Disclaimer: Sebastian Connor, Shawn Mason, Duncan Cooper, Gabrielle DeMarchais, and the Storm Wolves, and Mark Lamperouge and the Crimson Foxes are mine. Anthony Russo and the White Wolves belong to Wing Commander White Wolf.
Tale of the Twin Wolves
By Storm Wolf77415 and Wing Commander White Wolf
Nazca-Class destroyer Aurora, thirty miles from Heliopolis
"So that's Heliopolis, you hardly ever see those old Island 3 jobs anymore." The thirty-one year old man in the spotless white of a ZAFT commander spoke to his flag captain, wearing the standard black uniform, standing to the right of him. "It looks like the Twin Wolves are about to have some company."
"We were too late, Boss. Le Creuset and Evans are at Heliopolis. It looks like the Wolves have been sniffed out." The captain, a male of twenty five with black hair and weary cobalt blue eyes replied. "Sebastian and Anthony get dragged back home, Zala will roast them over a spit, protection from the chairman or not."
"I doubt that, Captain. Rau's there for the EA's new prototypes. They're trying to bridge the technology gap. It would only be a matter of time before the Earth Forces went to mass production." The woman, a tall, busty knockout with waist long blonde hair pulled into a low pony tail wearing the brilliant red uniform of a ZAFT Elite, replied in a smooth, aristocratic tone with a hint of a French accent, "The boys would just be an added bonus if he found them out. Rau Le Creuset puts on the front of refinement, but I know underneath he is a madman. Commander Connor would defeat him, this I am sure of. I may not wait if I run into him on my way to joining with the others."
"Don't be in a rush, young lady. You'll be with your packmates soon enough." The commander spoke. He sighed, closing his dark brown eyes, crossing his hands in front of his face to hide his weary expression. "You'd better be careful to keep Lacus safe, kit. The noose is tightening around your neck. I don't want to be the one to go back and explain to your father-in-law if anything happened to you two."
"Boss, you DO know that he has the Iron Falcon's student with him. Ol' Aster taught Anthony far too well to let anything happen to the lovebirds."
The blonde gave a light giggle, putting her hands to her face. "Indeed, they made such a cute couple. It fills me with so much joy to know they finally got married."
"You should get ready to launch, we'll be in launching range for your GINN in about thirty minutes." The commander said. A wordless nod, and the blonde left for the locker room.
Heliopolis Central Park
It was a warm clear day in the Orb space colony Heliopolis. Sixteen-year-old Kira Yamato kicked back, rapidly typing in formulas on his custom built laptop while he listened to the latest news report on the Battle of Kaioshiang.
"Birdie!" the robotic green and yellow bird, a gift from his long time friend, Athrun Zala, chirped, landing on his shoulder.
"Hi, Kira, how are you today?" Lacus smiled widely as she walked down the path.
"Anastasia, good to see you!" Kira replied to Lacus by the alias she had chosen to go under when they arrived on the colony in October. To the world at large she was Anastasia Connor, an exchange student from the PLANTs who recently moved to Orb to take tech classes at Morgenroete Technical College.
"You should hurry, Kira, otherwise you'll be late for class. Professor Kato always gets grumpy when that happens. You should know that. Or are you too busy making out with Flay?" she giggled. The former idol singer had seen the young student fall for the pretty redhead and played matchmaker, counseling Kira on how to approach her and court her, advising him how to break the news of being a Coordinator.
Kira had been very weary of admitting his genetic profile, knowing the policy of George Allster, afraid his daughter bought into all the Blue Cosmos propaganda. To his surprise and relief Flay took it all in stride. She had admitted to fearing Coordinators but her attitude changed from dating Kira, saying she hadn't met a more charming man.
"Working on anything important?" Lacus asked, taking a look at Kira's screen.
"Yeah, some computations Kato gave to me at the last minute. He's been unloading a boatload of work on me as of late. It's been a real pain in the ass." Kira grumbled.
Lacus was about to reply when the voice of Tolle Koenig, another one of Kira's friends, called out to him. "Hey! I've been looking for you. Kato needs to see you. It looks he has a new project for you to work on in the lab. Sai and the others are already there working on it, but from the looks of things, we're going to be spending the rest of the afternoon on it."
"Hasn't he given me enough to work on? I've already got enough work to last me through to next week!" the brunette Coordinator groaned.
