Eyes in Seed
I do not own the rights to Gundam Seed or Gundam Build Fighter/Try. All characters that are not mine are owned by their respective series creators. Please enjoy.
Chapter 03
Finally allowed to leave the brig, Adam retired to a private quarters assigned to him by the captain. It seemed pilots got their own rooms. Well seeing as there were only three on board… "Perks of the job," he whispered, staring at himself in the mirror. He felt sick, and for a good reason. He hadn't eaten since he arrived. That was nearly a day ago now. "A day," he repeated that line of thought. A whole day so far since he started dabbling in a game to change gunpla battles only to transport himself to another universe that until that day ago, he thought was fiction. "Giant robots, space battles… death and destruction…" He shook those thoughts away, not needing to travel down that road. "Stay focus. Remember the plan." Easy to say, hard to follow though. Not exactly easy shaking off the thought of taking a life. But Adam was quickly able to put his mind on other matters.
First was dealing with Admiral Halberton. So far Adam's main line of thinking was convincing the man he was on their side. And gripping the GP Base in his hand, Adam could only think of pulling a really big lie out of his ass with enough evidence to back it up. His GP Base had tons of data that was required for the project to work. Namely mobile suit designs and technical specs. Most from the Seed universe in general while others were for his Gunpla. 1.5 hadn't bee his first choice bit it was one of his favorites. If he showed enough to the admiral, he could perhaps secure his spot on the Archangel.
Halberton had already boarded the ship some time ago. Almost immediately when the Archangel had joined with the 8th. Murrue, Mu, Natarle and Adam himself would be meeting with the man, and Adam could not hide his nervousness. He kept tugging at the collar of the Alliance uniform he managed to find in his size. He never liked things buttoned up to his neck so decided to go for a laid back look much like Mu. He did keep the jig line straight though. Had given it a good iron before hand to keep those straight seams.
Again he found himself staring into the mirror, and taking note of his appearance. He couldn't help but chuckle. "Well dad. I'm in a uniform. You always wanted me to enlist." He looked down at himself, arms out to the sides slightly. "Guess this counts…"
He turned and marched towards the door… well floated in a slight hurry to the door. It opened with a hiss and he moved out into the open hall. Found it slightly vacant of life, but further down he could hear the sounds of celebration from the civilians they had brought on board. That also brought up the thought of his second plan, talking with Kira and convincing him to stay aboard. Most likely his friends would be getting their formal 'discharge' papers by now, him included. And Adam highly doubted Flay would be staying on board the ship to manipulate Kira or seek her revenge for a father that isn't dead. "Now thinking on it, maybe I should have left him dead. Would make this a hell of a lot easier."
"Make what easier?"
Adam gagged slightly in surprise and spun around to see Kira, the boy himself. "Hey, Kira," Adam said, forgetting the bit of sweat that began to form on his forehead. He gave a sigh and scratched at the back of his head. "Just thinking that maybe I should have destroyed that ship when I arrived. Maybe we wouldn't have to deal with it later." Kira frowned at the notion of destroying the ship Athrun was on, his eyes casts to the floor. Adam noticed and frowned at himself for making the boy upset. "But I guess if I had, we wouldn't have gotten Lacus off the ship, am I right?"
The boy's mood lifted, his head raised ever slightly. "That is true."
"Maybe it was fate that I didn't," he spoke, lying as per usual. Couldn't exactly tell him he wanted to see how he fared against Rau Le Creuset when the whole thing seemed like a game… Adam paused as a thought came to mind and he looked to Kira dead in the eye. "Maybe even destiny." Sounded less corny in my head. Guess I'll push the second plan ahead of schedule.
Kira blinked at the older pilot. "What do you mean?"
"I'm a firm believer in destiny, Kira. Things happening for a reason. But I also believe people can change their destiny. That a human being has the power to choose their own fate. Take you for example."
"Me?"
"Yes, you. You're a civilian who was attending a technical school of advance science and technology, and then the next your piloting a mobile suit, saving your friends and boarding a prototype ship with unknown adventures and dangers ahead of you." Adam crossed his arms. "Sounds like the kind thing you'd read in a book, am I right?"
Kira cracked a small smile, and that got Adam to grin. "Maybe. I mean, it sounds adventurous, but… all the fighting. The people who died…"
Adam frowned. "Never said it was a pretty adventure. Its dirty, and grim. But along the way you may find yourself doing extraordinary things. Things no man could ever do. Things that even you couldn't believe you could do. Listen down the hall," he said, turning down to where the celebration was. He looked to see Kira float closer. "You hear that? Those people are alive. Not because of the ship, or fate. They're alive because of you," he moved and pointed at Kira's chest, "saved them. Not just your friends, or the captain, or Mu, but innocent people like Lacus who got caught up in all of this. You acted as a shield with a weapon that was made to be just that, a weapon."
"But I don't want to fight." Kira stiffened slightly as the volume in his voice increased. "I don't want to kill."
"Then don't."
Kira turned sharp to Adam, eyes wide as he looked at the smooth grin Adam gave. "What?"
"Don't." Adam shrugged in the direction down the hall. "Just go. But even if you leave the war will continue and those people down there," he said pointing down the hall, "will continue to worry that their next home may be hit in a crossfire. And you'll be in the same position as them."
"But my home is ORB! They're neutral in this war…"
Adam's appearance became stern and seemed to tower over Kira slightly, causing the boy to snap shut as he spoke. "They WERE neutral till the Plants and ZAFT learned they were building mobile suits not only for the Alliance but for themselves." Adam had no other choice but to reveal something a little soon to the boy, but he hoped, prayed, that this might push him in the right direction he needed.
Kira gasped, floating back a bit from Adam. "There's no way… Orb wouldn't…"
"I've got the proof," Adam said, withdrawing his GP Base. He scrolled through the files till he found one of the infamous MBF-P02 Astray Red Frame, minus its future evolutions and katana. He moved over and showed the machine to Kira, and the boy's eyes widened. "I've got data on all the machines the Alliance AND Orb built. Though considering we don't have one of their prototypes on board, I can only guess they were all destroyed." Of course Adam knew they weren't destroyed. He knew that each machine fell into the hands of certain individuals.
"But… why…"
"Orb can't remain on the sidelines forever Kira. Eventually either the Alliance or the Plants will come knocking on their front door looking to take over." He took and switched off the GP Base, storing it in his back pocket. "And when it happens, and it will, you'll find yourself in the middle of it, running to a shelter that may or may not hold against a bombardment from battleships or mobile suits." Adam pushed off and floated off in the direction the meeting would be held. He turned and looked to Kira. "When that happens you may ask yourself 'could I have done something to prevent this?'" Cryptic in a way, but it was all Adam could think of for the moment. Maybe later he'll take Bright Noa's approach and slap the shit out of him if he doesn't come around.
EYES
Flay sat in the lounge with her friends, hands in her lap and eyes at the table. Her father was pretty angry at the captain for her being lenient with Kira and Adam. He had spat and belittle Kira for being a Coordinator and had said that had Adam not been there, Kira would have probably ran off with the other Coordinators. Of course when he heard Adam was taking the blame for the whole ordeal and covering for Kira, George had gone on some other tangent. Flay had long ago left and had ran to the company of Sai and the rest of their friends. She hardly saw Kira, who had kept to himself upon his return to the ship. Tolle had tried speaking with him but Kira had kindly asked him to leave him alone.
"Flay?"
The redhead blinked and looked up to see the worried look on her friends faces. "Yes?"
Sai sitting next to her, placed his hand on hers. "Are you okay? You've been pretty quiet lately."
"Yea, Flay," Miriallia said from across the table from her friend. "You can talk to us."
Her eyes fell to the table again. "I was just wondering what was going to happen next, really. With us. With Kira."
Tolle gave a shrug, leaning on the table with his elbows. "We'll probably leave with the other civilians and head to earth, Kira included. I can't see him wanting to stay."
"Yea," Sai agreed with a nod. "Kira's done enough for us. He deserves to leave and have a normal life away from all of this."
"But what about the captain and the crew?" Flay asked. The group looked away from one another, not sure what to think on that. "With us gone, they'll be short on staff. And without Kira, Mr. Winslow will be the only mobile suit pilot onboard."
Tolle sighed, rubbing at the back of his neck. "I do kinda feel a little bad leaving the ship. Don't know what to say about the other pilot though. As long as he's been aboard, I haven't really spoken to him."
