C.E. 76
The night was a calm one, with a gentle breeze and a full moon. All was silent and still, no disturbance whatsoever. That is until the Archangel Class ship appeared out of seemingly no where. The ship was all navy blue with the underside being red. A single figure stood out on the deck of the ship. The figure seemed both calm and ill at ease at the same time. The figure sighed heavily.
Why now? I was doing so well, he thought sullenly to himself. The door behind him opened with a slight hiss, but the man did not turn. Only one person knew where he was anyway.
The second figure leaned up against the railing with her back to the awesome view of ocean. The man glanced at her and leaned on the railing as well.
"Well?" he asked, looking the girl in the eye. Her hair was short and burgundy, held out of her face with a rubber band that formed a slight nub at the back of her head. Her haunting aquamarine eyes stared back at his purple ones. She wore a traditional blue jumpsuit of a mechanic. Despite her 15 years, she was unmistakably the Chief mechanic of the vessel, which was named the Endyminon.
"The Liberty project is going smoothly, all we need is the proper pilot, the men are getting restless and want another fight soon and," she checked a PDA she held in her hand. "The kidnapping is scheduled to happen in two days." The man nodded, absorbing all the information like a sponge. Until the last part hit him.
"What! Two days!" he shouted. "Are you sure Art?" The girl, Art, nodded seriously.
"Positive. Our mole inside the organization is one of the squad leaders and he's been briefed."
"Any idea why the moved the kidnapping up?"
"Sure, the Peace Ball. Think about it. All of the heads and most famous figures in all of ZAFT, Earth Alliance, and ORB will be there. If anyone wanted to strike, then would be the perfect time." The man looked over the ocean again, possibly searching for an answer.
"We'll need to plan." Art grinned.
"Already done." She handed him the PDA. He looked over it; there were maps for the building where the ball was being held along with quite a few POEs. His eyes grew wide.
"Why in the hell are there so many POEs?" POEs, or Points of Entry or Exit, were places where anyone could get in or out undetected.
"There are so many just in case of a fire so there are enough exits." He nodded and kept looking. "According to the mole, he has to lead his team to the roof and enter from there right into the middle of the party. The power is going to go out, perfect cover for us. There are three other teams, all of which will be entering through the windows using repelling gear." Art grabbed her PDA back and began pressing buttons. "My plan is for us to get the prime targets out of there and fast. Mole also says that there will be a decent sized battalion of special forces coming to back up the would be kidnappers." The man sighed loudly.
"And let me guess the targets. Cagalli Athha, Athrun Zala, Murrue Ramius, Yzak Joule, Dearka Elsman, and of course, Lacus Clyne," the sarcasm and bitterness was clear as day in his voice. Art could only nod.
"Bingo. I was thinking we could use the Blitz squadron for a recon mission with the Strikes and the Astrays on standby." The man nodded his consent and turned back to the sea, his face even more troubled than before. Art looked ready to say something but didn't and walked away. As soon as she was gone, the door opened again, this time a boy of about eleven or twelve.
"Dad?"
Art walked back into the ship, ordering the Mirage system to be activated as she did. The soldiers that she passed moved out of her way as she countenance reeked of danger. She walked to the nearest intercom and turned it on.
"Would the Blitz squadron and the Strike squadron report to the hanger? And I mean now damn it!" Art slammed the phone back on the hook. "I swear if even one hair is missing from her head, someone is going to die…"
Meanwhile, oblivious to the plans being made, Murrue Ramius sat with Cagalli and Lacus in her back yard having an early lunch.
"So what are you wearing to the ball Lacus?" asked Murrue politely. Her brown hair and orange eyes had changed very little over the years and for that she was grateful. Lacus smiled at the former Captain.
"I was thinking purple," she replied her light pink hair flowing lightly in the breeze.
"You would," commented Cagalli, her yellow/orange eyes showing annoyance and her blond hair glistening slightly. Murrue giggled slightly.
"Oh come now Cagalli, I happen to know for a fact that you're going to be wearing a dress, a green one," replied Lacus in retaliation. Murrue laughed at loud at the antics of the two young women. She herself was still young, in her very early thirties, but sometimes she felt older than that. Especially when a certain male made an appearance.
"Mommy! Mommy!" came a loud cry and all three women turned in that direction. A small boy of about five or six was running up to them, his brown hair trailing behind him and his blue eyes twinkling with the innocence of such a young age. His shorts were brown and his shirt red. Murrue smiled at the little boy as he ran up to her and hugged her.
