Author's note: It has been brought to my attention that I needed to clarify a few things. I decided to write 'Miri' as 'Milly' to make it easier for the readers to get the pronunciation right by anglicizing its spelling. So I have no intention to change that. Now I started writing this story using a version of the subbed series which had transliterated 'Yzak' as 'Yzac'. Since it isn't something major, I left it at that and it has kind of become a mechanism. However, I am willing to change it if you want. Please give me your opinion by review or PM and enjoy this second chapter.
Phase-02: Ignited
The Earth Army officer told Kira to go behind the seat while she activated the unit she was in. The logo of the Oppose Militancy & Neutralize Invasion enforcers (the military force of the Earth Alliance) appeared on screen, followed by General Unilateral Neuro-link Dispersive Autonomic Maneuver, or, if you only looked at the first letter in a vertical way: GUNDAM, and at last, the power indicator. In the other two units, the same thing was happening. And in the blazing inferno, the three giants moved and rose, their eyes glowing.
In Heliopolis, a level 8 of evacuation had been initiated. Many people were running toward the closest shelters, including Sai, Tolle, Miriallia, and Kuzzey. There was another large explosion right where they were headed, and suddenly, from the smoke, three mobile suits appeared and landed further away, one near a GINN. Its pilot, Athrun, immediately told his ally, Miguel, that Rusty and Luke had failed. One unit was piloted by an Earth army officer but he wasn't sure about the other. He hadn't been able to see well because of the flames and smoke. And while surveying the surroundings, both Kira and Seren noticed their friends desperately running away to take cover. The girl watched them, and the ZAFT soldiers before her. They were two. And they were two here too... There was no guarantee Athrun – if that was really him, and she prayed it was not the case – would simply go back with his own unit. Would he help the GINN so it wouldn't be in the unfavorable situation of two against one, especially since he knew about her, and Kira? Would he choose to close his eyes and try to convince himself the people in these machines were not his childhood friends, that, since he wanted to see them again so much he had mistaken youths resembling them for them? Or would he shirk away from fighting them because they were friends? Would he stay and fight to make sure they were who he was thinking about? And since his mission was certainly to capture the units... Aaargh... DAMN IT!
Seren took the keyboard and started typing with inhuman speed. Damn it all again! Who were they kidding with this OS?! She cursed again, just as the GINN fired at the mobile suit before her, which stumbled. It then attacked with its sword. The suit dodged the first slash by jumping back but the shock made Kira lose his balance and almost fall on the woman. The GINN charged again, just as his pilot ordered the pilot of the stolen unit to take care of the other, meaning her. They should have it easy, against those stupid naturals... The officer pressed a button, the unit changed color and the swing was blocked.
In her own unit, Seren was still typing. The reconfiguration of the O-moment controls and CPG, the connection of the machine's vision directly to the aiming module, the optimization of the neural linkage network, the correction of the deviations, the connection of the movement routines, the update and upgrade of the system, the control and redistribution of the energy, the verifications of the weapons... what were those weapons? Two "Igelstellung" 75mm multi-barrel CIWS guns mounted on the head whose light projectiles were used to intercept missiles and to destroy lightly armored vehicles. Two "Blinkenschlag" whips which could either pierce armor or wound around it to capture it. Oh! The wires could also send electric charges. They were mounted under the forearms. However, it was possible for some pilots to withstand the shock... A pair of folding "Armor Schneider" combat knives were stored in the thighs. They didn't need power from the suit. A pair of beam sabers that could be joined at their pommels in one two bladed weapons were stored in the hips. And last was the Svalinn Shield fixed to its right arm and designed to increase the Blast's defensive capability. Its special coating allowed it to absorb and spread the energy of beam weapons to a certain extent and convert it into power for the unit.
She looked up to see a red mobile suit charging at her. She activated the phase-shift system, shot him with the igelstellung mounted at the sides of her unit's head, and blocked a beam saber with one of her own. Tche... so that guy too would attack in such a place... She punched the enemy but was blocked. However she had anticipated that much, since that guy was the pilot. She knocked him with a kick and took flight. He soon chased after her.