"You and Kuzzey are the only ones then," Miriallia said, looking to her boyfriend. "He seems like a pretty nice guy. Though I think he's a bit over confident."
"What do you mean?"
"I saw a recording of the hand off of that Lacus Clyne girl. He rushed in the moment the exchange looked to go south. I think the mobile suit he was going to attack was the one that attacked Heliopolis."
"Maybe he knew he could take him."
"Other than that," Sai said, looking at the group. "He seems capable. Though I have heard some rumors around the ship."
Miriallia perked up. "Oh, you mean like the one where he's a spy for the Alliance?"
Flay blinked. "A spy?"
"Yea! One of the security guards that watched over him overheard him speaking with the captain and Mu. Mu said he didn't believe him, but that Adam all but claimed he was a something called a 'spook'."
"I don't know." Sai leaned back, crossing his arms. "He doesn't look like the type to me either." He looked to Flay and then back to the others. "To be honest, I kind of don't trust him myself either."
Flay blinked and turned to Sai. "What do you mean?"
Sai shrugged and shook his head. "I don't know. The way he acts makes me think he's hiding something. He acts all friendly with us as if he knows us."
"Sounds like a spy to me," Kuzzey said, who had been silent up until that point. "Acts like he belongs, gets along with everyone while holding onto secrets." He frowned as his mind started to wander on the subject.
"You're not thinking he's a spy for the Plants do you?" Flay asked, looking to her friends in worry. She didn't like the idea of them not believing in the man who saved her father. "If he was a Coordinator spy, why would he help us?"
"Flay, we didn't say that," Sai said, trying to calm his fiancé down. He wouldn't admit it, but he felt a bit jealous each time she spoke so highly of their enigmatic pilot. "It's just that he holds so many secrets from everyone, its kinda hard to trust the guy."
"Ever think he has to?" Flay said, looking Sai in the eyes. "If he's a spy for the Alliance, there may be things he can't talk about with anyone. A burden he has to carry, you know?"
No one could really respond to that. How could they ask someone to reveal confidential information just because they managed to get onboard a prototype military ship with experimental weapons.
EYES
Natarle examined herself in the mirror. Her uniform was in perfect condition. She even made sure her hat was in the proper position to be worn. Looking to her watch she saw it was drawing near for the debriefing with Admiral Halberton and his thoughts on their reports. She had spent many hours revising her report to make sure it was in proper order, and though it pained her so, pointed out many flaws within the crew and its chain of command. She didn't like it, but it was her job to be thorough and precise about what had happened since Heliopolis. However she didn't feel too bad when it came to Ensign Adam Winslow; the trouble maker mobile suit pilot that arrived out of thin air to save them from utter destruction, along with one ship from the advance fleet that had come to escort them to the 8th fleet. She was unfortunate, or fortunate depending on how you saw it, that she hadn't met the pilot face to face. Only word of mouth till he aided young Kira Yamato in Lacus Clyne's transfer from the Archangel.
And after hearing what Mu La Flaga and Murrue Ramius said about him, she had to agree. He did not look like an Alliance intelligence officer, though he claimed to be one. And his skills in the mysterious mobile suit, the Eyes he called it, were above anything a Natural could do without a proper working OS and perhaps months of training. Maybe a year at the most.
While unconscious, blood work was done and it was only confirmed an hour ago that he was in fact a Natural, along with a few other things. Nothing outstanding, but his blood work showed he had a bit of a high cholesterol. Appearance wise he looked like a normal young man you'd see walking down the sidewalk or in a basic vehicle with friends or a loved one of sorts. His mannerisms fluctuated from proper to annoying at the drop of a hat however, leaving her thinking he was hiding something, obvious by his constant abuse use of the word 'classified'.
But she could not deny that he seemed willing to aid them, obvious by his forward attack on ZAFT. Not to mention his quick response to face, from what they heard over an open channel by Lacus Clyne, was none other than Rue Le Creuset. A part of her wanted to see how he would have fared against the ZAFT pilot.
Shaking her head of the thought, she double checked her uniform for the third time and adjusted her hat. Satisfied, she exited her room and entered the corridor. She saw it was clear. Not wanting to be late she moved on down, floating gently down towards the meeting room where the Admiral and the others would arrive.
It wasn't a very long trek however. Most officer's quarters were close by for convenience. She was prepared to see the door closed and waiting. However she wasn't prepared for seeing the enigmatic pilot she was thinking of earlier. He stood before the door, eyes so focused that he looked ready to burn a hole through it with his gaze. His lips were silently moving, muttering something he could only hear. A mantra of sorts perhaps? Strange for a man like him. But he was still a mystery on the ship.
As she approached, Natarle couldn't help but frown at his attire. His uniform was completely out of line. It reminded her of Mu and at that thought she rolled her eyes. Like we need two of him on board, she thought, touching down next to the man. She blinked, having to look up slightly to him. He was actually only a few inches taller than her, and one or two shorter than Mu. She took in his posture, and had expected him to be slouching. Instead his shoulders were back with his back straight. His breathing looked to be leveled as he continued to focus on the door.
Arching a brow, she looked to the door then back to the pilot. "Ensign Winslow?" Adam blinked and turned, the seriousness on his face vanishing instantly as he took notice of Natarle. His jaw slacked slightly as he stared, and Natarle found herself a bit uncomfortable under his gaze. "Something wrong?"
He looked away, clearing his throat as he shook himself loose. "Sorry about that. Just gathering my wits," he said, rotating his left shoulder. "Not good with meeting higher authority figures. Get nervous," he added with a shy grin. He looked back to Natarle, seeing her stare daggers into him. "Sorry for staring. Its just you have nice eyes."
Natarle felt her cheeks warm up slightly and quickly looked to the door, pushing off towards it. "Despite your appearance, we need to go in so to start the meeting."
"Understood," Adam replied with a serious tone behind it. It took some serious will power to not examine her backside.
The door opened with a hiss, much like each and every door onboard the ship, and the two entered. There waiting was Murrue and Mu, both standing in front of two others. One was obviously none other than the Admiral himself and an accompanying staff member. An aid maybe? The minute Natarle and Adam touched down, they both quickly saluted.
Murrue noted how sharp Adam was to salute the minute his feet touched the floor. Nearly as fast as Natarle. Though his appearance could use some work. Even Mu had taken the time to straighten up his uniform to proper standards.
"Sir, Ensign Natarle Badgiruel reporting, sir!"
"Ensign Adam Winslow reporting, sir!"
Mu tried not to laugh, seeing the two side by side. It was like looking at polar opposites considering their state of dress.
Halberton returned the salute. "At-ease," he said, eyes looking from Natarle to Adam. His eyes lingered on the supposed spy. He moved to take a seat while his aid remained standing to the side of the admiral. Halberton held a tablet in his hand, his free hand scrolling its surface as he glanced over the reports he was given by the men and women before him. Well, man and women. Considering there were four people in front of him, he had only received three reports. The one missing belonged to the one that the other three spoke of frequently as a possible friend or foe. Halberton looked to the young man, finding his eyes locked with his. He could clearly see the others looking between the two, but Halberton's focus was purely on Adam.
While Adam kept a cool appearance on the outside, he was sweating profusely on the inside. He kept his body relaxed, though he so badly wanted to grip something as a safety line. He had purposely skipped writing a report as part of his plan. The only thing though was the old admiral going to buy it?
Halberton blinked, which threw Adam off, and looked back down to the tablet. "Let's begin with what took place at Heliopolis."
EYES
Rue Le Creuset once again found himself studying the mysterious mobile suit on the tactical display. This time from footage taken from his personal CGUE. The machine, who's face reminded Rue of an owl, stared at him. Again the machine seemed to dare him, no, CHALLENGE him to make a move. It would seem the pilot, this Adam Winslow that Lacus had called out to, had some sort of grudge against him. The name was unfamiliar with Rue. Perhaps he had killed someone personal to the pilot in battle? Who knew. What got his attention the most though was his control over the machine. The bow, though simple, was fluid as if the machine was alive. That kind of control by a Natural was unheard of. And according to Lacus' testimony, Adam was indeed a Natural, not a Coordinator as he had thought.
