I DO NOT OWN GUNDAM SEED, GUNDAM SEED DESTINY GUNDAM 00 OR ANYTHING IN THE GUNDAM FRANCHISE THERE ARE ALL OWN BY THERE RIGHTFUL CREATORS AND SUNRISE STUDIOS SO DO NOT SUE ME OR DO ANYTHING PLEASE IM JUST A FAN WHO WANTED TO TRY WRITING A FANFICTION!
Cosmic Era 71, Battle of Orb
It was the height of the Bloody Valentine War. The Atlantic Federation and launched a massive invasion against Orb in order to gain control of its mass driver so it could have a route to space. The civilians had been given orders to evacuate the nation.
One family was running as fast as they could through the forest. They were trying to reach the boat that would take them out of the country. Being coordinators, the sprint wasn't tiring them out. Then they heard the rumble of an explosion and they stopped.
"Dad" said Fourteen-year-old Soran Ibrahim worried. The fear was evident in his Brown Chestnut colored eyes.
"Don't worry son," said Soran's father "God will see us through this, All we have to do is keep moving." The family kept running they could hear the sounds of explosions and gunfire everywhere. The family could see some of the Orb M-1 Astray mobile suits fire at one of the Federation's Strike Dagger mobile suits. Then the Strike fired back. The suit exploded and the father and mother covered their children. They got up and kept running.
Then Mayu Ibrahim tripped and her cell phone fell out of her messenger bag. "My cell" she cried.
"Just leave it," said their mother as they continued to run. Soran then looked up into the sky to see a Strike Dagger fire its rifle at the ground in front of them.
"Watch out!" yelled Soran as the explosion threw him down the hill. He tumbled down and felt his face slam down on the concrete dock.
Soran picked himself up and brushed the dust from his raven hair. "Mom" he yelled "Dad, Mayu." He looked down and saw his sisters pink cell phone. He picked it up and ran up the hill.
Then Soran's entire body went numb. He looked up the hill and saw his sister. Her neck was twisted 360 degrees and right arm was missing. His father's body was severed in half. He saw his mother's leg, and nothing else.
Soran felt like he wanted to throw up. He sank to his knees. He started to cry. His tears flowed uncontrollably from his face to the ground. He felt so helpless, so small, so powerless.
"NOOOO!" He screamed.
'Why, Why did this have to happen! Why god! I thought dad said you would protect us!' Soran thought as he remembered his father's words. Was it all a lie, was there even a God in this world.
Soran had gotten his answer.
'In this world, There is no God!' Soran thought as he pushed himself into a standing position. He took one step and another, walking away from his dead family. His eyes were deprived of life and his now cold chestnut-brown eyes looked at the world in front of him. And all *Soran* saw was destructing, Twisted meaningless destruction. Was the world really this distorted, this…twisted. Had he really turned a blind eye to all this.
Soran heard something behind him and turned to see a Strike Dagger face him taking aim with its rifle.
Before it could fire a bright red beam streaked down right through the arms and legs of the suit causing it to fall. Soran watched as similar beams streaked down from the sky disabling the other mobile suits in a similar fashioned.
He looked around and then upward to where he saw a blue mobile suit flying there. It was nothing like Soran had ever seen before. Its back had wing like devises on its back that fired multiple beams at once. Soran eyes were now widen with shock and awe as the angelic mobile suit stood in front of him.
This was Soran's first encounter with The Freedom Gundam!
(Start Ash Like Snow) I do not own this song
(Shows Gundam Exia floating in front of the P.L.A.N.T.S before it zooms and shows Setsuna F. Seiei in the cockpit.)
(Shows The Exia charging with its Sword extended before it shows Setsuna fall to earth)
Title: Mobile Suit Gundam Seed-RAISER
Sora akaku someru ( Shows Setsuna F. Seiei standing in the ruins of the old Orb Union)
kokutan no yami (Shows Gilbert Durandal, Rau Le Creusent and Rey Za Burrel.)
Nomikomareta (Shows Miriallia Haw taking photos of a destroyed city and Cagalli Yula Athha looking away from Orb Mobile Suits)
hoshikuzu-tachi (Shows Lacus Clyne dancing on stage.)
Hakanaku ( Shows the Bridge of the Minerva)
furitsumoru hai no yuki ( Shows Rey and Lunamaria Hawke entering their mobile suits then shows them taking off from the Minerva.)
Mitsumeta ( Shows Yzak Joules and Dearka Elsmanalong with their new Gundams)
nageki no mado ( Shows Graham Aker taking off in a custom Windam)
I never dream ( Shows Neo Ronoake piloting a Windam
Kooritsuku ( Shows the Freedom (shows Kira in the cockpit) flying off into battle.)
There I come for you ( Shows the Savior, Zaku Phantom, Exia and Zaku Gunner.)