"Now, now, Kira. Professor Kato is our teacher and a certain amount of respect should be given." Lacus lightly chided.
Kira only gave a weary grunt as he packed up his laptop and slid it into his school bag. The three friends headed for the transit terminal. His mood brightened considerably when he saw who was standing at the terminal. A pretty redhead with soft blue eyes, wearing a long sleeved pink dress. He slowly crept up behind her, and put his arms lovingly around her waist, eliciting a small gasp of shock. "Guess who?" He said into her ear.
"Hmm, could it be my boyfriend?" Flay replied, turning around to gaze into his violet orbs. "Mmm, I am good." She purred, reaching up to give him a passionate kiss, eliciting a squeal from her two friends. "Hi Ana." She said to Lacus.
"Flay, I've got to head over to the lab. Kato needs me to help Sai and the others with another project. It's going to take the rest of the day."
"Do you want me to come along and help?" Flay asked, batting her eyelashes. "I need the extra hours in the lab anyway or else my grade will go down."
"You might as well. An extra set of arms would help." Tolle offered. He did find Flay attractive, and didn't mind admiring the view from a distance. He was happy his best friend managed to win the heart of his crush.
Flay giggled and latched onto her lover's arm. "Well, thank you, Tolle. I think that's exactly what I'll do. Sorry girls, It seems our shopping trip will have to wait another day. I've got to spend some time with my boyfriend, toodles!" And they got on the transport to the Morgenroete Heliopolis branch, Kira and Flay made out the entire way, eliciting giggles from Lacus, remembering how shy he had been when approach her.
When they arrived at the lab they found their other friends, Mirialla Haw, Sai Argyle, and Kuzzey Buzkirk waiting. "Hi honey!" the orange clad brunette girl called out, giving Tolle a light kiss on the cheek.
"Hi guys!" Kira said to his other friends. It was then he noticed the fourth occupant of the room. A teenager their age leaning against the wall wearing a dark gray jacket and khaki pants, blonde locks poking out from underneath a cabbie hat. Malachite eyes gave an air of boredom and irritation.
"Who's that?" Flay asked. Tolle just shook his head.
"Don't know. He came in here about twenty minutes ago, and just been standing there in the corner. It's kind of annoying really." He replied.
Lacus immediately saw the newcomer for who it was. "Cagalli! I can't believe you made it!" Lacus said to the disguised Orb Princess, giving her a quick hug. The disguised Orb Princess flushed in embarrassment.
"You know that guy, Ana?" Tolle asked. The brunette songstress giggled.
"Yes I do, Tolle, and Cagalli isn't a guy, she's a girl. Cagalli, introduce yourself to them." the last part made the boys' jaws drop. The blonde sighed taking off her hat, blonde locks falling out.
"Hi, my name is Cagalli Yula. Yes, I am a girl. I'm a friend of…Anastasia's from the homeland." She fumbled, remembering to keep with the Songstress's cover. "Can I talk to you outside, Ana…alone?" She grabbed Lacus' arm, dragging her out into the corridor. "What the hell was that about? I'm supposed to be incognito, and you are too!"
"But you still are, Cagalli. I didn't reveal your true identity as the daughter of the Chief Representative. I just said you were a friend visiting from the homeland." Lacus pointed out. "Why are you here anyway? Is it because of Earth Alliance prototypes being developed?"
Cagalli sighed, her grim expression sending a stab of worry through Lacus' little heart. "Yeah, I'm afraid the timetable been pushed way up. When my shuttle came in, I saw three ZAFT ships approaching. I think they're onto us." Cagalli was about to continue when Miriallia poked her head out the door.
"Uh, Ana, sorry to barge in on your little reunion, but we're having some problems with a glitch in the operating software. Can you help us out?" she asked.
"Sure, I'll be there a minute." Lacus replied, a frown crossing her pretty features. "I have to help them with this project, but the first chance we get, you and I will go and find Sebby and Anthony. They have to know this."
Cagalli sighed. "Alright. I'll just stand out here and wait." She leaned against the wall, pulling out her IPod.
Tolle was wedged into a crude exoskeleton that resembled a mobile suit. "Damn it! Despite everything we've done, we can't get rid of this lag!" He complained. For the last three weeks, the group of friends worked on a fluid control system for bipedal machines. But no matter what they tried, it stumbled about like a man fresh from the pub. Later on, Kira presumed it had something to do with the OS for the Gundams.