Had the Alliance made an OS that could be used by their forces? he wondered, again staring at the machine once more. He had questioned Lacus further. Gently of course. He wouldn't dare interrogate her in a harsh manner. Especially with Athrun Zala onboard. But Lacus was willing to answer any question she could. And it didn't go unmissed by Rue when Lacus mentioned the pilot of the Strike, a young man named Kira Yamato. Seemed familiar to Rue but he ignored it when his questions again went to the one called Adam. He thought it fitting, a Natural named from the supposed first man to be created by God. Born from red clay, he thought. And the name of this mobile suit. Lacus had heard Adam call it out upon launch. "The Eyes Gundam."
Athrun arrived shortly, looking relieved. He had finally said his goodbyes to Lacus, who was currently en route back to the Plants, and could now focus on the task at hand. They were currently under quick repairs with the assistance of two other ships that had joined alongside them. Soon they would be joining the rest of the fleet in order to capture or destroy the legged ship. Of course from what their reports said, they were currently under the protection of the 8th Fleet and though their growing numbers would be enough to face Halberton's fleet, it would not be an easy battle.
Once again Athrun found himself looking at the face of the G-weapon now titled the Eyes. He wouldn't lie that he found it slightly intimidating, considering that its angular face seemed to stare directly into your soul. Not to mention its size. What they could pick up visually, since their scanners were somehow jammed by the machine, the machine was a good few meters taller than your average mobile suit. And he had a feeling that it still held secrets that were yet to be revealed. "What are we to do about this new machine, sir?" he asked, looking the Rau.
Rau leaned away from the table, hand resting to his chin in thought. "I haven't received word on the report I gave. I'm sure they still trying to figure out the machine's origins, not to mention the identity of the pilot I gave. But I will assume that the orders will be the same. We either capture it or destroy it. I'm inclined for the latter of the two, seeing as it would be difficult to capture it."
Athrun nodded, looking back at the Eyes' image. "Probably for the best."
"In the meantime, get some rest. The attack will commence in a few hours, and we'll need you well rested. Once the battle starts, you will be paired again with your teammates."
"I had heard Yzak had taken some injuries from his last encounter with the Strike. I haven't seen how bad though."
Rau nodded. "Some slight scaring. Along with his pride. He'll be fine, Athrun."
Athrun nodded, leaving the bridge with his thoughts focusing on the pilot of the Strike. Their exchanging of words too. He didn't want to, but it looked like he was going to have to shoot down the Strike. Along with Kira inside.
EYES
Back on the Archangel, the young teens were grouped together with Arnold Neumann. He was currently handing out papers to the kids, who were confused as to what they were being given. "They're discharge papers," he said to them.
"Discharge?" Tolle asked, looking over the documents he was given.
Arnold gave a nod as he handed one to Sai. "It's illegal for civilians to participate in combat operations. To solve this problem, we arranged things so that it will appear that you were enlisted as volunteer soldiers when you came aboard. And now that you are leaving, you will be discharged."
As he handed out the last form, he took notice of the Allster girl standing to the back slightly, head dipped down in thought. He didn't give her one, considering she had taken part in any battles, but he wondered why she looked so down.
EYES
A few hours had passed and Halberton was still focusing on the others in the room. Adam wondered what the old man had planned. Not a single question was directed at him as they went on with the debriefing. Some things got heated at one point when it came to Kira and his stance on the ship. Murrue of course said he should be allowed to leave if it is his choosing. Mu agreed. Natarle on the other hand had said it would be better if he stayed, considering his skills would be too valuable to loose at this juncture. Adam agreed internally. Adam knew what Kira was capable of, but kept it to himself. It wasn't his place to say a child should fight, but Adam REALLY wanted to, considering what he can do with a mobile suit. Halberton's aid had agreed, even going to far as to mention they keep some of his friends onboard as an means to insure his stay. The admiral however didn't like it one bit, and made his point very clear they would not do such a thing to a civilian.
Adam was surprised however when he was asked for his opinion on the matter. He tried to hide his nervousness the minute all eyes were on him. Great. He looked to be thoughtful for a second. "Unfortunately a part of me agrees that we need his help."
That got everyone's attention.
"Ensign!" Murrue called, looking shocked as she has been since he arrived.
Adam held up a hand. "Let me finish, please." He kept his voice down so not to shout, and the act seemed to work as she visibly calmed down, but still stared daggers at him. "I said a part of me." He looked each one in the eye before turning back to Halberton. "The Alliance part of me that is. The other part of me however, who has been around civilians long enough thinks it wouldn't be right for him to stay." Adam let out a sigh and shrugged. "He's a kid. His biggest worry should be asking a girl out on a date, not making sure his mobile suit is combat ready. But he chose to get inside a mobile suit. He chose to fight up till this point. I think its up to him to decide what he wants to do."
The room was silent following his answer, and everyone in the room was no longer focused on him, instead mulling over his words.
It was the Halberton who broke the silence. "That will be all for the time being."
…What?
Everyone seemed to share Adam's thought when they all stared at the admiral. He looked back at all of them and said, "You are dismissed." They all shared glances and began to file out. "You will stay, Ensign Winslow."
Crap. Again Adam felt all eyes on him. Murrue looked worried for him for a second. Mu looked surprised and Natarle didn't know what to think it seemed. Halberton's aid remained, till he told him to leave as well. What's going on here? After a few choice words with the aid, the man left and soon it was just Adam and Halberton. "Sir?" was all he could say. What else could he say at the moment?
"In their reports you are constantly referred to as an alliance spy. And with the blood test presented, you are clearly a Natural. But your machine, plus your appearance have made them very nervous around you. Not to mention you holding secrets." He laced his fingers together and rested them on the table before him. "You can see where I'm heading with this, correct?"
Time to go to work. "secrets I'm willing to share with you, and only you, sir."
Halberton arched a brow. "Is that so?"
Adam nodded, and marched over to a flat panel screen in the wall. Producing his GP-Base, Adam drew out a USB cable and ran it to the screen. Thank God USB is used in all dimensions! The screen came on as did a holographic screen on the GP-Base. The admiral watched Adam type away on the small device and then looked to the screen, eyes widening as he took notice of what looked like tech readouts and schematics for the GAT series mobile suits, along with some others he had never seen or heard of before.
"What you are looking at were ideas that never made it off the drawing board, sir," Adam lied, looking to Halberton. "Even some new Strike packs that didn't make it into production or required too much power for the MS to handle." Not entirely true. Some were infect Stiker packs that were never used, some haven't been made yet, and some were more a custom build for Gunpla uses that he had made himself. "But that's not what I'm wanting to show you." Adam flipped a few more times, scrolling through his database till he landed on the Eyes. Flicking to a sub category, Adam paused and looked to the admiral.
Looking at comparison images, Halberton was able to see that the image on the screen, broken down into parts, was the same cone shaped device that was mounted on the back of the unknown G-weapon. "What exactly am I looking at?"
"That, sir, is called a GN Drive. Also known as a solar reactor or solar furnace." Adam shrugged. "It has a number of names but those are the most frequent."
"And what about this GN Drive?"
And here's the pitch. "The GN Drive, admiral, is a semi-perpetual generator. This one scaled for installation in a mobile suit."
Halberton blinked. "Semi-perpetual?"
"So long as it isn't pushed beyond its breaking point, the GN Drive supplies power for a theoretically infinite period of time." Adam then switched off the GP-Base and unplugged it from the display. He looked to the silent Halberton and said, "Meaning my mobile suit never runs out of power. It is self sustaining, clean energy."
That caused the admiral's jaw to drop. "Self generating energy?"
Adam nodded. "Yes sir. And its non-nuclear, so N-Jammers have no effect on it." He moved and sat back down in front of the admiral, hands resting in his lap. "I oversaw the construction of the machine, but the GN Drive was hush-hush. All I know is that any machine equipped with one can continue to function without needing to stop and use an external source to recharge."
"I think I would have recalled such a thing considering that I was all for the construction of the G-weapons. So tell me why I was never informed of such a thing."
Adam closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Because it wasn't exactly the Alliance that funded the development." He looked to the admiral. "It was Blue Cosmos."
Halberton snarled and leaned back in his chair, eying Adam. "Blue Cosmos built it?"
"Funded it actually. It was a think tank placed alongside the G-weapon project that was to design new and better weapons. What they felt could be easily mass produced they threw to their sister project, such as the GAT series. But Blue Cosmos wanted to keep the more… exotic projects to themselves for their own private use."