Omoi wa (Shows the Savior(Shows Athrun in cockpit) fighting off the Custom Windam.)
sekibaku no yozora ni ( Shows Zaku Phantom(Shows Rey in Cockpit) fighting the Windam.)
Maiagari kudaketa ( Shows Exia and Freedom clash their swords together ( Shows Setsuna and Kira glaring at each other.)
Kono sekai ga katachi wo kaeru tabi ni ( Shows Lunamaria, Meyrin Hawke and Lacus Clyne looking down worried, then shows Exia charging at enemy Windams before slicing through one.)
Mamoritai mono wo ( Shows the Gaia, Chaos and Abyss floating in front of the moon.)
Kowashite (Shows the Freedom spreading its wings and Kira and Lacus standing in front of it.)
( Shows the Savior, Zaku Gunner and Phantom, Blue Duel, Verde Buster and Exia fighting in the battle field.)
shimatteitan da ( Shows The Minvera Flying in space then shows the Savior, Zaku Phantom, Zaku Gunner fighting.)
( Shows the the Gaia, Chaos and Abyss firing at the Exia as it blocks with its shield and Rifle/Sword as smoke consumes it. Then Shows Exia fying out with two Beam Sabers drawn out.)
(Shows 4 trails of light flying up into space.)
October 2, C.E. 73
Sixteen-year-old ZAFT pilot Lunamaria Hawke was riding in a jeep to the Zaft base Armory One. She was enjoying the feeling of the wind rushing through her red hair. Luna's hair wasn't regular red hair. It was a very dark shade of red almost a light purple. She was wearing a red zaft uniform. Unlike most pilots she had the uniform tailored so she could wear her bright pink mini-skirt.
"Look out" shouted Vino, the driver. As he screamed he maneuvered the jeep out of the way of the leg of a Zaku. If Vino had been any slower the foot of the mobile suit would have crushed the jeep.
"Sorry" said Vino as kept driving.
"Don't worry" said Luna. They had known each other since they meet at the academy so it was easy to forgive him. "We are all rookies here."
"I wonder if it's true about us getting assigned to lunar orbit...and where's Setsuna anyway?" Luna asked wondering where her best friend was. She met him back in the Academy two years ago, he acted cold and unemotional to others but Luna was able to see through that and see the real him. The caring and amazing guy who would do anything to protect the world and Luna had to admit but she had a "small" crush on him.
"He's out testing the new Gundam." Vino replied as he looked into the sky to see a small figure as it rose into the sky.
"There he is." Vino said, pointing above to the small almost unnoticeable object. "He was scheduled for some final flight tests on the Gundam before it was loaded on the Minerva." As he spoke, The object disappeared above the artificial clouds and could not be seen.
As they continued their way to the hanger they saw Rey Za Burrel. He looked to be in his 20's and had long blond hair and wore a Z.A.F.T. red coat, he also wore a pair of sunglasses on his face finding most of his features.( Sounds familiar, Just think, Quattro Bajeena. And to you Gundam fans who knows what that means about Rey then good job. For the others Watch Mobile Suit Gundam Zeta and pay attention to the blond guy aka Quattro aka Char!)
Rey waved at Vino and Luna as he continued his walk.
XxXx
Cagalli Yula Athha and Alex Dino moved through the corridor from their shuttle, heading into the spaceport terminal. "Are you sure that outfit is appropriate?" Alex asked. "Tell me you at least brought a dress."
"Why does it matter what I'm wearing?" Cagalli replied, clad in the standard attire of an Orb Government official. "Isn't this fine?"
"For a situation like this, a little bit of acting never hurts." he replied. "You know this. Don't try to be someone you're not. You don't want them to think you're an amateur. Though is an unofficial visit, never forget that you are now a ruler of Orb."
"I know that," sighed Cagalli as they entered the elevator. Alex just smiled softly as he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder before changing the subject.
"How come you want to meet with the Chairman anyway? This meeting does seem kind of sudden," said Alex curiously.
"It was the only time that I could find to meet with him as he is always so busy. I want to talk about him with all the reports I have been getting about the building up of ZAFT military power during times of peace. I am afraid if this continues that it will shatter the peace we have worked so hard to create," said Cagalli as she clenched her fists tightly.
"I see," frowned Alex. He understood what she was trying to say, but didn't know if that was something she really had to criticize ZAFT about as ORB had been keeping their own updating their own forces with all the new technology that had come about in the past year and a half.
"The last thing we need is another war to start. So many were lost in the last one and we still haven't fully recovered from that. Another war would just cause more pointless deaths," said Cagalli grimly.
She could still remember the look on her father's face as he pushed her into the shuttle while he stayed behind and burned down with ORB just to prevent the Earth Forces from obtaining their Mass Driver.
