Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED/Gundam Seed Destiny.
Location: Outside of Armory One, Lagrange Point 4
Time: Directly following the launch of the LHM-BB01 Minerva
Date: October 2nd, CE 73
In the vacuum of space, the Blast Impulse faced off against the formidable mobile armor known as the Exus. Gunbarrels blitzed across Shinn's screens in a flash, firing a shot and then quickly leaving as fast as they had appeared. Once they were there, then they were not. To top it all off, Shinn could hardly keep it up, to boot.
"What the hell?" The red eyed pilot complained, doing his best to manoeuvre the Impulse. However, since the Blast Impulse's shield was rather small and the Blast Silhouette pack was larger than the sword variant which was there earlier, he had a hard time blocking the hits that were coming in his way. Still, he had yet to suffer a hit, but there many close calls.
"Shinn!" Rey yelled as he closed in on the Impulse with his custom ZAKU Phantom and aimed his rifle at the main body of the Exus.
"Another ZAKU... well it is a Commander-type no less." Neo acknowledged before rising up to evade a shot from Rey. "Still, you're far less valuable." The mobile armor angled downwards and fired the two cannons which were mounted on the underside of it's bow. In reaction, the white horned machine managed to block the attacks with it's right shoulder shield.
"You've got to focus, Shinn." Rey grunted as he was pushed back by the attack. "We can take him out! Just focus!" Rey spoke out, trying to get Shinn on track and bring some confidence to him.
"Right!" Shinn nodded as he held his controls just a little tighter. 'This... is nothing!' He thought while making evasive moves with his suit. "WHOA! AHHH!" He outright blocked a shot that was aimed directly for his suit's head, and then quickly fired a barrage from the Rail cannons on his silhouette, destroying the pod which had shot him.
Now outside the colony, the newly launched battleship Minerva was moving past the underside of Armory One, picking up speed as it's powerful nuclear pulse thrusters powered it's motion.
"No air leakage, ma'am. FCS contact. Minerva, all stations clear." Executive Officer Arthur Trine quietly reported as he stood over Meyrin Hawke's station.
"Locate the enemy. They will most likely be where the Impulse and Rey's ZAKU are." Talia analyzed, allowing her crew to carry out their orders.
"Captain, we've spotted the enemy carrier at blue 53, mark two bravo. Distance: One Hundred fifty." The radar operator, Bart, explained after a few moments.
"Enter it into the database; from this point on we'll call it Boggie One." Talia commanded.
"Impulse and Blaze ZAKU detected at one fifty-seven mark eighty alpha." Meyrin reported, gasping as her instruments revealed more than she had hoped. "They're in a battle with a mobile armor, too!" Talia then turned to face Meyrin.
"Can you contact them?" The Captain asked.
"No ma'am. That would be impossible with all the radio interference." Meyrin answered with a head shake.
"Fine then!" Talia groaned. "Close in, and activate Tristans and Isolde. They'll get on board once they see us, then we'll hunt down Boggie One and take care of it."
As Shinn and Rey fought Neo two versus one, the three remaining Gunbarrels of the Exus lit up, activating a pair of powerful beam blades each and diving in for the kill on the Zaft mobile suits, like powerful birds hunting their dinner.
"Grrr..." Rey groaned as he ascended, narrowly dodging the barrels before firing his beam rifle at the Exus main body once again.
"No." Neo shook his head quietly in disagreement, and then dived downwards, allowing the shot to pass over top of his machine harmlessly.
"Rey!" Shinn yelped and closed in, firing several shots of his beam rifle at the Exus, although from what he saw, his friend had already locked onto another one of the Gunbarrels, before taking it out with a shot from his rifle.
'I was never an expert at this spacial awareness crap... they either are or they just have the raw skills to pull through regardless...' Neo bit his lip as he looked at the ZAKU Phantom and Blast Impulse respectively.
Minerva bridge:
"Lower the bridge, maintain course, accelerate twenty percent, prepare to fire signal flares and anti-beam depth charges." Captain Gladys commanded in a full and loud voice. Then, the very floor of the bridge descending to a lower level, where instead of a white walls there was black, and instead of vulnerable windows that could easily be shot at, there was a large screen facing outwards of the bridge. As a protective plate was moved over the upper level, it became clear that this vessel was by design, meant to take a sustained punch. "Oh, and for Heaven's sake..." Gladys then looked at her second-in-command with a glare. "ARTHUR! STOP WASTING TIME!"
"Uhhh... YES MA'AM!" Arthur freaked out and then saluted, his body reacting as if he had been stung by a bee, before he drifted over to his chair near the front of the bridge. "Launcher eight, load Neidhardt missiles, tubes one through four. Activate CIWS, Tristans One and Two and Isolde. Target: Boggie One." He announced, and by his voice, the ship's weapons came to life. Several metal flaps near the backside of the vessel, behind and above the catapults, opened up, revealing unarmed missiles. The pair of beam cannons mounted above the launcher doors adjusted themselves up and down to lock onto target, and finally, the weapon hidden in the mid section of the Minerva was pushed up by hydraulics, three beam cannon barrels coming forward from it, one after the other.