"Like this GN Drive."
"Correct. Only one was made, tested on a machine similar to the Strike in appearance. Then it was stripped and remade into the Eyes." Adam shifted slightly, eyes looking to the floor. "I won't lie, admiral." He couldn't help the irony in that statement. "I was affiliated with Blue Cosmos up until the attack on Heliopolis. The GN Drive is far too important to just let be used as a weapon."
"So you stole it instead of securing it like you told Lt. Ramius?"
"At the time… I wasn't sure if Ramius and her crew could be trusted, till I learned Mr. Yamato was a Coordinator helping protect this ship, its crew and the civilians. But still, some crew may be in league with Blue Cosmos and I couldn't risk the truth getting out."
Halberton looked to the table before him, eyes looking focused on something else till he looked back to Adam. "What are your plans with his machine and its technology?"
Adam slumped slightly. "For the time being, its to guard this ship and its crew. Once down on earth though, I don't know. I have the only copy of the specs and prototype of the drive and its technology. I can't let it fall into the wrong hands, but I can't simply destroy it without giving it to the world." Which was true. The technology was on a level equal to the Seed universe, and at the same time leagues ahead. If any side got their hands on his machine, there was no telling what could possibly go wrong. But if it was in the right hands, it could be a big help to those who could positively benefit from it. Especially those who relied on nuclear energy that was taken by the use of N-Jammers.
Halberton stood up, surprising Adam. Again the two locked eyes in silence. Adam was confused, but it felt like the admiral was looking for something. "If it came down to either side getting close to capturing that machine and its technology…"
"I'd destroy it," Adam said instantly, not realizing he had till the words had slipped out.
Halberton nodded and made for the door. When it opened, Adam could see the aid still waiting outside, along with Mu, who was leaning against the wall on the far side. Halberton looked back to Adam and gave one more nod, and then left.
Adam moved into the hall, watching the retreating figure of Halberton and his aid, not quite sure as to what was going on. I feel like I should be worried about something, he thought. I had evidence and a slightly believable story… but should he have really dismissed it like that? Adam was still trying to figure out everything involving this new reality and the machine that brought him there. He was still being surprised and this was one surprise he didn't even think would come his way.
"You okay?" Mu asked, floating over to Adam's side.
Adam looked to Mu and then stared off in the direction Halberton left. "Not sure…"
"That bad in there?"
Adam again shook his head with, "Not sure either."
"Can you talk about it?"
Adam thought on it, and smiled looking to Mu. "Classified."
Mu threw his hands in the air. "Come on!"
Adam laughed, and pushed off towards the mess hall. He needed something to eat. Especially with what's to come. The attack on the 8th Fleet and the destruction of the space shuttle. The 8the Fleet was too large for him to protect alone, so most would be destroyed in the ensuing battle. Halberton will use his ship to block the Archangel so it can safely land on Earth. Letting his death play out would make things a bit easier, but he couldn't bring himself to let the man get killed. He'd have to think of something.
As Adam rounded a corner, Mu tagging along to get a bite to eat himself, Adam's mind wondered to the shuttle. That was a no-brainer there. He'd have to stop Yzak from destroying that ship, which meant he'd have to make himself a bigger target than Kira and the Strike, since Yzak would be gunning for them. I'll have to come up with something that'll grab his attention.
The mess was just in sight and Adam could feel his stomach crying out in protest. He needed to eat and soon. "I don't care if its rations, I need some food."
When entering, he was surprised to see how vacant it was. The only one's there were Kira's small group of friends, minus Sai and Flay. They all looked down at pieces of paper, staring intently at them with mixed emotions.
"They must have gotten their discharge papers," said Mu as he moved to the other side of the mess to grab a plate.
I forgot they were suppose to get those. He cursed himself as he thought of the repercussions. Flay staying onboard was their reason for staying. If she's not staying onboard, neither is the group. Which means Kira won't be staying onboard either. And in a few hours we're going to be in a fight and I just might be doing it alone. Grabbing a plate for himself with something that looked like it might be healthy, Adam joined Mu with the kids, though he sat opposite of them.
Mu gave his trademark smile. "Hey kids. Excited about getting off the ship and heading home?"
Miriallia returned the smile. "A little. We're just kinda…"
"Wondering if we're doing the right thing?" Tolle finished for her.
Adam dropped his fork on his plate. It didn't make much noise considering that it fell in what must have been mashed potatoes. He didn't bother arguing with the logic that it wasn't floating away from the tray. Chalk it up to Gundam physics maybe. Or for the fact that his fork fell. He sat silently listening to them speak.
Mu looked between them. "What do you mean?"
"Well," Tolle continued. "We're not really sure. We were all excited to go home, but the minute we were handed our discharge papers it felt like we were abandoning our duty." He looked up to Kuzzey and Miriallia. "At least that's how I felt."
Kuzzey scratched the back of his head. "Same here, really. We came so far, ya'know."
Looking over, Adam didn't see one signature on either of their discharge papers. So they're making the decision on their own this time? But a thought came to mind as he noticed three members of their little group missing. "If you don't mind me asking, where are the rest of your group? Does Kira, Sai, and Flay feel the same way?"
It was Miriallia who answered, fidgeting in her seat. "Well, we haven't seen Kira for a while now. Kuzzey said he saw him speaking with the rest of the civilians earlier."
"Yea," Kuzzey said with a nod. "Was speaking with some little girl who was handing out paper flowers."
Adam blinked, knowing who that little girl was. "What about Sai and Flay?"
"That… got a little heated," Tolle spoke, glancing to his friends who all looked uncomfortable.
"How so?" Mu asked, picking up the change in atmosphere.
"Well, it was weird. When we got our papers, Flay said she wanted to enlist!"
What? Adam wasn't expecting that. She has no reason to enlist! Her father is alive and shouldn't be trying to guilt trip Kira into fighting for her! This doesn't make any sense!
"Wait, the Allster girl?" Mu asked. Each one nodded their head, making the mobile armor ace feel even more confused. "Redhead who I think would rather spend her time shopping at a mall than be trapped on a battleship wanted to enlist in the Alliance navy?"
Adam shook his head. "Have a hard time believing it myself. She say why?"
Tolle looked to Adam. "She said she felt bad if she left you and Kira with all the hard work of protecting the ship."
I'm being lumped in again!? Adam blinked. "Me?"
"I think its more of a hero worship thing," Miriallia said, looking to Adam. "You saved her father's life and protected the ship. Though I think the same can be said about Kira, even if you hadn't showed up."
Had I not shown up, her father would be dead, and would definitely NOT lead to her worship. "So what happened?"
"Sai flipped," Kuzzey said, shaking his head. "When she said she wanted to enlist, Sai and her got into this big argument. Then he went said he was going to have a word with her father and that was the last we saw of them."
Adam hissed slightly at that. "Ouch. That can't possibly go well."
"You said it," Mu said, taking a big bite from his plate. "The man did everything in his power to get here and see her safe and sound. He's not about to let her enlist in the middle of a war. Not his only daughter."
"But her actions just got us thinking," Miriallia spoke, her eyes targeting the papers before her. "So we're a little torn on the idea of leaving the ship."
Adam looked to them a few seconds longer, then turned to his plate and dug in. The taste was -so-so, but it felt good to finally get something to eat. He dug in a few more bites, cheeks nearly expanding beyond their limit. It was only a few seconds before a quarter of his plate was gone. "Its your choice," he said before taking another bite. "Just like I told Kira. You can stay, or leave. You have that choice."
"You spoke with Kira?" Mu asked.
Adam gave a nod. "Before the debriefing I ran into him. He was all but ready to simply leave, till I pointed out that no matter where you run off to, this war is going to continue." He shoveled in another bite. Not so bad once you get used to it. "And I'll tell you the same thing I told him. You'll run off and hide in a shelter when the bombs come down and wonder if you could have made a difference had you stayed." Adam took another few bites while everyone sat in silence. His plate wasn't empty, but he felt that was a good point to leave. Taking his tray, he cleaned it off at the trash and dropped it off to be cleaned. "You guys think about your future. I'm going to go and check my mobile suit. Make sure its ready for what's to come."