"That doesn't make any sense, we've run twenty tests so far. There should have been some improvement." Flay frowned.
"It's not in the software, I checked the entire rig itself out and it runs perfectly. It's got to be something wrong with the machinery itself. Times like this, I'd like Athrun to be here. He'd have figured it out. Hardware was his specialty." Kira remarked suddenly.
"Athrun?" Sai asked.
"Athrun Zala, pretty much my best friend in the world. We roomed together at Copernicus, and we'd work together on projects. He did the hardware, I programmed the software. He moved back to the PLANTs just before the war started." It took Miriallia a few minutes to register the name, but then she made the connection
"Wait a minute! Athrun Zala…No way! Kira, are you telling us you're friends with the son of the Chairman of the PLANTs Defense Committee?" She said in shock. Kira flushed slightly, and nodded.
"Wow, you really get around, Kira. The friend of a son of a high ranking member of the Supreme Council?" Sai quipped.
"But doesn't that mean he's…a Coordinator like you?" Kuzzey Buskirk blanched. Kuzzey was a short, meek, mousey-looking kid, with a slight fear of Coordinators.
"Yes, he is, Kuzzey, we've talked about this, haven't we? Athrun's one of the kindest, gentlest people I've ever known." Kira said firmly. "He hates fighting."
"Yeah, Kuzzey, I'm sure Athrun is a perfect gentleman. Kira would never have a friend who's a total jerk." Flay reassured him. Unbeknownst to Kira, Flay, Lacus, or any of their other friends, ZAFT was making their move. On board the three ships of the Le Creuset team, pilots both in regular green and elite red boarded their machines. A squad of sixteen soldiers loaded up their weapons to prepare for their commando raid.
"Prepare to launch all GINNs. Have my CGUE prepped as well." Rau ordered. "Are you launching, Lieutenant Fenrir?" He spoke to the female pilot standing behind him.
"Soon enough, Commander Le Creuset. I wouldn't want to take away all the fun from my brother and mate." Vanessa Fenrir smirked. The red flightsuit clung to her body, showing off her luscious curves. Her long silver locks tied in a ponytail.
On board the Dark Tooth, Zavier strapped himself into his steel gray ZGMF-1017M GINN High Maneuver Type, trimmed in blood red, The Blood Fox took great pride in being one of the few pilots qualified to pilot the ZGMF-1017M GINN High Maneuver Type. He preferred using it to a CGUE, since it had a greater speed and maneuverability thanks to its light pulse engines and banks of vernier engines. "Zavier Yukari, taking off!"
A squad of three GINNs, each trailing a line of commandos hanging from cables, launched from the Vesalius, formed up on the Blood Fox. "Lieutenant, we've got an enemy formation heading our way! Twelve Mobiuses…bearing colony defense force colors!"
"Hmph! Nothing more than cannon fodder, you head onto the target, I'll handle this myself! Burn and die, Natural scum!" Zavier cackled as his rifle spit out death. The Heliopolis Defense Force pilots were poorly trained, three of them strayed into the path of the 27mm shells, killing them instantly. Zavier's laughter reached a fever pitch.
"Uh, nice shooting, sir." One GINN pilot said.
"This path is clear. You get the prototypes. I'll stay here and clean up!" Zavier said to the assault team, he turned his GINN back towards the mobile armors. "Nothing more than mere pests!" He cackled and resumed shooting them down some more.
Every member of the assault team winced slightly at Zavier's sadistic behavior. Pushing on, they came upon an access hatch, and began opening it.
"That man is insane!" redcoat Yzak Joule muttered to his best friend Dearka Elsman. "He's an insult to the uniform and all self-respecting soldiers! I don't like Naturals much myself, but some of his actions on the battlefield are less than professional!"
"Yeah, I always get a creepy vibe around him." Rusty Mackenzie gave an uneasy chuckle.
"Take a number, Yzak. Unfortunately, he's Commander Le Creuset's 'prized pupil.' Not to mention his mother's covering his sorry ass. My only concern is not getting on his bad side. I've heard what he does to guys who piss him off, much less women…" The tanned blonde trailed off.
"Uhh, pardon me for not knowing, but are you guys talking about?" green haired Nicol Amalfi, the youngest of the four redcoats asked.