ORB had been rebuilt, but there was still much work to be done and she would not watch as her nation was dragged into another war. No matter what, she would do whatever it took to keep her nation safe and not let it fall ever again.
The two couldn't say anything else as they reached the bottom floor and the doors opened. They exited the elevator and were surprised to see the Chairman had just entered the building and was walking straight towards them.
"Princess, it is an honor to finally meet you," smiled Durandal warmly. Alex noticed the Chairman glance at him and kept his face neutral so that no one would recognize him. He was dressed in some casual clothes and wearing some blue, see through shades so he wouldn't stand out and remain inconspicuous.
"Chairman, it is a pleasure to finally meet you as well and thank you for agreeing to meet with me on such short notice," bowed Cagalli, which Durandal mimicked.
"I would have met with you sooner, but I hope you understand that I have been increasingly busy as of lately. You can understand how hard it is to run a nation," said Durandal the smile never leaving his face.
"I should be the one to apologize for making you take time out of your busy schedule to meet with me, Chairman Durandal." Cagalli said as the two shook hands.
"How are things in your country?" Durandal asked as the two of them moved towards the couches in the room.
"I understand that ever since you've become their Chief Representative, many of the problems that Orb has been experiencing since the war, have been resolved. As the head of a friendly nation, I am happy for you and a little envious."
"I still have a lot to learn." Cagalli admitted, taking her seat.
"I take it this is your bodyguard?" asked Durandal as he glanced at Alex. He didn't miss the fact that he looked remarkably like the former Chairman's son and pilot of the Justice Gundam, Athrun Zala.
"Yes, his name is Alex," replied Cagalli before changing the subject.
"Hmm, perhaps I can ease your mind if I show you around our facilities. I hope that I will be able to convince you as to why you have received the reports you have," gestured Durandal.
"Very well," agreed Cagalli as she started to walk besides the man and out of the building. Alex just walked silently behind them follow by several of the Chairman's own bodyguards.
"Now. What could this urgent matter be, that would require you to come here in secret?" Durandal asked, ending the small talk. "From what I've heard from our ambassadors, it's a complicated matter that you wish to discuss. Am I correct?"
"It doesn't seem to be a complicated matter to me. But we've yet to receive a clear response from you administration on this matter." Cagalli answered. "My nation has made repeated requests that you cease the use of Orb's technology and human resources for your own military purposes."
XxXx
"Man this place is boring," complained Auel as he walked next to his fellow comrade Sting. Auel possessed short blue hair, hazel colored eyes, and looked to be around the age of seventeen or eighteen.
"Don't worry, once we are given the word, we will have some fun, and you can destroy this entire place," smirked Sting. He was around the same age as Auel, but possessed short green hair and light brown eyes that were half-lidded to show his boredom.
"Hehe, I can't wait until we can destroy this damn place," laughed Auel. His laughing was interrupted when he noticed his other comrade had started to dance.
"What the hell is she doing?" frowned Auel as he glanced at the only female member of the squad.
"Playing the role of a ditzy airhead," shrugged Sting as he continued to walk.
"Let's go Stella, you can play around later," yelled Auel with a scowl on his face.
Stella was a beautiful young woman with short blond hair and enticing chocolate brown eyes. Right now, she was standing in front of a shop window staring at a dress and picturing how it look on her. A large smile appeared on her face before she started to dance around without a care in the world.
XxXx
Durandal had decided to give a tour of the Armory One Base. As Cagalli and Durandal talked, Alex couldn't help but notice the large number of new mobile suits. Including brand new ZAKUs. He couldn't help but wonder how close ZAFT was to violating the Treaty of Junius Seven.
"You, Princess, are a courageous woman. You fought in a mobile suit during the last war." Durandal complimented. "And you are also the successor to the Lion of Orb, Lord Uzumi. The man who held onto his country's ideal until the very end, without giving in to pressure. What do you believe we should do with the condition the world is in now? I'm sure you already know the answer."
"We will protect our nation and our ideas. It's as simple as that." Cagalli replied.
"We will not attack another nation. We'll not allow another nation to attack us. And will not intervene in the conflicts of other nations, correct?"
Cagalli nodded her head. "Yes."
"Naturally, we feel the same way. If possible, that would be the best way. But it is not possible without power. Even you, Princess...No, you of all people should understand that best. Isn't that why Orb maintains full military facilities?"
"Please do me a favour and stop calling me Princess."
"Representative Athha. You give me." he said with a slight bow. "However, I must wonder, what are you afraid of? Is it because of the pressure from the Atlantic Federation? They believe that Orb is providing military aid to us regardless of the treaty."
Cagalli clenched her fist. The relations between Orb and the Atlantic Federation had reached a delicate stage. She had hoped that she could convince Durandal to stop using Orb technology for military purposes, which would get the Atlantic Federation off their back.