Didn't give them a chance to ask what he meant, he simply left and did what he said he would do. And while he went on towards the hanger, he continued to think over everything that was discussed. Perhaps the program wasn't allowing him to divert from the story as he had hoped? May explain why Halberton just simply left like he did. May explain why Flay was wanting to stay onboard. Had Kira saved her father from the beginning, would she have stayed then as well? Possible diversion in the story, along with a possible true love interest? He could see Flay leaving Sai, the boring technical student, for the dashing Coordinator hero who put his life on the line to save others. Miriallia even said it was hero worship. As far as Adam knew, her mother was dead, leaving only her and her father. Saving the only living family member in her life would blind her to what was in front of her. Just like loosing said only family member would drive her to be so crazy.
Seeing these changes made Adam curious as to what would follow. Most importantly if Kira was going to stay. Adam was good gunpla battler, and could face large numbers at a time, he had done it before. Even did fairly good against others who would rank as an ace pilot. But to fight an army he'd probably need something built by the famous Sei Iori. And considering he'd never met the kid, or the fact that he was in another dimension entirely at the moment, he was stuck with his own machine. An amusing thought though came to mind as to what they would think if they saw Sei's Build Strike Gundam Cosmos.
Entering the hanger bay, Adam froze when he looked at the Eyes. This would be the third time he'd seen it in this scale, and it still took his breath away. "I may never get used to this," he said with a small grin.
His entrance didn't go unnoticed though. To the side Kojiro Murdoch was directing traffic of ammunition to storage when he saw Adam gazing at the enigmatic machine. He moved over, surprising Adam with a pat on the shoulder. "Something I can do for you?" he asked with a big smile.
Adam sheepishly grinned, seeing he was caught by surprise by the big mechanic. And he was big! He stood nearly a foot taller than even Mu and he was broad shouldered. There was no hiding the muscle under his uniform. The show did not do him justice. Guys built like a tank! "Just thought I'd come and take a look at her. Maybe check the systems to see if they're ready for whatever may come our way, ya'know?"
"I hear ya. Wonder if the kid did the same?"
Before Adam could ask what he was talking about, Murdoch pointed up to the gangplank in front of the Strike, and there was the young Coordinator himself. And he wasn't alone. With him was Admiral Halberton and his aid, along with one other I hadn't seen before till now. Probably giving his short speech of praise to Kira for his hard work. Maybe it'll be the final nail to be driven into the coffin, he thought bitterly. He patted Murdoch on the shoulder and pushed off. "Well, got work to do!"
EYES
Flay fumed in silence as she was escorted towards the awaiting shuttle. Her chances of doing something useful for the ship, and its pilots, were dashed when Sai went and told her father. And George wasn't too keen on the idea either. They had argued for nearly half an hour before the older Allster made it clear he wasn't budging on the matter. So there they were, George Allster flanking her left while Sai was at her right. She ignored the little side glance he made towards her, her eyes focused ahead. Sai had tried talking with her, to show reason, but she ignored it. She had hoped her father would see reason when she said she wanted to repay the men and women who saved his life, but he wouldn't hear it.
Sai looked back over his shoulder, looking for the rest of their friends, but he began to worry when he didn't see them. They had all gotten the discharge papers, so they should have been there waiting to leave. He began to wonder if they were going to stay?
George noticed Sai looking about, confusion on his face. "Something wrong, Sai?"
Sai looked to George, sparing a glance to Flay who continued to look straight ahead. "Its nothing. I was just wondering where our friends were. They should be with us to enter the shuttle by now."
George nodded. "I'm sure they're fine. Probably stuck at the back of the line for taking so long. Don't worry." In all honesty, George didn't really care for the group too much, nor the Coordinator boy. His daughter and fiancé were more important to the vice foreign minister. And he had both ready to go back to Earth where they belonged.
"Maybe we should look for them?" Flay asked, glancing over her shoulder at the crowded line behind her.
"We will have none of that!" George bellowed, glaring at Flay. "You will stay right here next to me and not move, you hear me?"
Flay cowed, head hung low. "Yes daddy."
Sai frowned. "It's going to be okay Flay." He reached to touch her shoulder, but she brushed his hand away.
She gave a glare to Sai. "I'm still mad at you."
All the former tech student could do was sigh.
EYES
Time passed, and as she had feared, Murrue got word that a large group of ZAFT ships were approaching the 8th Fleet. Enough to match against Halberton's forces. It was almost flattering that they would send this many ships to try and break through to stop the Archangel. So long as you forgot all about the casualties that would follow. And he was very sure that there would be many casualties that would follow in the coming battle. Upon seeing the numbers against them, she had hailed the admiral in order to add in the Archangel's assistance. And was flatly denied. "Sir, we can't let you face them alone. Not for us."
Halberton's firm gaze was fixed on the acting captain. "My order stands, Lt. Do not engage. You're mission is to see that ship to Alaska. No further arguing." With that, the connection was severed on his end, leaving Murrue and the bridge crew to look at the formation of Alliance ships that were acting as a shield against ZAFT.
Murrue sat in silence, mind wandering from one thought to the next. Strategically, we probably would only get in the way. She looked forward at the amassed ships. I'm sure Kira got his discharge papers. So we're short one pilot, leaving only Mu and Adam. His machine may be strong but even Adam couldn't be that much of a game changer. Not to mention the Archangel itself wasn't fully prepared for enemy engagement of that number. And the civilians who acted as part of the crew were gone too, leaving them effectively with less than a skeleton crew. Her fist slammed on the arm rest to her left. "Damn it."
"Ma'am?" Natarle asked, looking up to Murrue.
"Just this overwhelming feeling of being useless," she said, eyes focused ahead. But her focus turned to the bridge entrance upon hearing it open. What came through she did not expect. "You?"
"Sorry we're late," Miriallia said as she made her way to her station in full uniform. Tolle and Kuzzey were right behind her and they too made their way to their stations.
"Yea," Tolle said with a grin. "Got stuck in traffic."
Kuzzey from his spot rolled his eyes.
Murrue looked at them all as they were quickly getting settled in for the operation. She couldn't help the smile on her face. A smile which quickly disappeared. "But why? You were given your discharge papers. You could've left with the rest of the civilians."
"We felt this was more important," Miriallia said. "Can't sit by while the war goes on around us like nothing is going on."
Murrue watched Kuzzey and Tolle nod their heads. She bowed her head, eyes closed. "I can't thank you all enough…"
EYES
Rau smiled. "Its time to attack," he said, then swept his arm to the side. "Signal the fleet." He continued to smile, watching the bridge light up with activity. He could see most of the ships on either side begin to move forward, their compliment of mobile suits launching and racing towards the 8th Fleet, who were launching their mobile armors.
EYES
"ZAFT fleet is moving forward! They've launched their mobile suits!"
The crew watched as the space in front of the fleet began to fill with so many of the familiar mono-eyed machines.
"Ma'am!" Miriallia, looking back towards Murrue, concern on her face. "Unauthorized launch in the hanger bay!"
"What!?" It was too late as she took notice of the Eyes launching from the left, pausing, only to fly straight up and above the fleet, disappearing from view. "Get me in contact with Ensign Winslow, now!"
"I can't! Our signals are being jammed… wait, their clearing up. But we can't get a fix on the Eyes. Its like he disappeared."
"That bastard!" Natarle shouted, grinding her teeth in irritation. Her sudden outburst had surprised everyone, and most were looking back at her angry expression. She slouched in her chair, head titled down. "He abandoned us."
EYES
It was time for his revenge. Yzak Joule thought of nothing else but ending the Strike for what it had done to him. He didn't even bother to have the damage removed from his face, simply so it would be a reminder. "Yzak Joule, Duel! Launching!" He announced, and immediately felt the rush as the catapult launched his stolen mobile suit from his ship. He was quickly followed by Dearka Elsman, and Nicol Amalfi. He stared ahead as he drew closer to the fleet, his machine easily outpacing the GiNNs that were rushing to battle.
Detecting an incoming communication over a private channel, Yzak was a little surprised to see Athrun appear on his screen. "Zala, about time you showed up," Yzak said in a snark tone, giving Athrun a feral grin. "Was thinking we were going to win this without you."
"Good to see you too, Yzak," Athrun said, small grin on his face. It vanished though when he took notice of the bandage that Yzak had over his eye. "I had heard you had an accident, but I didn't know it was that bad."
