Author's Note: This is originally a role play that has been going on at my forum but became a back and forth project with myself and my friend. We've been going at it for the better part of the months and what we've got done I decided to edit together to make a fanfic; so excuse the weird switching between writing styles. I play as the main character, Aiorem Heiwa while she does all of the original characters from the SEED series. I take no credit for what she did with them!
Phase 1: A Chance Meeting
A young man was strolling down the halls in a bustling Earth Alliance base. Paying no mind to any of the other cadets, the lone soldier strode by, having an Mp3 player blasting in his ear, he was oblivious to those around him...
He stopped and leaned over the railing to check on the progress made on repairing his Gundam.
"Tch...they always take too long..." he sneered, leaning back on the wall and closing his eyes, dozing off into his own little world.
Ai was passing around the base as she attempted to find her way. 'I'll never get anywhere at this rate...' she thought as everyone was passing her by. She was nearly invisible to all those around her, after all she was a mere child. Sighing she finally found her way to the hanger and dropped to the ground in exhaustion.
"What a day..." she said under her breath, placing her list of things to do on her lap. 'I wonder if I'll ever get my chance...' she thought as she gazed in awe at the machines before her. Leaning up against the railing she thought it was about time she took a break so she stayed there for a breather, hoping that no one would see her slacking.
The teen noticed that he was no longer alone, although it seemed that this new person had no clue that he was there. He had never been one to actually 'talk' to people, and he couldn't see why this girl was any different. 'Why is she staring at Forbidden?' he thought, seeing as how she took such interest in the mechs.
Unfortunately, starting conversations was never his thing.
"Hey you! What the hell about my Gundam interests you so much?" he questioned, although it sounded more like he had demanded it. Ai heard the comment and was more than a little startled. She fumbled with her list as she took a sigh of relief when she had finally taken hold of it. Then she got herself up off of the floor and dusted herself off a bit as she turned to face her interrogator.
"Oh, I'm sorry." she said politely to him, seeing as she was normally accustomed to referring to everyone as 'sir' or 'ma'am'. "I was just remembering something that happened a long time ago..." she answered him as she leaned up against the rails again, though her height was somewhat restricting.
"Hey kid! What do you think you're doing in here!" shouted someone as Ai jumped back.
"Ah no..." she moaned as she backed into the other side of the railing. A worried look took her face as the voice soon became two, then three and so on. She was about to turn back to run when she lost her bearings from the rails and slipped. At the last minute she managed to fasten herself onto the side with her clipboard but she began to slip. She did not request help, she merely sighed as she stared blankly at those who were pursuing her.
"Isn't this just great...?" she said sarcastically still hanging on by so little.
Shani merely stood and stared at this new person as she hung for dear life by the bare of her clipboard.
"Heh, so we let a civilian in here. Now that's different..." he muttered. He walked over to the edge of the railing and pulled her up, ignoring the frequent shouts from his fellow cadets.
"God damn! All of you just shut up! How the hell am I supposed to read, huh!" came another voice from behind him. Shani abruptly turned around to face an irritated pilot.
"Orga! What the fuck do you think you're doin' here?" Shani moaned, all but happy at the arrival of his comrade.
"What the hell is your problem? Damn, you're so edgy..." Orga taunted. "Anyways, what's with the girl? You got something goin' on?" he teased, all the while keeping a malicious smirk plastered onto his face.
"Dammit Orga! Nothing's going on!" Shani growled, sending Orga a death glare.
"Can't you bastards ever keep it quiet? I'm dying on this fucking level because of you!" joined another voice.
"Stay outta this you midget!" Orga sneered, pushing Crot aside.
"Oh come on! Everyone's a midget compared to you!" Crot retorted. The three, amongst their arguing, had completely forgotten about the young girl from earlier. It seemed as if fighting were about to erupt between the three arguing pilots, until the alarms sounded.
"I-It's the ZAFT forces!" stammered one of the operators.
"Dammit!" muttered Crot, particularly angry that ZAFT had chosen this exact moment to strike.
"Come on..." Orga murmured before running off with the other soldiers to get suited up along with Crot, though Shani held back for a moment.