"But it is no truth to that." Durandal continued. "Although we did welcome refugees from the Battle of Orb, it's only natural that those people would wish to make a living here with the skills they have.
"But excessive power will only bring about more conflicts!" Cagalli argued.
"No Princess. Power is necessary because there will always be conflict."
"All this power isn't necessary, it will only lead to more suspicious from other nations, which could lead to another war," argued Cagalli as she glared at the Chairman.
"I mean no offense princess, but," started Durandal, but before he could finish several loud explosions occurred.
Inside the hanger, Three figures ran towards the three new mobile suits, entered the cockpit, activated the system, and programmed the suit. Minutes later, the three Mobile suits stood up. They each activated the Phase-Shift armor and started walking away. But they weren't going to get away that easy. One soldier barely survived the attack and managed to activate the alarm.
Durandal, Cagalli and everyone else could only watch in horror as the hangers exploded. Athrun pulled Cagalli to the ground as a group of ZAFT soldiers did the same for Chairman Durandal. Shielding them from the force of the blast and flying debris.
"It's the new models! Someone's stolen them!" a soldier shouted.
"Scramble all mobile suits! We need to recapture them!"
"New models?" Cagalli asked as she and everyone else climbed back to their feet.
At that moment, she got her answer. The Abyss appeared, firing it's cannons at a hanger. Destroying the mobile suits inside.
"What is the meaning of this? Stop them, right NOW!" Durandal ordered his men the remaining military soldiers scrambled to mend the situation. Another hanger exploded as it was destroyed by the Chaos's missiles, and then another by Abyss' side cannons.
"Princess, let's go!" the glassed body guard said, as he pulled her to where he thinks would be safe.
"Athrun! Stop!" Cagalli shouted.
"Take this!" Stella yelled as Gaia leapt up in the air and transformed into a dog-like figure and descended through the roof of a hanger. Ten seconds later the Gundam leapt out as the hanger exploded. Cagalli shielded her head with her arms as the blast wave hit the group. Alex quickly ran over and shielded the Princess.
"Cagalli!" Alex yelled as he shielded her from the blast. The two quickly ran for shelter as they evaded countless amounts of flying debris from the fight going on.
"Oh look. How cute. They intend to beat our suits...with ZAKUs. This will be fun." Stella laughed as she proceeded to fly around with the Gaia, inflicting major damage to the ZAKUs that had decided to fight back. "Man I love this suit. Such control, such style, such destruction." She said.
Cagalli and Alex rounded a corner when a ZAKU was tossed out of a nearby hanger bay. Then, much to their surprise, they saw the faces of one of the three stolen machines.
"It's..." Alex said.
"A Gundam." Cagalli said in an angry voice.
"C'mon!" he commanded, as he seized the moment and boarded himself and the princess inside the green ZAKU.
XxXx
"What's the situation looking like?" Talia Gladys, Captain of the Minerva said.
"Ma'am, it's fairly grim. Most of the base has been annihilated." A young girl, Meyrin Hawke, the Minerva's Combat Information Control Officer, called out.
"Where's the Exia?" Talia said.
"Captain, word has it he's on his way to the battle field right now as we speak." Arthur Trine, Talia's second in command informed.
"Good. Tell him to stay safe." She said hoping that he would take her advice and not try anything stupid.
"Exia, What's your position." Meyrin asked into the comm.
XxXx
Up above the high blue artificial sky, a dull grey mobile suit was advancing towards the ground at an incredible speed.
"2-4-0-0-8-2-Exia, has target location insight." The pilot of Exia said in an emotionless monotone voice. "Activating the Phase-Shift Armor at arrival to target."
He pressed a button and a picture showing the three stolen mobile suits on his screen. "Primary targets located, beginning recapture of stolen mobile suits."
"Roger that Exia, and please stay safe." Said Meyrin over the comm on the ZGMF-X56S Gundam Exia.
"Roger." Said the pilot of Exia as he continued his descent.
XxXx
Alex began fiddling with the buttons, activating the suit.
"Athrun wait!" shouted Cagalli.
"I'm not gonna let these guys kill you in a place like this!" he shouted back.
The one-eyed grunt suit came to life and stood up. It caught the Gaia's attention quickly. Alex and Cagalli both gasped and prepared for the worst.
"What now?" Stella said. She made her suit to raise its arm and shoot the one-eyed ZAKU. Alex quickly side-stepped, avoiding destruction. It left the woman piloting Gaia stunned, as her assault was evaded, and she was rammed.
"Hmph. Bastard." The Gaia drew its beam saber and dashed towards the green grunt, but the ZAKU drew its Axe. The beam saber and axe clashed against the opposing shield and both were sent back. Quickly, Stella rushed in with her Gaia, aiming the finishing blow.
