"
"Not yet, almost there," said Nicole as he continued to modify the Coordinator use operating system he had installed to gain control of the captured mobile suit. Within moments the GAT-X207 Blitz joined its fellows.
"Where are Athrun and Rusty?" Asked Dearka. "Taking their time I suppose."
"Ha, I don't think they'll have any trouble," said Yzak. "Let's just stick to the plan. We'll get these three out of here and to Commander Le Creuset before they get damaged."
Thrusters lighting up, the three mobile suits and a GINN escort took to the air, making good their escape.
Kira and the girl arrived at the shelter entrances; luckily one of the doors still had a green light indicating it was open.
Kira hit the call button and a voice came on over the intercom.
"Is there still someone out there?"
"Yes, my friend and I need to get inside. Please open the door."
"Two of you?"
"That's right."
"We're filled to capacity already. There's shelter 37 on the left block, can you make it there?"
Kira looked over in the direction of the indicated block. To get there they would have to get close to where the fighting and those mobile suits were. "Please take my friend at least, she's just a girl."
"Yeah Ok." Responded the voice.
The door opened, awaiting the occupant for the elevator. "Get in," said Kira to the girl.
"Wait, what are you doing?" She said in protest as Kira pushed her into the entrance.
"Get in will you. I'll go to the other side. Don't worry OK."
Kira gave one last push to get the girl inside but at that moment another tremor shook the area. The lights in the shelter entrance darkened and although the girl was in and Kira pressed the send button the elevator didn't move.
"What?"
"Hey kid, are you still up there?" Asked the guy from the shelter.
"Yes I'm still here, and so is my friend. What's wrong?"
"That last tremor knocked something loose. The elevator has shut down. No one else is coming down here. I'm sorry."
Kira did not like that. The only way to get to the next nearest group of shelters was to go through that warzone again. Kira didn't particularly like his chances of getting through there unharmed, and he liked them even less for the girl who he suspected was a Natural.
But it didn't matter what he thought as the girl had been knocked out of the brief funk she went into at the sight of the mobile suits.
"Let's go," she said as she grabbed his arm and started pulling him along. "We need to get to the other shelters. And this time you're getting in before me."
The two ran back along the way they came. As they passed above the fighting group Kira glanced at the battle, and noticed that a ZAFT soldier on a catwalk was taking aim at the back of the woman who shot at them earlier.
"Behind you! Look out!" Kira shouted, stopping in his steps, and stopping the girl in hers. Despite her best efforts.
The woman immediately responded, emptying her rifle at the guy who was about to shoot her, missing him.
Murrue Ramius looked over in the direction of the warning as she took out the empty clip. "Those kids again," she muttered.
Pulling out her pistol she leapt from her cover, shooting and managing to hit a ZAFT soldier with two rounds. "Come here!" She called to the two teens.
"Thanks but we're heading to the shelters in the left block, never mind us."
"But there's nothing left behind that door!" Murrue said.
Whether that was true or not was moot as an explosion went off too close for comfort.
Kira made a snap decision.
"Hey?! What are you doing!?" The girl cried out in indignation as Kira suddenly picked her up bridal style.
Kira ran over to the catwalk. He stopped and placed his foot against the rail to balance.
"You are not planning to do what I think you are doing!" Shouted the girl. However Kira was indeed planning on doing exactly what she was thinking. "No no nooooo!" The shout turned into a scream as Kira pushed with all his might and leapt over the rail.
Kira landed on the shoulder of the mobile suit Murrue was on. He lost his balance and stumbled forward landing atop the girl in his arms.
"Get off of me you crazy bastard!" Shouted the girl as she pushed Kira off.
"Sorry, but it was the fastest way," said Kira in apology. He straightened up to look for the woman that called for them.
Suddenly he heard the woman call out a name. He looked in time to see a bullet graze the woman's shoulder.
Kira rushed to her side to help. He only had a second to look over her as he saw the red of an elite ZAFT soldier running up the mobile suit's leg, knife in hand.
The soldier drew near, close enough for Kira to see through the visor of his helmet.
"Athrun?" Kira was so surprised to see the face of his old friend that he never noticed the girl come to his side, close enough to hear him.
Athrun stopped. "Kira?"
In the moment that both boys were processing the fact that their childhood friend was staring across from them, Murrue managed to muscle through the pain and lifted her gun threateningly at Athrun.
Athrun did not want to test his luck, and with Rusty gone his priority was to secure the other machine, so he backed off quickly.
Murrue also knew she had to secure at least one, so used all her available strength to push Kira into the mobile suit's open cockpit. Grabbing the girl's wrist Murrue pulled her in alongside her.
"Move back behind the seat," she ordered the two teens. Kira complied and moved to the right, the girl didn't.
"Wait, I never agreed to this! I don't want to be a part of this!"
"We don't have time to argue!" Shouted Murrue as she shoved the girl to the side.
When she was finally in the pilot seat Murrue began the startup procedure. "At least we can save this one. Even I should be able to operate it."
The mobile suit's various screens lit up, the small ones showing pertinent piloting information while the large ones showed the camera images.
Kira glanced over to the left screen, wondering if he really did see Athrun. The blond girl noticed and thought back to the name the guy had said earlier. She would have thought further on it if she hadn't caught sight of the Orb Union's crest appear on the startup screen, followed by
General
Unilateral
Neuro-Link
Dispersive
Automatic
Maneuver
"Gundam?" Muttered Kira.
The mobile suit was ready.
A final large explosion ripped through the factory, destroying almost everything. Except for the captured GAT-X303 Aegis, and the GAT-X105 Strike, the last of Orb's prototype mobile suits to remain in its hands.
Author's Notes: Yes I changed it so that Cagalli would not make it into the shelter. I had never seen that before. Now most people would think that it really wouldn't make that much of a difference since there won't be a machine for Cagalli to pilot. Be that as it may I personally think that her perspective on things could affect Kira and the others.
That and I will give her a machine to pilot, however it will not be a Gundam. A number of people have already tried the idea of adding a second Gundam to the Archangel's complement of machines, either designing their own or bringing them in from other Gundam time-lines. And usually those machines are piloted by either an OC or that Gundam's corresponding pilot. I personally think there are a lot of perfectly good machines in the SEED time-line that don't get shown often enough.
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