"You might wanna get outta here..." he whispered. "By the way, don't go getting your ass killed out there..." He gave her an intent look, then ran off to join the other pilots disappearing in the frenzy of mechanics and soldiers.
Ai stood there, holding her papers close. She did not quite know what to make of the commotion.
"They're pilots..." she said softly as she stood there in awe. She gripped the board tightly as a determined look replaced her awed expression. "There's no way I'm letting this pass me by!" she shouted as she was about to follow after the three. She stopped as she looked down at the Gundams. 'There has to be some way I can-...' she shook off her thoughts and fastened a rope to the railing and around her waist. Then, leaping over the rails, eased her way down to the hanger floor. 'Easy does it...' she thought as she swiftly and gently made her way down to the ground.
"I made it." she sighed in relief as she whipped the sweat from her forehead.
"Hey, you! Identify yourself." came a voice from nearby. 'Oh, come on!' she thought as she was soon surrounded. "You, you're not a soldier!" Ai backed away until she was up against the wall, she gripped her fist tightly in frustration.
"There's no way... That I'm going to let you get in my way!" she shouted as she managed to get them all to waiver.
"What the hell do you think you're doing!" commanded one of them who approached Ai with intensity. A smirk appeared on her face.
"I'm going to be taking what I came for!" she said as she confronted them all. Immediately she was restrained with little to no effort.
"Not so tough now, huh?" they mocked as they held her down tighter. A scheming smile appeared on her face as she ceased her struggling.
"I wouldn't be so sure..." and with that she kicked those who were restraining her and got her arms free from their grasp. Grabbing hold of her clip board, she knocked the rest of them down with one swift maneuver. "And that's why you don't get in the way..." she remarked slyly rubbing her hands together, her board under her arm. "Now then, I suppose I need to find somewhere to stay low..." she said to herself as she left the group of unconscious soldiers. She glanced around the somewhat empty hanger only to find nothing, until...
"Over there, that's the wench!" came a familiar voice. It was the soldiers she had avoided earlier on, they had finally made their way down to the hanger floor and were ready for some pay back. They had also brought along a few weapons for extra precautions. Ai was once again backed into a corner. 'No way out..' she thought as she desperately glance around for an escape. They continued to move in on her. Ai's first instinct was to run, but she had been avoiding these people for so long that she knew it was only a matter of time. She hugged onto her board tightly, hoping that no one could see within it's contents.
"So... You're the punk who stole the blue prints. Well now, you're going to be having a nice long talk with the higher ups..." one said as he took hold of her arm and forcefully dragged her away. Ai continued her struggle and held her board ever so closely until they finally got serious and pulled out their weapons. "Don't you even think about running..." they threatened her. She had no choice but to give in. "That's right... Now, move it!" he shouted, kicking her forward as they restrained her hands behind her back.
'So this is it..?' she thought as she reluctantly continued forward. 'Father... just how is it I can end this fighting on my own..?' she thought, taking a glance toward the mobiles. In the back of her mind something was shouting out to her. 'Run, get out of there!' but it was the strange feeling in her chest that she was following...
"We have to hurry!" shouted one of the cadets. "They're breaking through our defenses!" Most of the Strike Daggers were already launched and shockwaves began to be felt all around.
"Damned coordinators..." muttered Orga, who was taking his necessary dose of gamma glipheptin.
"They're all the same...engineered bastards..." grumbled Crot, still trying to get suited. Shani just kept quiet, still thinking about the girl who he had left behind earlier. The three dashed out into the docking bay. Shani approached the Forbidden only to find that the repairs weren't complete.
"You can't! The Geschmeidig Panzer System is still down from your last battle! It's Forbidden's main advantage! You can't go taking a close range model into battle with out some kind of defense! You don't even have a shield!" reasoned the mechanic.
"Screw you! It's your fault you're so damned slow!" Shani growled, roughly shoving the desperate mechanic to the side.
"You'll be killed out there!" he added, trying to change the stubborn pilot's mind.
"Too bad, unlike you, I'm not afraid to die..." Shani murmured while climbing into Forbidden's cockpit and starting up the OS. He saw that both Calamity and Raider had already launched. "Dammit, those dirtbags..." he muttered, but then stopped as he zoomed in on something with Forbidden's monitor.