Meanwhile, the Earth forces mobile suit was having great difficulty doing the simplest movements and had only survived the GINN's attacks due to its phase shift armor. And because there were civilians, and especially friends down there who could get crushed by the giants or falling rubble, Kira was forced to intervene and managed to dodge a sword strike aiming at the head before ramming into the enemy, knocking him away. While it was getting up, he took the woman's place as the pilot, and instantly did the same calibration work his female childhood friend had done a few seconds earlier, and with similar – although softer – comments concerning the OS, allowing the OMNI officer to soon realize his true identity. The pilot in the GINN cursed and attacked again. Kira shot at his head with the igelstellung. It did little effect but it was enough to slow him down. The EA mobile suit dodged the slash and punched him away.
In the sky, the battle was still going on. The red unit was trying to shoot her with its energy beam rifle. She managed to skillfully dodge them but without range weapon there was nothing she could do, and even worst, every shot that did not touch her damaged the colony and risked killing or injuring those who had not yet reached a shelter... including her friends...! She charged, full of fear for those she loved and anger for those who would threaten them.
"Stop it! How dare you involve civilians?! How many people do you intend to kill until you're satisfied?! This is a neutral space colony! What's so wrong with wanting to leave peacefully... naturals and coordinators alike?!" Seren yelled, ragingly.
"Seren...? Seren Ashford?!"
"Athrun... Zala?!"
And both remembered, after Athrun had given Kira and Seren their parting gifts, she had come alone to find him. She had blocked his path and looked straight at him before liquid beaded at the corner of her hazel eyes and she had burst into tears. Unlike Kira who had always been a crybaby, it was only the second time she had ever cried before him. The first time had been when she had told him and Kira about how her mother had been killed by Blue Cosmos just a year prior to her coming on the moon. At loss, he had taken her in his arms, and she had hugged him back for dear life. She was scared, scared of the future, scared of what might happen. He had tried to comfort her but without much success. She wanted him to promise that they would always be friends, always... and he had promised. But still, she had been unable to believe him, and as proof, he had given her a kiss on the cheek...
On the ground, the GINN had changed tactics and tried to shoot the white unit down. However, Kira managed to avoid all shells and combat knife in hand, activated the thrusters and lunged.
"In a place like this... stop!" He stopped just before him, ducked, and planted the first knife in the GINN's shoulder joint. Sparks flew. He planted the second one at the new. Sparks showered him again. No response from the hydraulics, port-side movement system halted... the ZAFT mobile suit pilot activated the self-destruct system and ejected. Lieutenant Ramius told Kira to get away quickly but it was too late. The mobile weapon exploded, blowing them away. Luckily, the boy's four friends had managed to hide behind a building so they weren't caught up.
Outside, in space, the ship that had escorted the G-pilots was damaged a ZAFT suit, and, unable to navigate, crashed against the colony and exploded. Mu La Flaga cursed. Was there really nothing to be done about the difference in their forces' abilities?! With the help of his gunbarrels, he avenged the ship he had been on, dismembering the GINN before shooting it down. And thanks to him, the ZAFT Laurasia-class Aurora, also suffered heavy damage. The Captain Ades couldn't believe one their fellow ship Aurora could have been shot down in such a measly battle. But Le Creuset had already sensed the presence of the "somewhat irritating fly still buzzing around". They then received a laser beam communication from Miguel Aiman. It was an emergency. To think he had been forced to abandon his unit... the Commander then asked the captain to relay the order to leave the two last ones as they were. The Aurora retreated, but Rau le Creuset had boarded his own mobile suit and was now engaging Mu in combat. Just like Rau could sense his presence, Mu could sense his.
"So it was really you, Seren... what are you doing, piloting one of those things?!"
"That's my line! What are you doing attacking Heliopolis... attacking Orb?! I thought you hated war, just like us...! If only you guys hadn't come, I would have never gotten into that!" She furiously slashed with her beam saber.