Dearka sighed, "It was during the Grimaldi Campaign, Shiho Hahnnenfuss, one of the Storm Wolves, was drugged and nearly raped by Lieutenant Yukari, I mean her clothes were ripped and he was about to…you know. Commander Connor didn't exactly like that, the two of them came to blows, Commander Evans got involved and it turned into a full out melee."
Yzak's eyes flashed for a minute when he had heard about the condition Shiho was found in. His voice was unusually soft for the usually hotheaded pilot, "If Commander Le Creuset hadn't broken the fight up, Commander Connor would have killed that sick fuck right there and he'd have been my hero forever because of it."
"He screams like a girl…" The other four redcoats looked to Athrun Zala, their unofficial leader in the field when Rau wasn't around. He was trying to hide his mirth and failing. "Lieutenant Yukari screams like a girl! Commander Russo told me so! When Commander Connor grabbed him, he screamed like a little girl. He couldn't believe it!"
The other four redcoats couldn't hold it in any longer and let out the longest laugh they could. "Something you want to share with the rest of the class? You're supposed to under radio silence." Rau's voice cut in on the radio.
"S-sorry, Commander Le Creuset! We were just joking around! It's nothing important!" Athrun said, quickly covering up.
Back inside the colony, Anthony was on edge, pacing the hanger office. An hour ago a hard feeling started forming in his gut. It was an uneasy, nervous feeling he'd felt only two times before in his life. Operation Winter Strike, the op where he earned his name, and the tense moments before Endymion when the fires of the Cyclops ripped Irwin, Linda, and everyone else away from him.
Sebastian sat quietly at his desk, not wanting to irritate the older man, but he felt obligated to say something to calm his long time partner. "Anthony, relax man. You're going to wear a trench in the floor, we just had the carpets replaced." Sebastian said to his friend.
"Take a chill pill! Take a chill pill!" Blue chirped its two cents, eliciting a growl from the sniper.
The White Wolf shook his head, "Something doesn't feel right, Pup. I have a really bad feeling in my bones. It's the same feeling I had before…before Winter Strike."
The Storm Wolf's features grew serious immediately, "Is that so? The same feeling you had at Endymion too?" Sebastian clenched his hands when he remembered the screams of his own packmates and his conscience decision to leave them. The White Wolf gave a curt nod. "Alright then, what do you want to do, Captain?"
"I'm going to sit down before I have an anxiety attack." He said. The Storm Wolf nodded, turning to go check on the squad's machines. He stopped in front of the wall bracket for the team's mobile suit weapons, including beam rifles and beam sabers. Sebastian's attention was focused on one weapon in particular. To the casual eye, it may have been a regular beam saber, easily disposable, but closer inspection showed it was anything but. First, the handle itself had a slight curve, and it also had a circular guard at the end surrounding the beam emitter. A couple of kanji stamped on to the handle further set it apart.
"I guess I'll get to use you sooner than I thought." He said to no one in particular.
As the Twin Wolves spun their wheels, ZAFT made their move to capture the prototypes. Several groups of green flightsuit clad troopers started planting explosives all around the hangar containing the Earth Alliance's newest attack vessel, the EAS Archangel. "Yippie-ki-yay, Natural bastards!" One greencoat said, quoting a line from his favorite movie before hitting the detonator.
The bombs exploded, killing the captain, the senior officers, and the six chosen pilots of the G-Weapons. Ensign Natarle Badgiurel braced herself against the wall when the entire access tunnel shook. The effects of the bombs could be felt all over the colony. Lieutenant Junior Grade Murrue Ramius clung to the side of the truck containing one of the Earth Alliance's new mobile suits.
"Ahh!" Flay cried as the explosion knocked her off her feet. Kira quickly helped his girlfriend up. "Thanks…what was that?"
"I don't know. We should probably get to the shelters, though." Lacus said. As they made their way out of the room, they found Cagalli still sitting on the floor against the wall. "Cagalli come on! Something's happening!" The group of teenagers immediately left the lab and made their way to safety. At the same time the group of friends left. Athrun led the assault team through the hills near the Morgenroete facility.
"We're going to move quick and fast on this one. The greens will take on the security crews while we Elites steal the prototypes themselves. Does everyone understand their mission?"
"Understood!" Nicol said. Dearka and Rusty both gave thumbs up while Yzak just smirked.