"Save it for after I deal with the Strike, Athrun," Yzak snarled, glaring ahead.
Athrun continued to frown. "Yzak, you…. en … u…"
Yzak blinked and looked to Athrun's image, watching it fizzle out into static. "Athrun?" He leaned over and adjusted the signal, but found he still couldn't contact his fellow pilot. He tried contacting the others but again found himself unable to connect, even though he could clearly see them on his viewing screen. "The hell is going on?" Even his radar was showing a blank. He narrowed his eyes as he examined the area around him, looking for anything that seemed out of place. "Something's not right."
Flash from a rear camera caught his attention and Yzak shifted a screen to view it. To his horror, one of their cruisers was drifting, an obvious hole blown right through the bridge and out the bottom of the ship. A second later, the ship erupted in ball of fire that near instantly disappeared in the cold of space. Nearly all of the GiNNs that were launched had stopped to look at what had happened, only to pay witness to a second ship taking a shot from a beam of yellow energy. The bridge sunk inward from the energy beam before bursting into fire.
"How did those damn Naturals get past us!" Yzak shouted, turning to find the source of the attack. His fingers danced across his console in order to find a way to get through the static that plagued his machine, and from what he could see, was affecting the other as well. They hadn't budged since the first ship had sunk.
A sudden sparkle of green/blue light caught his eye and he looked to see it trail through space, before descending down onto another ship. CIWS were firing like mad, but not a single one landed a hit before the unknown object slammed into the hull of the ship. Zooming in, he took in the sight of the sixth G-weapon, the one he had read in the latest report from Rau Le Creuset. It turned, right arm raised and aiming a riffle directly at the bridge. Before Yzak's undamaged eye the machine fired, punching a hole directly through the bridge and then down at the ship itself, putting two shots into it before pushing back into the void, letting the ship explode behind it.
The Strike was forgotten in that instant as Yzak charged forward with a roar. Seeing his charge, Dearka in the Buster along with a compliment of GiNNs gave chase, only needing to follow the trail of particles, but no matter how hard they pushed their machines, they weren't keeping up.
EYES
Adam couldn't help but smirk, seeing as he had managed to take out at least one cruiser and two destroyers. And he was quite sure he had stirred up one hell of a hornets nest as he could see several enemy signatures trying to catch up to him. "Well, I got half of them to focus on me at least." He did a double check. "And it seems the Duel and the Buster are giving chase. Well at least I don't have to worry about Yzak trying to destroy the shuttle later."
EYES
"Three massive heat sources detected, ma'am! I believe it to be a ship being destroyed."
Murrue blinked. "Bring it on visual."
Looking ahead, the bridge crew watched as they got a zoomed in view of the ZAFT fleet, and in the center they could see three wrecks floating about, with half of the fleet paused while the rest continued to move forward. Murrue noticed a few trails of light that obviously belonged to mobile suits, but she couldn't help but wonder what they were doing.
"It looks like they're chasing something," Kuzzey said answering her unspoken question, blinking in confusion.
"They look confused too," Miriallia said. A bright flash got her attention as the battle truly began.
"Captain! Contact from Admiral Halberton!"
"Put him through." Her back instantly straightened as she took in the image of Halberton once again. "Admiral?"
"Something you need to tell me, Lieutenant?" he asked, sounding a little amused. "I thought I gave you an order not to interfere."
"I don't understand sir."
"One of my forward ships noticed something odd when their radar and communications went out for a few minutes, along with sightings of strange glowing particles." His head tilted to the side slightly, smirk forming on his lips. "Sound familiar?"
Murrue gasped. "Adam…"
Admiral arched a brow. "So you launched the Eyes mobile suit to act as a decoy?"
"N-no sir. Actually Adam launched without orders." She dropped her head slightly. "We had actually begun to think he had abandoned us." When she looked up, Halberton had a smile on his face. "Sir."
"Regardless, he's given us an edge." His face took on a solemn look. "Though he's fighting alone out there."
EYES
Adam had lowered the level of particles that were disrupting communications and couldn't help but laugh. Some had put themselves on an open channel hoping that they could communicate through that line. He could even hear Yzak Joule shouting and cursing up a storm as he danced around their group of mobile suits, to simply circle back. With his particle emissions down, they had a better chance of targeting him. So it came as no surprise as he approached, he was greeted again with uncoordinated CIWS fire and missiles which sailed past him or he easily evaded, with some coming VERY close to hitting him. He flew along the starboard side of one ship, yellow energy erupting from the hilt of his saber. He dragged it down the length of the ship, the gouge he was making erupted in flames as he passed. Again he dodged a hail of bullets from the neighboring ship. He grunted as his systems warned him that there had been a few hits, but nothing that penetrated his E-Carbon armor. Hardly scratched the paint.
Again dodging fire, he looked to see how the battle was going, and smiled seeing the 8th looking to be doing better than how they faired in the show. But with his emissions lowered, the ZAFT fleet was quickly getting themselves coordinated, no pun intended. And if Adam played around them for too long, he'd miss joining back up with the Archangel.
Warning at the last second forced Adam to dodge a single GiNN that launched from one of the neighboring ships. It flew in close, firing away with its 76mm machine gun. The rounds bounced off his armor, but Adam let it get under his skin, stopping to turn and face the machine. The GiNN, seeing its weapon did nothing to harm the Gundam, switched to its heavy sword, wielding it one handed. It flew fast, bringing the sword in horizontally, only to have its blade blocked by the Eye's shield. Riffle holstered on the skirt rack, Adam moved his machine in, its free hand reaching out and grabbing the GiNN's head. With little resistance the head caved in under the Eye's grip.
Adam kicked it away, no longer finding it to be a threat. "Guess I've played around enough."
"Natural scum!" bellowed an angry young voice belonging to a particularly angry young soldier.
Though Adam gave a sigh, he had to jerk his suit to the side quickly to avoid the downward slash from the Duel, and bursting off in a blast of particles just before the Buster fired a combined blast of its weapons. "Yep, definitely enough playing around!" Adam grunted, bursting off and dodging beam fire from the two stolen machines. "I can shrug off solid rounds but those beam weapons will do some damage." He looked to the fleet, seeing he was closing in fast. The 8th were locked in its destined battle with ZAFT's forces, and holding there own. Though they had the numbers in their mobile armors, the mobile suits were picking them apart. "Damn, ZAFT moves pretty quick." He looked to see the two Gundams falling behind, along with their group of GiNNs. None were able to catch up. "Guess I'll just have to thin the herd a bit. Just hope it doesn't completely drain my particles."
The Eyes' binders turned and flipped over the shoulders, angling them to take out as many targets as he could. Adam adjusted the output, which would give him enough power to punch through one or two ships at least and take as many of their mobile units as possible. Obtaining a solid lock, the binders began to charge.
A hail of gatling fire forced Adam to abandon his attack as a white CGUE came rushing down from above. Adam cursed as he dodged Rau's machine, letting it sail past as it swung its blade in an attempt to cut down the Gundam. Adam drew the buster riffle and fired off a shot, Rau quickly rolling over the beam. Adam aimed again, but had to move to again avoid another blast from the Buster, combined with missile and beam fire from the Duel.
From within his CGUE, Rau smiled at seeing the retreating Eyes Gundam and gave chase, the Duel and Buster quickly lining up with his machine. "Yzak, Dearka. I'll deal with this one. Assist Athrun and Nicol with taking down the legged ship."
"But sir!" Yzak protested, glaring at the purple and white machine.
"Do as ordered, Yzak," Rau commanded. "Destroying the legged ship is a higher priority."
With an irritable growl, Yzak turned the Duel away and towards the main part of the battle. "Come on, Dearka."
The blonde pilot nodded to his friend and fellow pilot. "Right behind you." He turned the Buster and quickly chased after the Duel.
Rau again dodged a beam from the Eyes, this time the beam coming from the right binder. The machine flipped over, riffle taking aim with the binders angled under both arms. Rau had to stop and burst up to avoid all three as they fired. "Impressive, Eyes," he called over an open channel. "Or should I call you, Adam?" The CGUE dashed forward again, gatling fire peppering the Eyes' shield. He came in with another strike with his sword, only for the Eyes to roll around it and bring its shield around. Rau brought up his own to deflect the hit, but was surprised when the shield arm gave under the blow. He could see it bend oddly at the elbow joint.