"Why hello to you too Mu. What do we say?" she asked patiently. The boy looked at her then at the two other women who were smiling at him.
"Oh sorry mommy." Mu walked up to Lacus and bowed. "Sorry for being so…so…"
"Rude?" supplied Lacus happily. Children always made her this happy. The little boy nodded.
"Yes! That's it! I'm sorry for being so rude. My name is Mu." Lacus laughed.
"And I'm Lacus." Mu grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles.
"It's my pleasure to make you're a…aq…"
"Acquaintance?" said Cagalli.
"Yeah! Pleasure to make your acquaintance!" He ran up to Cagalli this time and repeated his actions to her. Murrue smiled at her son.
"Very good Mu. That was very nice," she said as she pulled him into her lap. Seconds later a young man of about 35 or 36 ran up to them. His hair was brown and his eyes gray. He wore plainclothes, namely all white shorts and a long white shirt.
"I am so sorry ladies if he troubled you in any way. We were playing tag," he said as he stopped by Murrue.
"Murrue, who is this? I've never seen him around before," said Cagalli tilting her head slightly to the side. Something about him just seemed so familiar…
"Oh this is Johan Copper. He is part of the security detail for little Mu here. Johan, this is Cagalli Athha and Lacus Clyne, two of my very dear friends." Johan bowed to them, smiling widely.
"It is a pleasure ladies." Without further ado, Johan tapped Mu on the head and said, "You're it!" And ran off. The three women stared after the man and soon Mu took off after him shouting, "No fair! I wasn't ready!" Lacus lost the battle first and burst into laughter, followed by Cagalli and Murrue.
The man turned to the boy, smiling slightly. The boy was wearing a baggy blue jumpsuit.
"There you are Akira. I was wondering where you went." Akira ran up to his father and hugged him tightly. The man patted Akira's raven black hair lightly and the boy's red eyes turned up to his father.
"Really? What for?" he asked. The man kneeled next to his son.
"How would you like to be the pilot of the Liberty?" Akira's red eyes widened.
"Really? I could?" The man smiled.
"I don't see why not. Plus, it would keep you out of Zeke's hair for a while." Akira grinned evilly.
"When can I start training?" The man looked at his watch.
"Right about…now."
Two days later…
"And here we are at the 2nd annual Peace Ball! Introduced a year ago, this ball has become THE event of the year! Dignitaries and ambassadors of all different nations, countries and the like are going to be here and they are dressed to impress!" shouted an announcer on ground zero of the ball. She was absolutely right though. Security was tight as each person had his or her own entourage added on to the already overwhelming number that was already there.
Athrun arrived with Cagalli on his arm, both of them wearing green for obvious reasons. Lacus and Murrue arrived together, as both of their loves were either dead or just missing. They all entered the party laughing and giggling; totally unaware of the shock they were about to be handed.
Meanwhile, the Endyminon was docking silently half a mile away from the ball. The man, codenamed Hawk, was putting a tux under an all black jumpsuit. Akira was right next to him, handing his father his equipment as he asked for it.Hawk patted Akira on the head once before walking out and into the large hangar of his Endyminon. Gundams lined the walls in groups of five. On the left side there were five Strikes, in five different modes, five Blitzs, five Busters, five Duels, all assault shroud mode, five Calamitys, five Forbidden and five Raiders. On the right were the originals, including the Freedom and the Justice as well as three units of five Strike Astrays. Hawk's team was standing in the center of the hangar and he walked over to them.
"Are we all ready?" he asked. Art looked to him like he was crazy.
"Are you kidding me? You wound me. The Strikes are all ready and awaiting your command, as are the Blitzs. Your suit as well as the others are all ready when you get back. Any other rhetorical questions?" Hawk grinned.
"I knew I could count on you Art. Where's Falcon?"
"In position and ready to move when the power goes."
"The lockdown team?"
"In position."
"Right. Now then. Does everyone know their targets?" The five men around him nodded, all of them itching to get moving. "Best not keep you all waiting then. We'll be back Art. Mount up!" he called and each of the men mounted black street bikes that were waiting. Hawk did so as well. "And keep Akira out of the Liberty!" As he mounted, five Gundams came to life. "Well then. What are we waiting for! MOVE OUT!" And he led the way as six bikes roared to life and out of the hangar followed by five shadows.