Despite her efforts, Alex just evaded her slashes. Nevertheless, he was finally hit with a shove that sent him skidding on the ground. As he got up, the Chaos appeared behind.
"Stella!" shouted Chaos' pilot.
"Another one?!" The ZAKU turned around, and its arm got cut off. Sting was supposed to go for the final blow, when he, Stella and Auel received a warning, saying that there's an unidentified mobile suit from above. Everyone on the battle field looked to see a Mobile Suit descending at high speed.
None of them could respond as Exia landed gracefully and smoothly on the proving ground, in front of the new models. There was a silence in the air. Exia turned calmly to face the three stolen suits. Everyone was rendered speechless at the appearance of a brand new model with a completely different look.
The upper chest area was cobalt blue and gold along with a green orb over the cockpit area and the middle crimson red. The arms and legs white a V shaped antenna on the forehead area. It looked to be a Gundam but the head design was different from an ordinary one, and it wasn't as bulky like most Gundams.
"Exia, ready for target neutralization." Spoke the pilot of the Exia as he looked at the three stolen Gundam's in front of him.
The Gaia fired its machine gun, but it had no effect, since the Suits were equipped with Phase-Shift Armor. The Exia raised its arm and fired three shots at the Gaia with its Sword/Rifle making it evade and vulnerable.
The Chaos then brought out its beam rifle and tried to fight fire with fire.
"What is this thing?" Sting questioned. He began searching for files inside the database, but to no avail. "There's no data on this thing!" Sting shouted.
"Take this!" Yelled Auel as he charged towards Exia, the Exia's eyes lit up. In a matter of seconds, it ejected his large sword from its storing place and prepared it to assault the enemy. Using the sharp edge of the sword, Exia swung it swiftly, successfully slashing its enemy's lower arm. The piece flew to the air.
"What the?" Auel yelled, astounded and stunned, while Sting's eyes widened in shock.
After several seconds, the slashed piece fell to the ground with a clatter.
In inside the Zaku, Cagalli and Athrun were speechless. "Why do they have these weapons?" said Cagalli "what could the point of them be."
Stella transformed the Gaia into the mechanical tiger and charged at Exia, But Gundam used its swords flat side and smacked her suit away.
"Damn" shouted Stella as she crashed to the ground. Then she rose to her feet one again and fired the beam cannons on the Gaia's back. But Exia blocked the strike with his shield and grabbed one of its Beam Daggers and threw it at the Gaia knocking it off balance.
Both the Chaos and Abyss then launched themselves at Exia.
"Help him!" Cagalli shouted. The Exia dodged the Chaos, but didn't see the abyss charging at him with its staff however Athrun's Zaku ran as fast as it could and rammed the opposing Gundam, knocking it back.
"GAHHHH!" shouted Athrun.
"What the hell!?" shouted Auel. He fired his chest cannon and Athrun responded by shielding it, but eventually making the arm explode and crashing on an armory. Inside the cockpit, Cagalli plopped down on Athrun's arms.
"Cagalli!" shouted Athrun. He had caught her, but she wasn't responding. Then, Athrun saw something reddish in his hands. It was blood and lots of it was on his hands.
On the battle field the Abyss's cannons flipped open as he fired at the Gundam. Exia maneuvered out of the way to dodge the shots then charged forward quickly. He fired the rifle twice on the left cannon and then switched the weapon to the sword mode and sliced the other one off the suit.
"Exia!" a voice shouted. The Pilot glanced at the screen, finding Arthur Trine, glowering at him. "Your orders are to capture them! Not cut them up into little pieces!"
"Roger I'll try to capture them without inflicting much damage." Exia's pilot said calmly as he swung his sword at the Gaia, trying to slice off its right arm, but the nimble black mobile suit jetted back towards the ground.
"Be careful!" Arthur protested. "You're going to—"
"Leave him alone, Arthur!" the voice of Talia Gladys, cut him off. "Stop distracting him! You're going to get him killed!"
XxXx
Rey and Luna waited impatiently for their mobile suits to be cleared. During the attack, several debris had fallen on top of their ZAKU's, enabled them to get to their cockpit. Now, tapping their feet, they watched as the workers worked hard to lift the heavy concrete off their ZAKU's.
Rey turned his head towards where he heard the battle was taking place. He and Luna had been contacted by Captain Gladys to give assistance to Exia since he was facing the enemy who had hijacked three new models. And Rey knew the capability of the young pilot as well as the new model that he was piloting. He was a good pilot, he could hold off three Gundams until they arrive.
Hearing the clashing sound of a metal hitting the floor, Rey turned in time to find out that his cockpit was cleared. Without waiting for them to finish, Rey shot up the ZAKU, opened the door and jumped into the cockpit. His expert fingers ran across the keyboard, activating the ZAKU.