"Stop that!" Athrun blocked with his shield. He disengaged. "You still want to side with those people, with those Naturals who hid such things here while pretending to be neutral?!"
"Like hell! Who said I was siding with those Earth Alliance bastards?! I only got on this thing because I didn't want to die, and I don't want you guys to kill my friends either!"
"Then we don't have to fight each other! We're not enemies! Now lower your saber, and hand this unit. I have orders to bring it back to ZAFT. Come with me!" There was a long silence full of hopeful expectations and conflicts, all the more violent as they were silent...
"...I can't..." The girl's quivering voice declared after a pause.
"What?"
"I can't come with you... And I can't give it to you!" She affirmed again with more determination. "I can't let you guys use it to cause more destruction and suffering like you did today! And whatever you say, I believe in Orb. Some people might have succumbed to pressure from the Earth Alliance... But I still believe in the Orb Union and what it represents! I still believe that Coordinators and Naturals can live in peace! That's why I don't want to fight you guys... and you Athrun least of all!"
"Don't be so naïve! This is war! And you belong with us! Come with me... if you don't... don't force me to shoot you! I already lost my mother in Junius 7...I don't want to lose you too!"
"And I lost mine to the Blue Cosmos! But I have my father, and I have my friends! If fighting Naturals means fighting them too, then you can forget it! I will never join ZAFT against them! Athrun... I will not attack you, but I cannot let you attack us either!" By then both wanted to cry... Each word would leave their mouths like fragmentation bombs, injuring them both, piercing their hearts with icy shrapnel... Their hearts would bleed, scream, writhe, agonize, and still keep going. Marvelling in, longing, craving, and yet resenting the other's presence, all to the point of intolerability... the only one able to hurt them so deeply and the only one who could heal these same gaping wounds were they at their side. And both resented the other for being part of the enemy faction, for preferring to fight than be with them as they should... Then Athrun's green eyes shone with new found determination.
"Seren... I will take you with me even if I have to force you...!" He activated all his beam sabers and attacked. As long as he damaged her mobile suit enough while being careful not damage it too much, he could capture her, and with time, he could convince her!
"Don't steal my lines!" Seren shouted back. As long as she could capture him and she could have enough time to convince him! She let him close in, and at the last second, parried a saber with her own, slid against his shield and turned to be behind him and launched the Blinkenschlag whips. The spikes pierced the armor. In the same time, her knee blades pierced his unit's legs, she sent electricity through the wires of her blinkenshlag and fired her CIWS to damage the red gundam's head. The electricity rippled through his body, contracted by the pain. But due to his training as a soldier he withstood the attack and managed to recover, kick her away, and escape. After all, he was really exceptionally skilled. He had thought for a second that it might have been good to be captured, if it was really her, but then had berated himself. He needed time to reorganize. However, she was not through with him. Taking advantage of her unit's mobility, she did everything she could to keep hold on him, just like she would in a hand to hand combat situation with their own bodies. But of course, it couldn't be so easy. He perfectly reacted to each of her moves as if his body was acting on its own and he shook her off. She pursed him in vain... until it became too foolish and dangerous to continue. And she returned to her friends, taking note to fill in a complaint list with as topmost position: 'don't go making such things in a neutral colony you heartless traitorous bastards!' or something like that. Although nothing serious, her gundam had been damaged too. He had also been careful to avoid the cockpit. Killing that girl was the last thing he wanted. Being forced to retreat like this had left them with a detestable aftertaste in their mouths, and transparent liquid beading at the corner of their eyes.
Corpses and various objects were floating about in the large white ship's shaft. The woman with short black hair woke up to a light bump against the wall. She noticed one of her companions dead and mourned for a few seconds before preoccupying herself with the ship Archangel. The young purple eyed officer entered the smoke, dust, and debris filled control room of the Archangel.
"Is there anyone?" The partly burnt cap of the captain floated into her hands, but otherwise only a heavy silence answered her. She started sobbing, loneliness and despair clutching her as surely as death had gripped all the people in that room. "Damn... Are there any survivors?!" For a time, there was nothing until she heard banging on metal. A young man kicked the plate away, entered, and directed his torchlight at her, and when he recognized her, averted it so she wouldn't be blinded.