"Alright, assault team, check your weapons." Athrun said, checking his submachine gun and pistol. They stole quietly into the compound, coming upon the trucks containing the prototypes. "Okay…NOW!" Athrun said. The ZAFT soldiers opened up with a hail of lead.
Lieutenant Murrue Ramius had left to get some coffee when the shooting started. "Damn it! It's ZAFT! They've come for the G-Weapons!" she ran and tripped the alarm button. A couple of greens turned and shot at her. Murrue whipped out her sidearm and shot back.
The alarms in the hanger started to go off and Anthony Picked up the handset on his desk, "Status! WHAT? NOW? FUCK!" He slammed down the receiver, ran out into the main hanger area, "All right ladies and gentlemen looks like ZAFT has pushed up our timetable! An assault team just crashed into the main facility and they're shooting the entire place up!"
The three Storm Wolves dropped everything, and scrambled to collect their gear. "Bad guys coming! Bad guys coming!" Blue hopped around madly. Anthony promptly grabbed the annoying robotic creature.
"I'm really starting to regret coming up with the idea having this thing as my partner! Harmony, you're gonna hitchhike with Hawkeye. You're father will kill me if anything happens to you."
The purple haired tech snorted. "Forget my father, the one you should worry about is my mother. She'll run you over with her BuCUE. If anything I'll get to see how the AWACS GINN fares in its first battle up close and personal."
"Alright." Anthony turned to Sebastian, "Storm, suit up and hit your mark. Do NOT let them get Predator! I doubt we can recover all of them, but at the very least we can ensure they don't get all of them either!"
Sebastian nodded, and made to leave before he turned around, "Anthony...can you pick up the SW-01 for me? I really don't want to leave it behind."
Of course." he nodded opening his personal locker in his office pulling out a duffle bag containing a ZAFT cut flightsuit in pure white, his 9mm Browning High Power handgun and his 7.62 M151 Semi-automatic hi-precision sniper rifle.
Sebastian slid on his forest green flightsuit, checking the slides of his Heckler and Koch .45 USP Tactical and Colt M1911. He took his faithful katana, Fenrir, and slid it onto his gunbelt. He tucked the white helmet under his arm and prepared to leave as his brethren boarded their respective machines. "I'll meet up with you guys at the park with Predator."
"You better or the mission is screwed." Anthony said, just before boarding his GINN. He slid into the familiar pilot seat. He set Blue into the new docking cradle. The screens came to life and the first image was of Sebastian creeping out the door, "Good luck, pup." He whispered. Duncan's Engineer GINN and Shawn's AWACS GINN flanked the White Wolf.
"Sir, did you remember the Boss's little project?" Duncan asked.
"Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me." Anthony replied, grabbing the handle from the bracket on the wall. "I can't believe he went to all this trouble for this one little weapon. It's just a glorified beam saber with a different shape."
Duncan shrugged, "The boss has his own quirks. It is a pretty badass looking weapon though."
"To each their own I suppose," Anthony replied. "Well, Sapper, Hawkeye, let's show the world the Wolves aren't quite dead! Sapper, make a door!"
Duncan grinned a mile wide, raising his rifle, cocking the underslung shotgun. "Fire in the hole!" the crack from the shotgun tore the massive hanger doors off their hinges.
"Big hole! Big hole!" Blue beeped excitedly.
"Let's go bust some heads boys! AURRRRROOOOOO!" The Arctic White Wolf howled. The three machines lumbered out, ready for combat. He sighed contentedly. "The sweet smell of combat. I haven't tasted it in a long time. Hawkeye, take to the skies and give us a visual. Sapper, you're with me. Let's make our way to the park so we can meet up with Storm Wolf."
"Roger that." Both Storm Wolves replied. The AWACS GINN ignited its engines and took off to the sky. The Engineer GINN cocked the shotgun. The LRRT heaved its new long barreled beam rifle.
"It's time to hunt." Anthony grunted.
As the Wolves got ready to make their move, the ZAFT squad far away from Heliopolis was putting their own plans into motion.
"It looks like we're too late." The white clad commander remarked.
"It does not matter. This is close enough. Again, I thank you gentlemen for rescuing me and nursing me back to health. It's now time to rejoin my pack." The blonde woman replied, now clad in a standard ZAFT red flightsuit with helmet under her arm. "Rau had better be weary. I'm coming for him."