When he had finally had his ZAKU was upright, Rey turned to the red Gunner Zaku Warrior next to him. "Lunamaria!" he called out through the speaker, warning them away. Then, he used his ZAKU to wipe off the debris from Luna's suit.
"Thanks, Rey!" Luna called out, scrambling into her MS. Within minutes, she had her mobile suit ready to move.
"Come on, Setsuna needs us." Rey said as he moved towards the direction on the four Gundam's battle
"Roger!" Lunamaria said as she followed Rey while hoping that they make it in time to help her crush/friend.
XxXx
Durandal walked along the temporary command post. All around him, soldiers saluted him as he made his way to where the officer in charge was. The post was as chaotic as the battlefield itself but it was far quieter since they were a good distance away from the real fight.
Reaching the tent, he could hear the officer in charge barking his instructions, trying to bring order to chaos. When he saw PLANT chairman approaching, he straightened himself up. "Sir." He saluted.
Durandal nodded. "The battle?"
"Still continuing. But this time, we're under attack from outside the colony as well."
"Casualty?"
The soldier winced. "We've lost contact with the general. We believe that the command center is destroyed by the intruder," he reported, indicating that he was the only one left in charge. Durandal could see the strain of command showing in his eyes.
"And the Gundams?"
"Minerva has sent her own pilots after them."
Durandal nodded. He knew the answer already but he needed to hear them. "Sir, I would like to suggest that you head for shelter. The battle is still going on and we don't want to lose more than we already have."
"I appreciate your concern, Commander but I'm not about to leave just because the battle got ugly."
His answer startled the soldier. Chewing his lower lip, he suggested. "Perhaps, you should head to Minerva. They'll be able to provide you with better shelter than here."
Durandal considered the merit of his suggestion, and then nodded.
XxXx
Sting had used every strategy he could think off, but still the Blue and white mobile suit managed to elude them. Despite of there been three of them, it was still tough for them to fight this particular mobile suit. And what more, the Gundam seemed to be converging its attack on Stellar and despite her fluid movements, Sting could tell that she was getting tired.
"Damn! What does it take to bring the guy down?" Auel cursed from his mobile suit. "Hey, Sting. Are we still trying to capture the suit? Won't it be easier to just destroy him?"
The thought had crossed the green-haired mind. They were already long overdue from their rendezvous with Neo. But Sting knew that he cannot leave a loose strand behind. It was either capture it or destroy it. And since he knew that the white suit is not going to let them leave…
"Let's destroy it," he finally decided.
Auel whooped. "Now, you're talking!"
But before any of them could converge on the white suit, they were attacked from the side. Looking at his screen, Sting bit a curse. "Reinforcements!" he reported, seeing a white and red ZAKU making their way into the battlefield. Auel glanced over and cursed.
"You bastards."Luna growled, "How dare you try and trick us."
The three stolen machines opened fire on the ZAKUs, and they darted out of the way, scattering. Suddenly, the three machines flew into the sky. Exia's pilot was surprised at first, but quickly realized what must be happening.
"They've running low on power." The Exia shot into the air, pursuing them as Rey and Luna followed, still firing. Suddenly one of the thrusters on Luna's ZAKU exploded and lost altitude, trailing smoke.
"Lunamaria! Are you alright?" Rey called out.
"I'm fine. But I can't maintain this altitude."Luna replied.
"Fall back to the Minerva Lunamaria" the Exia's Pilot said.
"But Setsuna!"
"Fall back Lunamaria Hawke." The Gundam pilot said once more.
Luna replied with a frustrated growl knowing she couldn't argue with him. "Right."
The ZAKU fell out and headed toward the docked warship.
"Exia, pursuing stolen Mobile Suits to outside the colony." Said the pilot of Exia.
"Roger that, I'll pursue as well." Rey replied as he followed Exia out of the Colony.
The Minerva
Talia scowled as she watched the Exia and the ZAKU flew through the hole in the colony.
"Captain!" Meyrin called out. "The Exia is almost low on power! Only eight hundred seconds at most!"
Talia stood up from her chair. "We cannot afford to lose the Exia as well. Prepare the Minerva for launch." She turned to the ship's guest. "I trust you don't have a problem with that, Chairman."
"No." Durandal quietly replied. "We really have no other choice at this point."
"Commence Minerva launch sequence." Arthur said over the intercom. "The ship is now switching to combat status."
"Gunnery crews, FCS contact. All personnel, set all projectile weapons to Grade One."
Talia turned to Durandal again. "Mr. Chairman, please disembark now."
"No Talia. This is not a situation where I can just stay behind and wait for reports." he replied. "I have duties along with my authority. I will accompany this vessel. Please allow it."