Rau was a little surprised to see he was being hailed by the Eyes, and quickly opened the channel. An image appeared in the corner of his screen showing the Eye's pilot, visor polarized to obscure his face. "Only close friends call me by my first name," Adam responded, giving a kick to the CGUE, jostling Rau with the blow.
Adam glanced back at the battle. His interference had helped, and far more ships of the 8th were still standing, though ZAFT was still pushing towards the Archangel with everything they had. He could faintly see the G-weapons peppering some of the battle ships, acting as a distraction for the heavy weapons carried by the GiNNs. Looking back as Rau again took another swipe at him, Adam evaded and pulled back, firing another blast at the white CGUE, but Rau managed to evade once more. "Shouldn't you be running, Creuset?"
The masked pilot smiled. Sheathing his blade, he used his free hand to steady the damaged arm and fire another volley at the Eyes, which sped off to avoid the attack. "Why when I'm having so much fun. Mind telling me something?" he asked, speeding up to try and catch up with the Eyes, only for his smile to drop slightly seeing that his machine, which had a higher performance than a GiNN, still couldn't match up.
Adam continued to dance away from the gatling fire, finding it very annoying. His machine was far too advanced to be matched by the CGUE, even with an experienced pilot like Rau. But he wasn't going to rush in and do something stupid. Rau was a smart and would easily exploit any opening he would make should he try. "And what would that be?" Adam responded. He fired off another shot from his binders, seeing Rau just barely dodge the two shots.
Rau gave a grunt, seeing those two yellow beams come inches away from piercing his machine. Too close. Need to be more careful with this one. "Where did you get that machine? It wasn't part of the G-weapon project. Otherwise I would have stolen it myself."
The Eyes drifted back from Rau, cobalt optics staring down at the mono-eyed machine. Another ship of the 8th went up in a ball of fire, and it made Adam frown. He didn't have time to play games with a psychopath like Rau when so much was at stake at that point. He needed him to be gone then and there. But how to scare him away? Killing him was proving to be a harder task than he originally thought. Rau wasn't an ace pilot for nothing. "Won't really matter telling you when you're going to die anyway," Adam remarked, preparing his suit for another attack. He had one idea in his head, and if it worked, he would only have a few seconds to finish him. If he falls for it.
Rau arched a brow at that, a small smirk forming on his lips. "So sure of yourself?" He shrugged with a shake of his head. "So typical for a Natural."
"You tell me, Rau Le FLAGA!"
Though he couldn't see it, Adam was sure Rau paused with his eyes wide in shock. Rau's origins were a secrete that only few knew of in the Seed universe, and he made sure they were all dead. So for someone like Adam to suddenly call out Rau's real name, it had to have the needed affect Adam needed to go in for the kill. The CGUE showed this when it froze in place, allowing Adam to come in hard, yellow saber igniting in the left hand beneath the shield. He swung down from on high for a killing blow, but the CGUE just barely dodged to the side. The right arm took the hit, severed at the shoulder joint. Adam quickly raised the buster riffle to finish him off. He instantly snapped off a shot, but the CGUE took off with its left leg taking the blow, severing the foot. It didn't slow the white MS down and Rau was in the wind, heading back to his ship.
Adam slammed a fist down on his armrest, growling at the retreating image of Rau's CGUE. "Damn it. So close!" He could catch him if he wanted, but another ship going up in a ball of fire stopped him. He didn't have time to be chasing Rau. There were still some things he had to take care of before it was too late.
Turning to the battle, Adam burst off.
EYES
Rau was seething, his breathing heavy as he bared his teeth. The grip on his controls was so tight, it looked like he was ready to break them off. "How!? How does he know that name!" He was sure that there was no one left that knew that name. And if the Eyes pilot knew his name, he knew his past.
EYES
It wouldn't be too long before they were going to be entering the atmosphere. Murrue watched as both fleets continued exchange blows. Bursts of shell fire colliding along ships hulls. Mobile armor and mobile suit alike dancing in the void exchanging fire between them. Thanks to Adam's interference, ZAFTS attack wasn't packing as much of a punch as they had feared, but their mobile suits, along with the stolen Alliance machines, were slowly picking the 8th apart, making a slow course towards the Archangel. "Are we still on course for Alaska?" she asked, turning to the helmsmen.
"Yes ma'am! Ready for decent on your command!"
Murrue nodded, and looked back to the battle. "Very well then. Prepare…"
"Enemy mobile suit!"
Murrue snapped to the side, her eyes wide as she took in the sight of the Blitz as its Mirage Colloid dropped in favor of the Phase Shift. Time slowed as its armor fully changed, right arm raised with the Trikeros ready to fire on the bridge.
No one expected however that the Aile Strike would come launching out, spinning around and charging at the Blitz, which turned in time to get shoulder tackled away from the Archangel. Shortly there after the Moebius Zero launched and immediately dove into the thick of battle, Mu dancing through enemy fire the way only he could do.
"Incoming signal from the Strike!"
"Patch it through!" Murrue ordered, looking to see the young face of Kira Yamato. "Kira!"
The young coordinator nodded, a determined look on his face. "Sorry it took so long, captain," he said, eyes dancing about as he watched the battle unfold around him while trading beam fire with the Blitz.
Mu's image appeared beside Kira's trademark smirk on his face. "We were hoping to ride down without having to engage, but Kira's machine detected the Blitz while he was working on the systems. Something we can probably use later on if we engage it again."
Murrue nodded, her gaze focused on the young man. "Kira… thank you."
"We'll return once we're sure we've pushed them back far enough. Where's the shuttle? Has it launched?"
Murrue nodded. "It launched only a moment ago."
"Kira!" Miriallia shouted. "Flay and Sai are on that shuttle."
Kira's focus seemed more determined than a second ago upon hearing that bit of news. "Don't worry. I'll make sure it gets away safely."
EYES
As a GiNN was preparing to lay into another ship, the Eyes came crashing down, bisecting it from head to crotch. Binders shifted to the right as Adam took aim, and fired, the beam curving and lancing through three more suits before he pushed off and flew back towards the Menelaus, only to be intercepted by the Aegis. The eyes charged forward, clashing yellow beam to yellow beam with the Aegis. Inside, Athrun could clearly see the strength difference as his machine was steadily being pressed back. "Damn! How strong is this guy?"
From his position, Yzak watched the two Gundams clash, with the Aegis forced back by the Eyes. It worried him that the Alliance machine was battle in the battle. It was left with their commander to handle, and if it was here now, he wondered what had happened to Creuset. And as much as he wanted to get in and deal with the sixth G-weapon himself, his ire was to be directed at the Strike, wherever it was. Nicol had broadcasted that the legged ship had launched its only other mobile suit along with its mobile armor companion not long ago.
Turning to take out another mobile armor with its rail gun, Yzak looked to see the battle was still even, surprisingly. He had expected that their forces should have steam rolled over the Alliance and on to the legged, but Halberton's forces were hell bent on protecting the ship to the last man. So it came as no surprise when one of their own ships was pushing through on a direct course for the white battleship, which was moving away from the battle. Yzak snarled, seeing what they were planning to do. It wasn't too hard to see they were trying to draw away their forces so that the 8th wouldn't suffer more losses, but the Gamow was quickly changing course as well, peppered by CIWS fire and a few missals from other Alliance ships.
That wasn't his concern now though. Yzak grinned as he saw his target, the Strike, pushing back the Blitz while Dearka and the Buster were facing off against Mu La Flaga's Moebius. "You're mine, Strike!" he cried, thrusters at max as he charged in to meet the Strike in what he believed their final battle, with him as the victor.
EYES
Adam again clashed with the Aegis, who pulled back and strafed to the right while firing its beam riffle. "Shouldn't they be running out of power by now? This is bull shit." Not like the show was very consistent with how much power the machines had. He blocked each shot with his shield, again binders shifting to the right arm as he fired. The Aegis wasn't prepared for the curved beam which caught its left side. He fired off another shot and watched it curve and sever the left leg, exploding a second later. "That's it, Athrun. Take off." He watched calmly as the red Gundam took off from the battle, unable to continue in its condition. And most likely running low on energy.