"Give him hell, Lieutenant DeMarchais." The captain replied. Gabrielle DeMarchais, formerly of the Storm Wolves smirked.
"Oh I intend to, Captain Anderson. Rau left us to die, and became a hero built on the sacrifice of our packmates. It's time for him to reap what he has sown." The blonde's ice blue eyes glinted. "I cannot thank you, enough, Nathan, and you…Mark. For all you've done for me."
Mark Lamperouge, the Crimson Fox, took Gabrielle's hand and kissed it gently. "There's no need for that. Go, and rejoin your fellow wolves, my dear. Sebastian is going to need all the help he can get. I know he will be overjoyed to see you alive again." Nathan Anderson, Mark's flag captain, said no words, merely giving a small nod.
"I know someone else who will be very glad to see me as well. Captain Anderson, Commander Lamperouge, I take my leave of you now." Gabrielle walked out with a graceful stride and headed to the hanger where her GINN, painted in the pearl white and forest green of the Storm Wolves awaited. She climbed into the cockpit, and started up her pre-flight checklist. The GINN moved to the Aurora's linear catapult.
"Gabrielle DuMarchais…taking off!" She rocketed out into space and made straight for the colony. "Wait for me everyone. I'm coming as fast as I can."
Heliopolis
Kira was walking through his worst nightmare. When the teens, Cagalli and Lacus included, left the lab they found their peaceful home under siege by ZAFT. GINNs shooting at all military structures and military personnel. A few of the more bloodthirsty pilots even targeted civilians, not caring if they were Naturals and Coordinators. Flay screamed when a defense helicopter crashed near them, and Miriallia was sobbing hysterically.
"How could they do this? This is a neutral colony!" Kuzzey panicked, going into a full-blown freakout. "We're all going to die! We're all going to die! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE! I'VE NEVER EVEN DONE IT WITH A GIRL!" Cagalli finally had enough, wound up and slugged Kuzzey clean in the jaw.
"CHILL OUT! No one is going to die! You…" she pointed to Kira. "You're going to come with me! I may need your help. Ana," she turned to Lacus, "Lead the others to the park, some…friends of ours are going to meet there. We can hitch a ride with them."
"Kira…" Flay said, she gave him a passionate kiss. "Be safe…" she whispered. Cagalli rolled her eyes and took off for the RSF hanger, Kira hot on her heels. She pounded her fist on the door in frustration when she saw it was empty. "They're already gone! Come on, we need to get the main hanger!"
"Wait a minute! This place is a warzone! Shouldn't we be heading for a shelter or something? " Kira huffed.
"I came here to pick something up! I'm not leaving without it!" She shook her head. "Ana said you're good with computers. I may your expertise to get the thing up and running." The two arrived at the Morgenroete facility. Cagalli's heart sank when she saw the ZAFT assault team exchanging fire with the security forces.
"Looks like we're too late!" Kira said. Cagalli paid him no heed, noticing one of the trucks containing a Gundam.
"Come on! That's our ride!" Cagalli said, grabbing Kira's hand and making for the machine. On the other side of the truck, Lieutenant Murrue Ramius opened fire with a hail of lead, cutting down one of the green clad troopers. A stray bullet hit the man next to her. Gritting her teeth, Murrue looked for the source of the attack, a pilot in red. Not hesitating for a second, she raised her rifle and shot twice in the chest, sending him to the ground.
"They got Rusty!" Athrun yelled. He tried to shoot Murrue, but his SMG jammed. Throwing it down, he drew his combat knife and went to stab her. Kira and Cagalli came around the corner at that very moment.
"Hey, Stop!" Kira cried out. The two turned to see the source of the voice. Violet eyes met emerald, two old friends met for the first time in years.
"Athrun?" The brunette couldn't believe his eyes. Of all the ways he envisioned reuniting with his old friend, he didn't think it would be in the middle of a warzone, while he was trying to kill someone.
"Kira?" he replied. The two would have continued to stare at each other until a massive explosion went off. Murure took the chance to raise her pistol and hit Athrun. Making full use of his enhanced reflexes, he leapt out of the way and ran for one of the other Gundams.
"That was…" Kira said. He didn't have time to finish as Murrue grabbed both and Cagalli by the arms and dragged them into the nearby mobile suit.