Talia just nodded her head. There was little she could. If he wished to stay on board, she didn't have the authority to stop him.
XxXx
Athrun landed the damaged ZAKU onto the open catapult of the new ZAFT warship. Cagalli had regained consciousness, but was still in daze and possibly had concussion. Athrun landed the ZAKU in the Minerva's hanger and opened its cockpit hatch. He and Cagalli left first, riding the cable down to the ground.
"You there! Don't move." ordered Lunamaria as she aimed her gun at them. "Who are you? And how did you get aboard that ZAKU?"
More ZAFT soldiers, as well as members of the hanger crew and four regular ZAFT pilots gathered around her. Unsure of what was going on.
"Lower your weapon." Athrun replied. "This is the Chief Representative of Orb. Cagalli Yula Athha. I'm her bodyguard, Alex Dino. We were caught up in the commotion during our meeting with Chairman Durandal. And since we were unable to find shelter, we were forced to borrow this machine to protect ourselves."
Luna and the soldiers lowered their weapons. "Orb's Chief Representative?" Luna asked confused at the situation. "But why would she be here?"
"The Representative has been injured!" Athrun said. "She needs medical attention. And is the Chairman aboard this ship? If so we need to see him immediately."
Luna nodded as she guided them towards the Bridge.
XxXx
As the two ZAFT pilots entered space through the hole, Rey felt a presence. "This feeling, it feels almost like…La Flaga" Rey mumbled to himself.
Suddenly beams rained down on them from a number of different angles. Exia was able to dodge most of them but some grazed his suit. Another grazed the left side of Rey's ZAKU Phantom, carving a gash on its head.
"So this is what was keeping the others busy." Neo Roanoke said as he continued his attack. "It's my fault. I should have expected there to be more prototypes we weren't aware of."
Both suits continued to evade the beams from the Exus's gunbarrels. They had all seen the intruders' ship. But there was little they could do while they fought just to evade the beams.
"Gunbarrels." The young ZAFT Gundam pilot said himself as he maneuvered Exia out of the way of the beams.
Both Exia and ZAKU then continued to evade the beams and fire at the gunbarrels and destroyed most of them.
Neo smirked. "Not bad, but not good enough. Now I'll take that fourth one if you don't mind." He said as he charged at Exia.
But at that moment, a massive set of doors on Armory One started to open. The doors finished opening, revealing the Minerva. The ship then took off as its wings unfolding.
XxXx
"Pressurization normal. FCS, contact. Minerva, all stations clear," said Arthur.
"Locate the enemy," ordered Talia. "They'll be where the Impulse and the ZAKU are."
"Unidentified ship man," reported Bart Heim, the sensor operator. "Indigo 53, Mark 22 Bravo. Distance: 150."
"Must be their mothership," muttered Durandal.
"Enter it into the database," ordered Talia. "From this point on we'll call it Bogey-1."
"Exia and Phantom ZAKU detected at 157, Mark 80 Alpha," announced Meyrin. "They're in a battle."
Talia turned to the girl. "Can you contact them?" she asked.
"No ma'am," said Meyrin. "It's impossible with all the radio interference."
"How many enemies?" asked Talia.
"Just one," said Meyrin. "But it looks like… it's a mobile armor!"
"What, a Mobile armor?" muttered Talia wondering how one mobile armor could hold off both Exia and ZAKU.
XxXx
"A ship? Well, it's better to leave now with all our cards then gamble and lose it all." Neo said as he fired off a couple more shots from his gun barrels and then pulled back.
"See you later, Mobile Suit Gundam." He snickered.
The Minerva fired off its return signals as the ship closed in.
"We're being called back?" said the Gundam pilot as he saw the signals.
"Let's go." Rey said.
"Roger." He replied as Exia and the Phantom ZAKU headed for the Minerva's Hanger.
XxXx
"Launch Neidhardts, fire!" Arthur ordered as the Minerva fired off a barrage of missiles at Boggie One.
"Aim for the engines! Stop it in its tracks. Tristans, Isolde, fire!" Talia ordered. The Minerva fired its four normal beams and three weaker beams at the Girty Lue, but only succeeded in hitting the armor on the underside with one of its beam.
The Exus then flew into the Girty Lue's hanger and was caught by a net.
XxXx
"Exus is back!" The intercom yelled.
"Withdraw, Lee." Neo ordered from his cockpit.
"Engines to maximum! Don't allow us to be hit!" Lee yelled as the Girty Lue accelerated to maximum speed.
XxXx
"Bogey-1 retreating ma'am," said Bart. "Yellow 71 Alpha."
"What's the status of the ZAKU and Exia?" asked Talia.
"They're returning now ma'am," answered Meyrin.