Not wasting a second longer, Adam pushed the Eyes forward, particles blanketing the space around his machine as he dashed through intercepting fire and missals. He could see the Gamow charging the Archangel, like it should be, with the Menelaus moving to intercept. But the Eyes was faster, and he easily zipped past the ZAFT ship, binders quickly folding over his shoulders as he spun around to face the approaching ship. Halberton's vessel was so close, the GN Drive was nearly touching it's hull.
Particles danced between the binders as the energy was gathered, yellow energy crackle and sparking. A sphere of yellow energy began to grow as the Alvaaron Cannon charged.
Adam found himself leaning back in his seat further and further as the Gamow drew closer, seeming to just ignore his charging weapon in thinking that they could just ram him into the Menelaus. And as it was only a few meters away, the charge reached enough to Adam's satisfaction.
Erupting from the single mobile suit, the yellow sphere fired into a golden beam of death that bored a hole straight through the Gamow, bow to stern. Just behind it three GiNNs, seven mobile armors, and one ZAFT ship were destroyed along with it, along with one Alliance ship taking a hit on its starboard side.
And again, like his first appearance, the battlefield looked to pause at Adam's sudden, and very surprising attack.
EYES
"What the hell was that!?" Yzak shouted, pausing in his fight with the Strike, who too had backed away and staring at what was the remains of the Gamow. He had been in a heated exchange with the Alliance mobile suit when he had no choice but pause and take in the beam that carved a path of destruction through the battlefield. Zooming in, he could see the Eyes hovering in front of the Menelaus, binders sparking with yellow energy before flipping back. "That thing has that kind of power!?"
"Yzak!"
The angry pilot broke out of his stupor to look and see Dearka once again contending with the Moebius, both slowly beginning to move into the Earth's atmosphere before the Moebius managed to get off one more shot to knock the Buster off course and further into the atmosphere. "Dearka! AGH!" he cried as he felt a jolt from his suit as it was kicked by the Strike, who was quickly blasting off towards the Archangel. He moved to give chase, but his energy levels were already low, and he was going to need as much as he had in order to survive entry. So Yzak did what he could do, and that was to yell and curse on his way down.
EYES
Kira sighed as he moved towards the Archangel, seeing the Moebius Zero already anchoring itself down onto the hull of the ship as it entered the atmosphere. As he passed, he caught a glimpse of the shuttle carrying the civilians onboard, and smiled seeing it moving clear of the battlefield. As he came down next to the Moebius, Kira looked around, frowning as he saw they were short one mobile suit, and looked back as he caught sight of the Eyes. It seemed to hover in space for a minute before turning and moving into the atmosphere, shield held in front. "He's crazy! There's no way he can survive entry!"
EYES
"He's out of his mind!" Murrue shouted. "Get us close as we can to try and catch him."
"We can't ma'am! We're already way off course for Alaska."
Murrue cursed, slumping in her chair. She couldn't help but watch as the Eyes pushed through the atmosphere, shield at the front to take most of the heat. She noticed its head turn towards the Archangel, and to her annoyance, the machine gave a thumbs up. "All of a sudden, I want him to burn." She blushed though when she noticed some of the crew looking back to her. Tolle was trying not to let out a chuckle.
"Ma'am," Miriallia said, looking over her station. "The Eyes… its moving away."
All eyes moved to the screen, and there they could easily see the Eyes moving off. It was slowly approaching an unfortunate GiNN which was falling backwards, its backside beginning to melt from the heat. It was Natarle who said, "Just what does he think he's doing?"
EYES
"Some one! Help me!"
Adam hadn't planned to try and save a life other than the Admiral and the civilians escaping onboard the shuttle, but with a female voice constantly crying out over an open channel… well his instinct to be a hero took over. It didn't take him long to find the falling GiNN which would probably explode in only a few minutes if he didn't do something about it. "Help me!" came another plea from the female pilot.
Of course Adam responded in the best way he could think of at the time. "Shut up!" he cried, the Eyes moving into a position in front of the falling GiNN, taking the brunt of the intense heat.
The GiNN turned and looked at the Eyes, the pilot probably having seen the Gundam cut through some of its comrades earlier. "You!? What are you doing!?" she yelled, an anger in her voice replacing the fear of death from her earlier screaming.
"Saving your skin!" Adam shouted back, glaring at the image of the GiNN. "Listen, you want to survive, latch onto the back of my machine. I can take the heat."
"Bullshit! We're both going to burn up!"
"No, we won't! Trust me."
"Trust a Natural? Right!" she scoffed.
Adam imagined the female Coordinator crossing her arms and looking away, forcing him to sigh. "Will you stuff that Natural, Coordinator bullshit for just a minute! Can't I be just a human being trying to save another human being from dying!" To be honest he just didn't want to hear her screams any more. Sure he could have just turned off his radio, but a part of him stopped that action. And again, he didn't want to hear her screams.
He got no reply, only for the GiNN to turn and latch onto the back of the Eyes. When it was obvious it wasn't going to try and kill him, Adam shifted his binders to the left side, enhancing his shield's GN Field. Both were quickly enveloped in the green/blue particles and a the heat of the atmosphere eased up. But Adam frowned as he looked at the percentage of his particles. He had enough to get them down to the surface, but he would have to touch down and let the particles build back up. Sparing a glance at the GiNN, he saw it was heavily damage from the battle and from the fall in the atmosphere, so it shouldn't be able to put up a fight.
"You got a name?" Adam asked the Coordinator. His eyes lingered on the GiNN for a second before he focused on another object that was falling towards the earth. The shuttle. He could see it going through the atmosphere, not a scratch on it. And that made him smile when he thought that about the little girl that was on board. She's got herself a future now.
"I have no reason to give my name to you!"
Adam sighed and shook his head. "Well I'm sure you're going to hear it sooner or later, so I'll introduce myself. My name is Adam Winslow." He leaned back in his seat, ignoring the shakes of his machine and the reds and yellow of atmospheric fire. It would only be another minute or two before they were clear. From one battle to the next. Looking forward to meeting you, Andrew Waltfeld.
EYES
Halberton sunk in his chair, a relieved sigh escaping him as he watched the Archangel disappear down towards the Earth and the ZAFT forces retreating to their own space for failing their mission. He was worried that the 8th would have failed in their duty but due to the aid of the white battleship and its mobile defenses they managed to survive. More than half his fleet was gone, but they survived. "Signal the fleet. We're going to the moon for repairs. Look for any lifepod beacons along the way for retrieval. You have the bridge, captain."
"Sir!" called the captain, who turned to relay the orders.
Halberton, exhausted, turned and left the bridge, his mind running over and over the past few hours events. The battle took up a major part of his thought process, mostly on the fact he nearly sacrificed himself and the crew of Menelaus to protect the Archangel. And another part was on the young man, Ensign Winslow. "That crazy fool charged in and nearly got himself killed," he said, wandering down the hall to his quarters. "I may be an old fool putting some faith in him, but I've got this feeling he may change things." He paused briefly, looking to the floor. But still. Once we're on the moon, I'll do a background check. See if we can find something on the man. I truly believe he's wanting to protect the ship, but I doubt he's truly on our side. He looked up, taking a glance out a port window at the Earth. The burning streaks of wreckage and Archangel were gone, leaving the blue sphere unmarked by the battle that had passed. What are you planning, Mr. Winslow? What is your end game?
To Be Continued…
Not too surprised this took so long. I hadn't planned on it being this long, but it just kept going and going… and going. Never written a chapter this long before, so it was kind of fun. Don't expect it too much though. I have plans for Flay and Sai. If I take this as far as I want/hope, Flay will have a major part in Destiny. But I will not say more than that. Not much of a change in this, I know, but the changes will get larger as Adam's actions begin to affect the timeline. He saved the civilians and Halberton. Sai and Flay aren't on the ship anymore. And he let it known what secrets he knows of Rau, even if it was just a name. Which has now painted a much larger target on his back.
Like to give a shout out to 'Ninja of the Shadows' who I have given permission to mimic the idea for this fic 'Pursuing dreams and slashing nightmares'. Its looking good so give it a shot.
Readerofgoodfanfiction: Sorry if this wasn't too much of a change, but things will happen down the road.
DragonBlade00: More changes will come, and some will be pretty big.
Ninja of the shadows: Liking your variation so far. Looking forward to your next chapter.
Reishin Amara: The problem with using the GN-9999 Transient is that its not Adam's gunpla. It belongs to Wilfrid Kijima. So unless he stole it from Wilfrid, he's not going to have it.