"Ensign Badgiruel? Thank goodness you're alright!" It was Chief Petty Officer Arnold Neumann, who had been at her side when they had passed the students in Heliopolis.
The brown haired female officer woke up on a bench. Milly, who had bandaged her with Seren's help, warned Kira and Seren. Kira came... and apologized for having done something irresponsible. Seren brought water and handed it with a strange look in her eyes. She gratefully accepted.
Seren... ever since she had gotten off the mobile suit she had been strange, silent, upset, shaken, and she had been thinking... She'd look at them and smile. For them she had fought and will certainly fight again. They were her precious friends. But Athrun was really precious to her too. And yet... was there really no other choice? If she stopped, she could live without having to fight him. But was it really alright to let things like this, to leave him like this? And then there was Kira. Athrun was precious to them both. Neither of them wanted to fight him, just like he didn't want to fight them. No, they didn't want to fight at all. Then why? She had answered on impulse back then, but after all, they really didn't have a choice. Athrun wouldn't give up. Which was why it was particularly difficult for her to be with Kira. She would look into his eyes, try to speak, and the words would be caught in her throat, she'd feel her eyes moisten too much, and she'd turn away. Because no matter what she'd say, or think, she was the one who really couldn't accept what had happen, that that guy could be their enemy... And she knew only too well how much suffering Kira would be in if she told him and if he had to fight him... since she felt that exact same pain in her heart, as if it was being torn apart...
Anyway, things would certainly only get worse from now on which meant the alert would be raised and they would be unable to go to a shelter. Besides, whatever the reason, they had seen something they shouldn't have. It was unlikely they would be allowed to go just like this.
Wait, this situation... weren't those units being transported somewhere in those trucks? Since they were for the Earth alliance then certainly back to Earth... and for that you'd need a ship. And since they couldn't go to the shelters then they wouldn't have a choice, even if it was battleship. Was this ship still here? Was it fine? But ZAFT was going to be waiting to attack them again... Was it possible for this ship to leave without her and Kira having to fight? Probably not... There was a good chance it was already destroyed. And if it was not, did they have enough supplies? If they didn't they would have no other choice but to go to the closest base. And even then, it would be unwise to expect a smooth trip and a warm welcome... with the gundams – and who knows, maybe even the ship – being a top secret of the Atlantic Federation. And if on top of that, there were Coordinators on board... Naturals were indeed pretty stupid with that much internal strife. That was certainly a good part of the reason why they were so hard pressed... She had heard rumors concerning the state of affairs between the different parties that constituted the Earth Alliance, because even though she lived in a neutral and peaceful country, she hated being caught unprepared and not knowing anything and always looked for whatever information she could about the war outside...
Anyway, it would certainly take a long time before they could leave somewhere really safe. Ultimately, either the moon or the Earth... But it would certainly take a month if things went reasonably well, and there were so many factors that could make it go wrong... and there was no telling how much they would have to fight. Because they couldn't surrender, and they couldn't die... So... there was really no choice but to fight...?
Suddenly, they heard Tolle in the cockpit and Kuzzey standing near, saying this gundam was amazing and wondering if it could move... and Sai yelling at them from the ground not to play around with it. Tolle left the cockpit. Kuzzey asked why it had become grey again, to which his friend answered that it was because the main battery must be off. When the Phase-shift system was activated, the machines changed colors. Seren's unit was dominantly white with a black cockpit and red and gold touches on the cockpit and hips. There was a little black on the shoulders and legs and a little gold on the shoulders too. The top half of the shield was red, its lower half was black, a part in the middle was gold, and its outer edge was white. Kira's mobile suit was mostly white too, with a blue and red cockpit and red feet.
"Get away from that unit!" The officer shot above their heads, scaring them. She stood up and approached. Kira instantly went to stop her. It was they who had carried her while she was unconscious. She aimed at the brown haired boy. "I appreciate the fact that you saved me. But that's a top secret of the army. It's not something that civilians are allowed to meddle with."