"Tell them to hurry," said the Captain. "We need to get after Bogey-1 and crush that ship. Course heading: Yellow Alpha."
The Girty Lue rose to port, evading another barrage from the Minerva's guns. As it moved, it detached its propellant tanks, allowing them to float back towards the Minerva, catching the crew off-guard.
Talia, though, realized almost immediately what those were and wasn't going to take a chance.
"Break off firing!" she ordered. "Ten to starboard, maximum thrust!"
Her caution saved the ship as the tanks neared the Minerva and exploded. The last minute maneuver allowed the warship to avoid being caught directly in the explosions and it was able to safely weather them, but it was close enough to be violently shaken and delayed.
"Bart! What's the enemy ship's position?" demanded Talia.
"Just a moment ma'am," he replied.
"Activate CIWS, fire anti-beam depth charges," ordered Talia, certain the enemy would take this chance to ambush and destroy them. "They'll be firing on us now."
"Found it! Red 88, Mark 6 Charlie! Distance: 500," reported Bart.
Arthur glanced back. "They got away?"
Talia scowled. "The nerve of them," she said angrily as Rey entered the bridge behind her. "Making their escape like that."
"We seem to be facing a first-class unit," commented Durandal.
Talia turned her chair to face the Chairman. "All the more reason we cannot allow them to escape," she said.
"Imagine those machines in the hands of such a team." Durandal nodded slightly in agreement while Rey stared in amusement.
"Yes," Rey chuckled softly.
"We've passed the point where you can disembark, Chairman," said Talia. "And I believe that we should continue our pursuit of that ship. What's your opinion on that sir?"
"Please. Do not concern yourself with me, Captain," he answered. "If we were to neglect these embers, imagine the inferno they could eventually become. Frankly, the thought frightens me. Our duty now is to recapture those machines, or failing that, destroy them."
Talia nodded her head. "Thank you." She turned to the radar operator. "Do we still have a trace on them?"
"Yes ma'am."
"In that case, this ship will now continue its pursuit of the enemy vessel named Bogey-1," she said. "Course Yellow Alpha. Engines at maximum."
XxXx
In the hanger of the Minerva, The Exia finished docking as the cockpit opened and the pilot floated out.
"Setsuna!" a voiced yelled as the Gundam pilot turned to see Lunamaria Hawke float towards him. She then tackled him into a hug as the Gundam pilot tensed a bit from this as he hated having his personal space violated and people touching him.
"Lunamaria Hawke." Spoke the pilot as started at her thought his Helmets visor.
"Are you alright Setsuna, are you hurt." Luna asked she looked at him with a worried look in her eyes.
"I'm fine." he said as he started to remove his Helmet. She stared at him as he removed his Helmet revealing his raven colored hair as he stared at the Exia with his emotionless brownish-chestnut eyes.
"Because I'm the Gundam Pilot of the Zaft battleship Minerva." Finished Setsuna F. Seiei.
(Start Gundam 00 Ending 2 Friends by Stephanie Acoustic Version)
onaji egaoshiteta sonna bokura mo, ikunen mo kasanesugite( Shows Setsuna F. Seiei standing in front of a memorial.)
surechigau keshiki o ukeirerarezu ni mogaiteru (Closes up on Setsuna as he continues to stare at the memorial.)
(Shows a flash of Soran's life in Orb with his family.)
muda na PURAIDO sutesari kono sekai ni yasashisa o (Shows Setsuna close his eyes before he slowly opens then and looks on in shock.)
I Gotta Say ( Shows the water on the coast change from blue to red.)
yuuki o misetsukete mo tsuyogatte mo (Shows Athrun Zala standing in the rain in a cemetery.)
hitori de wa ikirarenai (Shows Rey Za Burrel looking into a mirror with Rau Le Creusent staring back at him.)
(Shows Athrun tighten his fists and Rey glare at Rau.)
ano hi no yakusoku nara (Shows Lunamaria Hawke crying in a dark room as she hugged her knee's.)
kokoro no fukaku ni nokotte iru yo ( Shows a white feather fall to the sand.)
As life goes on, As life goes on (Shows the white feather fold into a heart shape and green particles fly out into the air.)
wasurecha ikenai kara Yeah ( Shows Cagalli Yula Athha staring out into the night sky with tears in her eyes.)
Don't let it go, Don't let it go (Shows Kira Yamato and Lacus Clyne standing on the beach and looking into the horizon.)
kono hiroi daichi to nakamatachi no kotoe ( Shows Setsuna walking away from the memorial before he stops and looks at Gundam Exia standing in front of him.)
The Minerva continues its pursuit of Bogey One to retrieve the stolen mobile suits, Can the ZAFT pilots succeed in their mission or will another war be inedible.
NEXT CHAPTER : Warnings of the Coming War.
Is this the true end of Peace!