"What are you two doing in this place? This is a secure military facility! You two are lucky you didn't get shot!" Murrue snapped at Kira and Cagalli, as she started up the computer. The eyes flashed and turned a brilliant yellow. The mobile suit sat up, breaking the straps holding it in place. It started stumbling out of the hanger like a punch-drunk fighter.
Morgenroete, Main Hanger
Sebastian clung to the wall, His dark green flightsuit blending in with the shadows. The Storm Wolf was almost to his objective, the hanger containing the sixth prototype, the Predator. He slid into the hanger, finding it unattended. Quickly boarding the machine, he started the pre-flight sequence. "Oh dear god! What kind of OS were these people using? Well, luckily for me I have the cure!" He pulled out a flash drive and slid it into the USB port. "Thank you for having this done ahead of time, Harmony!"
The middle Lamperouge daughter was part of the software design team, and while the other areas of production were going quite smoothly, they were still having a lot of problems on getting a working operating system, or rather a working Natural-compatible operating system. They'd already got an OS for Coordinators up and running, and Harmony was kind enough to provide Seb and Anthony with copies so they'd be able to expedite their getaway. The OS startup screen commenced.
Mobile Suit Operation System
/Version NV8-N099/
General
Unilateral
Neuro-link
Dispersive
Autonomic
Manuever
G.U.N.D.A.M Synthesis System
O.M.N.I Enforcer
GAT-X108 PREDATOR.
He hit the button for the phase-shift armor, the colors changed. The limbs were now pearl white and a brilliant dark forest green adorned the torso. He grabbed the 57mm beam rifle and forest green anti-beam shield mounted on the wall, "Sebastian Connor, Predator, now departing!" The Predator tromped out to see a couple of GINNs blasting away at AA emplacements. The Strike also left its hanger at the same moment. "What the?" The Storm Wolf remarked at the sight of the stumbling mobile suit.
Private Miguel Aiman, the Magic Bullet of Dusk, thought the same thing when the strange mobile suit emerged. "I don't think he's running on all cylinders!" He chuckled to himself. "Athrun! Are you in that thing?" he got his answer when a third machine, which Sebastian identified as the GAT-X303 Aegis emerged.
"Miguel!" The elite's voice called out. "They got Rusty! A Natural managed to get that machine!"
"Damn! Alright then, head on back to the ship! This one's mine!" The GINN brandished his machine gun and heavy sword. "Alright Natural! Let's see what that fancy new machine of yours can do against the likes of me!" The Aegis turned a brilliant red, and flew away.
Watching from a distance, and listening on the ZAFT frequency, Sebastian took stock of the situation, "Athrun…so he's here. The Magic Bullet of Dusk is part of this operation too. It seems Rau's done some serious recruiting since we've been away." His attention was focused on the stumbling G-Weapon. "Looks like ZAFT didn't get their hands on that one. I should notify, Anthony." He switched over the RSF's private channel.
"Storm Wolf to White Wolf, I've reached the objective and I'm on my way to the rendezvous point, but I have a little problem. I've got a couple of GINNs in my way, and what appears to be one of the prototypes. I think an Earth Forces pilot may be inside. Please advise!"
A voice came back over the radio. "Storm this is White. Switch to Scanner setting four-two-three-seven-seven. Hawkeye is in the air and we are on route."
"Acknowledged!" He replied, continuing to observe the battle.
Murrue grunted as she tried to evade Miguel's strikes. "Ha! Pathetic!" the Magic Bullet sneered. He locked on with his machine gun. "This is for Rusty!"
Kira took that moment to step in. "Move it if you don't want to die!" He pushed Murrue out of the seat. He rolled his eyes in disgust as he looked at the second rate programming used. "What kind of OS were you people using?" He remarked, pulling out the keyboard and rapidly hitting the keys as he wrote the OS.
"This really isn't the time to be complaining about such things!" Cagalli remarked.
"Anthony, do you want to try and grab that prototype before ZAFT does? It would probably be a good idea before they do anymore damage than they already have!"
"Four of six have been captured!" Anthony replied.
"I'll take that as a yes! Storm Wolf, engaging!" He replied. Predator broke in a run. "I hope I can do this!"
"Ha! This is a piece of cake! You never had a chance against me!" Miguel snarled, raising his weapon.
"Press the green button!" Murrue said to Kira. He noticed a button marked "Phase-Shift" on the panel. He pressed it. With a dull hum and flash, the mobile suit underwent a startling change. The once gunmetal gray was replaced by a strident white with a blue torso. Miguel opened fire and the bullets sprayed off the armor.