Lacus stood by the punch bowl, drinking a little at a time. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she was sure that something was going to happen. She looked over to Athrun and Cagalli, who currently owned the floor with their dance moves. Murrue and the new representative of ORB, Donsem Nosid, were dancing as well. Donsem was young, no more than forty, and very full of life. The two did make a good pair, but it was Lacus's opinion that no one would replace Mu La Flaga, save maybe Mu's son.
Lacus sighed deeply. She too had someone special but he was gone. Gone like a whisper along with a ship, the Gundams and her adopted sister Artemis. It had torn a large whole in her heart when he left but she didn't fret over it for too long. She was sure they'd be back, sooner or later.
Hawk crouched down on the roof of a building a block away from the ball, a pair of binoculars on his eyes.
"Good, they're all there. Let's move." The six figures leaped over the roof and landed on their bikes. They rolled them silently behind the building that held the ball and each took off their jumpsuits, revealing black tuxes, identical to those being worn by security. Their jumpsuits in bags and the group entered the building silently. After sneaking past the existing guards, which one of the guys called an amateur, they came into the main ball floor. Security was everywhere, but they were better.
"Find your marks, take your positions and wait for the power to go off. Give it a few seconds and when it doesn't come back on grab your mark and get them the hell out of here. Don't wait for anyone. Remember, the marks take priority and they must get back to the ship. Wait for me there in the hangar. Got it? Good. Move out," said Hawk silently as they slipped on shades and blended in naturally with the room. He took a deep breath and moved easily over to the punch bowl, hiding in the shadows like the rest of the guards. Here was his target and his eyes never left her for more than a split-second. Not that it was hard to move, her dress had him mesmerized. It was a rich purple dress that was mostly backless and sheer sleeves that were connected to her wrists by a small band. Her hair was done up with a tight bun and the rest cascading down her back. All in all, she was stunning. Hawk lost track of time staring at his mark and was slightly stunned when the power failed. He gave it five seconds and then came out of hiding.
As he did, the glass ceiling broke in the center, five or six cords coming down as well. The side windows broke in as well with Hawk's forces. Hawk grabbed his mark, placed a black mask over her face and took off through the kitchen and out the back. When he arrived, his men were just getting there with their own marks, each of their faces covered with black masks. The guys were struggling quite a bit though.
"Hey!" he barked. "Do you want to die! Those are terrorists and they're here to kidnap you. We are the countermeasures. Stop fighting long enough for us to get you to safety!"
"Everyone, we should listen to him," said the woman in his arms.
"But Lacus!" cried Cagalli.
"Just do it Cagalli." The other five stopped fighting their escorts and Hawk muttered thanks in her ear.
"Remove their masks," said Hawk. His men looked at him confused. "If they're going to believe us, we have to give them a reason to. Remove their masks." The masks off and five pairs of eyes turned to him. "We're going to be moving very face so hold onto your escort until we return to the Endyminon. After that we'll-"
"Captain!" cried another voice. Hawk pressed a finger to his ear, turning on his comm. device.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Sir! Blitz Unit 1! The Special Forces are converging on your position! Should I-"
"Yes! Launch the Strikes and Blitz unit? Get back to the ship! Tell Art to have the Gundams all ready with flight suits!"
"Sir!" and the message ended. He turned to look at the others, although they couldn't tell through his tinted glasses.
"Let's move." He handed Lacus his helmet, as did the others. Their bikes roared to life once more and took off down the street.
Overhead, one could see the Strikes providing cover. The bikes screeched to a halt inside the hangar bay five minutes later. Hawk leaped off his bike. Their captives took off their helmets and took a good look around.
"My god! Is that?" asked Athrun.
"Dad here!" Akira handed his father a flight suit and Hawk looked at what Athrun was.
"Yes, that is the Justice, bigger, badder, and better than before, compliments of my chief mechanic. Where is she anyway Akira?"
"She's tinkering with the Liberty as usual dad." Hawk zipped up the suit and turned to the men and women in front of him.
"I thought as much. Well, now you all have a choice. Either you can stay here or you can take your Gundam and give me a hand out there."
"Sir! Enemy forces numbering 200! The Strikes can't handle them all!" shouted a man.
"There you have it. Launch the Astrays!"
"Very good sir!"
"But what is our guarantee that you aren't the bad guy and we are just going out there to destroy people who have come to rescue us?" asked Yzak. Hawk sighed and finally pulled of his shades. There was a collective gasp, but none were bigger than Lacus'. Hawk, as it turns out, is really no one other than Kira Yamato.