'It's her...' he thought. 'What the hell are they doing to her! Damn! I told her to get her ass outta here...' He then turned Forbidden around to face the conflicting people and brought the scythe down right in between them causing the men down below to wince in fear of the colossal mech.
"Let go of her, she's just a civilian! Damn, you're all such jackasses..." Shani remarked using the speaker system installed in most mobile suits. He then aimed the plasma induction cannon right at one of the armed soldiers. "I'm not afraid to do this... Leave now before you leave this reality in pieces..." Shani murmured. The soldiers gave frantic nods before scampering off and ditching their weapons behind. "Are you okay? You should've left when I told you to..." Shani muttered, now focusing his attention on the girl rather than on the raging battle just outside of the base.
"I'm sorry... But I have a job to do, and I can't leave until I finish it." she said intently as she dropped her head some so as not to have to face him. She never liked to be put in these sort of situations, for if her secret was revealed then all of what her family had been fighting for might just go in vein. She walked over to the place in which she had lost grip on her board and pick it up. She just stood there looking up at the Gundam, her eyes gleamed with determination. All the while wondering to herself if she had any more options left to her.
"Eh? A job? Well, I'm just gonna say that in my damned opinion that no fucking job is worth dying over, you're so young..." Shani remarked, stepping out of his cockpit for the time being, but then he noticed the determined look that the girl wore. "Gah... Damn... I know Azrael won't approve of this, but I can't have you blowin' up in the middle of the battlefield..." Shani grumbled. "Just get on and hurry up! I don't have the time!" He then lowered the extension rope used for getting into the cockpit.
Her eyes widened as he lowered the rope. She did not know why exactly he had decided to assist her, for he did not even know her name, let alone her intentions. Walking over to rope, she was about to grab hold but was hesitant. She looked up at him a bit lost for what to do, though shook it off as she felt the impact of another blast. Taking tight hold of her board, she took hold of the rope firmly.
"Okay..." she shouted up to him, though her words faded away.
Shani was still trying to contemplate what he had gotten himself into as he retracted the extension rope.
"So, what's your name anyways?" Shani questioned, keeping a tight grip on her so she wouldn't fall off of such a tremendous height. Shani looked reluctantly at the cramped up space of his Gundam's cockpit... He gave an audible sigh. "I hope you're not claustrophobic, because if so, then you're screwed..." he muttered. He sat down and tried to scoot over as to make enough room in a space that was meant for one. He waited for her to get in before proceeding with any other movements with Forbidden.
"It's Aiorem, Aiorem Heiwa... or just Ai, if you'd like..." she said somewhat quietly as she made her way into the cockpit after him. She didn't turn to face him the whole way for her thoughts were starting to weigh down heavily on her. 'Why..?' she thought to herself. 'Why did you all have to be involved in this... and why-... Why do we continue this fight..?' She was consumed in her troubled thinking, for stress something she was always prone to deal with sooner or later.
"I'm afraid I never caught your name..." she said softly, trying to keep her mind set on something other than the future and the past.
"The name's Shani Andras, nothing much to it..." he muttered, as he maneuvered his Gundam onto the launch pad. "Just hang on...it tends to get a bit rough when we launch..." he warned, as all of the signals were shown. They were hurled out of the warship and onto the blazing battlefield. Immediately, several DINNs came at them from behind and were shot down by Calamity's Scylla Cannon.
"What the fuck took you so long!" Orga demanded.
"We're dying out here! We're getting hammered!" Crot exclaimed.
"Well, I'm here now aren't I? Damn, learn some patience!" Shani retorted, trying to counter both of their words.
"We've already lost half of our units!" came a voice from over the com. system. Yet another Strike Dagger was brought down in a burning blaze and the waters of the Atlantic were reflecting the reddish hue, turning the ocean an angry red. Forbidden was trying to hold off most of the enemies, but they were proving too much without the Panzer System.
"Argh, Forbidden can't keep this up any longer..." Shani moaned, watching as the energy gauge was slowly depleting.