"What the hell?" Miguel's eyes bulged. He fired again to the same effect. "Alright then, let's go for up close!" He brandished his sword.
"It's finished!" Kira said. The new OS thrummed to life. He grasped the controls. "It's payback time!" A massive change took place in the Strike's movements. It quit stumbling about and nimbly evaded the massive broadsword much to both Sebastian and Miguel's surprise. "What do we have for weapons?" He checked the inventory. "75mm CIWS, and…combat knives? That's it?" He quickly pulled out the folding knives.
"Is he crazy engaging someone like Miguel with those toothpicks? Oh that's it, I've got to help him!" Sebastian said. He started checking his own weaponry. "Storm Wolf to White Wolf, where are you guys?"
"We're a kilometer out! ESM online, and I've got a shot!" Anthony said.
"Hold your position! There's been a change of plans! White Wolf…do you have my baby?" Sebastian asked.
"Affirmative! Duncan has it and he's on route! He's heading out your three o'clock angle forty-five degrees!" The White Wolf replied. Duncan came jogging over the hill.
"Here you go, Boss!" the sapper tossed it to him. Sebastian said nothing, hitching it to where the beam rifle usually went.
"What do you want to now, Pup?" Anthony asked.
Instead of replying directly, Sebastian raised his beam rifle, fired one shot, went to an open channel and let off the hunting cry of the Timber Wolf. "AURRRRRRRLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOO!" That got everybody's attention!
"That sound!" Miguel's eyes widened. He looked around frantically. Sebastian ignited Predator's engines, making a quick hop and putting himself between the Strike and Miguel's GINN. "Another prototype? It's you, isn't it…Commander Connor!"
"That's right, Miguel Aiman! It's me! And you of all people should I'm not alone! Commander Russo, Lieutenant Mason, and Lieutenant Cooper are here as well! I'm sorry to say, you're NOT taking this machine! It's now the property of the Orb Union's Rapid Strike Force! You want it, you've gotta go through me pal!"
Anthony contributed by firing a shot from range and cutting the GINN's sword clean in half. "The Wolf's true strength has always been in its pack. You're good, Miguel, but you can't stand up to all of us alone."
"The Arctic White Wolf! Both of the Twin Wolves are here! Well, I'm not leaving here empty handed!" Miguel raised his rifle.
"I didn't expect you to listen to reason anyway!" Sebastian tossed the beam saber handle to the Strike. "Kid, catch!"
"What the?" Kira asked, taking the weapon. A curved blade of green energy flared out, curving into a large energy based version of Sebastian's weapon of choice.
The Storm Wolf of Jachin Due looked on with pride, "Say hello to the SW-01 Masamune Beam Katana. I intended it for myself, but I think you may need it more than me, what with only having the CIWS and those combat knives. Anthony, get ready!"
The sniper smirked. "On target and firing!" He cocked the rifle, and did a double tap. The emerald green bolts lashed out, one slagging the rifle, the other taking out the knee joint. Miguel stumbled forward. Kira didn't hesitate. He wound up the Masamune, stabbing clean through the battery. The entire machine shut down.
"Damn it! Well, you're not getting me that easy!" Miguel snarled. He hit the self-destruct and bailed out. "You've won this round! But I'll be back! And next time it'll be with MY GINN!"
Predator turned to face the Strike, joined by the three GINNs. "Not bad, Kid. Not bad at all." The Storm Wolf commented. The image of a young man with violet eyes and brown hair came on the screen.
"Uh, thank you. My name is Kira Yamato. I really didn't intend for it to happen. I just didn't want to get killed because of the bad OS this thing was using. It was a miracle I was able to rewrite it in the middle of all that shooting!" The Twin Wolves eyes widened at this comment.
"Wait what? You…rewrote the Strike's OS in just these last few seconds?" Sebastian asked.
"Yeah he did…I saw him do it." Cagalli said, climbing over the seat so she could see Sebastian on the monitor. She then saw Lacus, Flay, and the other students come running up. "Your friends are coming. It looks like they're all okay."
Sebastian took a moment to digest this new information. "Mr. Yamato, perhaps we should speak face to face." He turned the monitor off. "Hoo boy, this is going to get really sticky!"