"Pointing a gun at us... you sure have a strange way of showing appreciation... And who do you think kept those two remaining top secrets from falling into ZAFT's hands? You shouldn't have put them in a colony of civilians to begin with. You shouldn't have endangered us all!" Seren fiercely glared at the officer, her words echoing those a certain person had said not an hour earlier. It was certainly considered dangerous to act like this against an officer with a gun aimed at her but right now she didn't care about that. But no matter how much she resented it, nothing could be done about what had happened and they had no time for such arguments when they could come back at any moment. And the woman knew it too. Tolle and Kuzzey had gotten down. She gathered everyone together and asked them their names. They all did as asked.
"I am Murrue Ramius. I'm a commissioned officer of the Earth Alliance. My apologies, but things have come to a situation where I can't let you go anymore. Regardless of what happened, you people have seen a top military secret. Until I contact the appropriate authorities to decide your arrangements, you will have to stay with me." The others tried to protest while Seren listened without a word. She had already expected such things to happen. They didn't have a choice. All that was left was to accept it. But even though she did, that did not stop her from innerly burning with an intensely cold fire. As Sai said, it was true they were neutral civilians. And why was the Earth army in Heliopolis anyway? That was why everything had turned this way. The commissioned officer shot in the sky. "Shut up! Kids who don't know anything... saying that it doesn't concern you because you're neutral, you can't really be still thinking like that. A top secret of the earth army is here. And you have all seen it. That is your reality now."
And Seren also agreed with her. As unreasonable as it was, they had no choice but to accept it, at least for now. War WAS unreasonable. And it WAS war, between Earth and the PLANTs, between Coordinators and Naturals, in the world outside their own...
And indeed, outside, war was still going on between Mu La Flaga and Rau Le Creuset. But then, Rau entered Heliopolis. And Mu followed him.
In the Archangel, Arnold Neumann and Natarle Badgiruel were evaluating the situation. The few who had survived were those who had already been on board when the explosion occurred. Most were workers. They didn't know about the ZAFT ships. They already had their hands full just surveying their surroundings. They turned the power on and looked at the damage state. Almost everything was fine, but they still hadn't cleared the debris near the port entrance. It was completely blocked. The ensign tried to contact someone but the communications were still jammed. Then the attack on the port and the ships had been a diversion...? And ZAFT's real target was Morgenroete? She cursed again. What was the situation in the city? And the G? But suddenly, although intermittent, she received a signal...
"This... 105 Strike... Earth Army... respond..."
And another although weaker...
"Respond... 216 Blast... Earth... please..."
On the ground, at Lieutenant Ramius' request (polite order), Kira and Seren had to try and contact the Archangel or any allied ship that could be around at regular intervals, from the GAT-X105 Strike and the GAT-X216 Blast. However, all they could hear was interferences. Meanwhile, Sai and the others had brought the trailers number 5 and 6 as ordered to. Murrue thanked them. Now they had to install the packs on the mobile suits.
Mu La Flaga and Rau Le Creuset were still fighting in the passage leading into the colony. They were quite evenly matched until they disappeared out of each other's view for a few seconds. Their sight blocked by a large shaft. But as soon as they passed it by, the ZAFT officer fired and hit the gunbarrels which exploded, but Mu was skilled enough to escape in time.
In the Archangel, Natarle Badgiruel had taken up the captain's mantle as holder of the highest hierarchical position among the survivors. She wanted to launch the Archangel. And Arnold was arguing that it was impossible with this little personnel.
"While you're talking about it, think about what we should be doing next. Morgenroete might still be under attack! And you're saying that we should just stay here and abandon them?!"
It was then that Jackie Tonomura arrived with Dalida Lolaha Chandra and Romero Pal as the three of them were the only ones who had survived and could operate the Combat Information Center. Badgiruel commanded them to take their seats and follow the computer's instructions, which they did. However, Neumann still did not agree. There were still ZAFT ships outside. They couldn't fight.
"I know! Prepare to fire the specially equipped cannons when the ship launches. Can you do it, Chief Petty Officer?" The strong and strict woman questioned. Neumann-souchou did not reply anything but took his place as the warship's new pilot. "Start launching sequence. Because this is an emergency, process C-30 to L-21 will be omitted. Main power online."
"Output rising, no anomalies. 450 seconds until rated value."
"Too long. What's the situation of the conduit with Heliopolis?"
"They're working!"
"Take the power from here. Conduit online!"
And so the sequence continued. The power was connected to the accumulator, the flow was normal, 20 seconds until rated value. Life support systems starting up, CIC online, weapons system online, FCS contact... and soon all systems were online, the Archangel was ready to launch! All air locks were closed. The crew was told to get ready for concussion damage on the ship's hull during breakthrough.
"Advance at low speed, Archangel, launch!" And the legged ship slowly made its way toward the gate.
On the ground, Kira and Seren found out about the packs used to enhance the Strike's and the Blast's abilities. For the Strike, the weapon and power pack were one and the same, which simplified matters and allowed for a gain of time. He had three allowing for various styles of combat: high mobility (Aile Strike), heavy melee (Sword strike) and heavy assault (Launcher Strike). But it was more complicated for the Blast. It had two mobility packs, one for combat in space (Nova) and another (Storm) for combat in the atmosphere. The Storm pack might also function quite well underwater in exchange for increased energy consumption and strain on the components... and thus a significantly lessened durability. Its optional armaments could be loosely divided into three packs depending on the range.
The Blade Blast from short to mid range clashes added a Midas Messer beam boomerang and the Schwert Gewehr Lanze anti-ship sword. It was a large physical double edged blade that had a laser emitter along the edges. The 15,78 m blade was designed to easily slice mobile suits in half or to cut off sections of a ship. It could be expanded to make a gap from which energy shots could be launched.
The Blast Off pack which was used from mid to long range battle consisted of a 57mm beam rifle, the anti ship sword, a multi-barreled 120mm anti-ship Vulcan gun mounted in the right shoulder armor and a cluster bombs launcher mounted onto the back.
The Blast Away pack for long range/heavy assault also utilised the Vulcan gun and cluster bombs launcher but its primary weapon was a 300mm 'Siegfried' high impulse beam canon which could be combined with the 88mm high energy rifle to make an impulse long range sniper rifle for a precise but very destructive shot. The weapons could be disassembled and reassembled to adapt to the situation.
The Strike was going to don the launcher pack, and the Blast the Nova mobility pack and the Blast Off armament pack. Sai, Milly, and Kuzzey were thinking about the evacuation signal that still hadn't stopped. They were worried about whether their parents had safely reached a shelter and when they would be able to see each other again.
Suddenly, there was a large explosion in the sky, or rather, in the humongous metal tube that held the colony together with the giant cables fixed to it, and a ZAFT mobile suit and an Earth Alliance mobile armor flew into the fake atmosphere. Both noticed the Strike and the Blast. Rau Le Creuset dived to destroy them but was forced to swerve when Mu intercepted him. Ramius-taii yelled at Kira and Seren to hurry and turn the power on. They typed furiously on their keyboards while La Flaga-taii was doing his best to keep the enemy at bay without his gunbarrel pods as they had been previously shot down. When he remarked that he was going to be cut as the ZGMF-515 CGUE swooped down on him, he tried to turn up to shoot him with his linear cannon. But it failed as the ZAFT officer sliced the cannon and continued his descent on the new Earth army mobile weapons. However, the equipment finished fixing just in time and the power in the two suits was turned on. They changed colors and stood up.
"Accelerate to maximum battle velocity once the positron blaster cannons commence firing." Natarle ordered. The Lohengrin cannons fired.
There was another huge explosion in the wall of the colony. And everyone watched with wide eyes as from the flames and the smoke a huge white and red ship sailed into the fake sky.
When people know everything, they would know when the world ends. They would know the limits of one's strength. They would know that someday, they would awaken from their dream. But for us, we thought we could surpass something like that.