"Shouldn't our first priority be to rescue them, Captain?" Chairman Durandal questioned, taking a seat above and behind the Captain's Chair.
"Most certainly, Chairman." Talia addressed, looking above and behind. "We want to save our pilots. However, the quickest and most efficient way is to open fire upon the enemy battleship, to drive it and it's forces away." She informed as the Minerva closed in on the enemy.
"A sound combat decision." Durandal gently nodded, agreeing with her.
Girty Lue bridge:
"Heat source approaching. Classification unknown. Possible battleship. Blue eighty-three mark delta." A bridge officer on the Girty Lue reported. Then, on one of the screens above the main windows, an image of the Minerva appeared, it's weapons at bear and ready to shoot.
"It's the new battleship of theirs. Hmm, fine then! Fifteen to starboard. Accelerate thirty percent. Activate Igelstellungs. Where's Exus?" The white suited commander questioned.
"A ship?" Neo spotted the approaching Minerva. "Well, it's better to leave now with all our cards then gamble and lose it all." He said before firing off a couple more shots from his two Gunbarrels and then pulling back. The pods of the Exus were then reeled into it's main body. "See you later, Mister Troublemaker and White Baldy." He snickered in Shinn and Rey's direction.
"He's leaving... damn, I wanted to get him!" Shinn let out a grunt. He was breathing somewhat heavily and sweating a little, but nevertheless, in a fine state, despite how terrible this battle had been. To his right, he saw the Minerva, and three flares being launched: One green, one blue, and one red, equalling a return signal. "Well, there's our call to get back. Why?" He questioned.
"It doesn't matter, it's an order. Let's go." Rey asserted, turning towards the ship and igniting his thrusters.
Girty Lue bridge:
Now that the Mirage Colloid-equipped vessel was in range of the Minerva's long range weapons, it was starting to come under heavy fire.
"Missiles approaching from six o'clock and closing fast!" The radar operator said as numerous projectiles locked onto the vessel's rear.
"Evade them! Fire CIWS!" The commander cried as the ship shifted to the right and unleashed a flurry of bullets from specific points on it's hull. The shells intercepted the shots but the ship still shook from the explosive detonations outside. These vibrations were enough to reach the three teenagers who had successfully arrived with their machines and were now walking down the hallways.
"What's...happening...outside?" Stella asked, looking upwards.
"Eh, just a bumpy ride!" Auel chuckled with open arms.
"You'd better be right, Auel!" Sting growled lightly as he leaned on the wall to support himself.
Minerva bridge:
"Aim for the engines! Stop that damn thing in it's tracks!" Talia leaned forward and aggressively commanded. Both Tristans of the Minerva each shot off a pair of bright green beam shots which were as big as the beams Girty Lue's Gottfrieds produced, while the vessel's Isolde unleashed a trio of slightly smaller beam shots. While most of the beams failed to land, one of the Isolde rounds struck the underside of Girty Lue, detonating one of it's CIWS units.
Following that, the damaged mobile armor practically crashed into the ship's right catapult, being caught by a strong net and stopping dead in a second. "Exus is back!" The intercom yelled throughout the area.
"Withdraw, Lee! NOW!" Neo belched the critical order for the vessel, and with that, all of her main engines burst to full, increasing the vessel's thrust to it's absolute maximum.
"Boggie One is retreating, course is yellow seventy-one alpha." Bart announced.
"The Impulse and ZAKU are coming aboard right as we speak." Meyrin added.
"Malik, as soon as the two suits are aboard, punch it. We have to crush that ship, and we have to crush it now!" Talia ordered towards the man who sat in front of her.
"Yes ma'am!" The young helmsman answered.
"What are the chances of setting up an ambush? Can any other ships fall in and cut her off?" Talia questioned, looking in Bart's direction.
"Unlikely, Captain." Bart responded, causing her to snap her right fingers with a groan.
Inside a large, spacious room with several windows, and was lined with several pieces of furniture, Cagalli, Athrun and Lunamaria Hawke waited. However, Cagalli would not have a chance to truly rest, for just as she sat down on one of the couches, the entire vessel rocked as her engines powered up in pursuit.
"So we really are going after them, I guess." Cagalli commented.
"Should we try to take a shuttle and leave? Head back to Armory One for the time being?" Athrun suggested, and Cagalli remained silent, thinking.
"In this type of situation? Last thing the Captain and engineering crew needs to do is prepare a shuttle!" Lunamaria retorted.
"Oh, sorry..." Athrun apologized, lowering his head.
"Besides, we'll get them, I promise you!" Lunamaria said, her confidence as a Zaft soldier causing Athrun to pick his head up and look at her, specifically her red outfit.
"We'll see how things turn out. Regardless, I'll talk to your chairman after this ordeal is over." Cagalli finished.
The Girty Lue then rolled to it's left as several more blasts from the Minerva flew past it's bridge.
"Evvvvvaaaaaadddddddeeee!" Ian Lee, the second-in-command soldier shouted with anxiety as the Girty Lue continued to dodge fire, while the bridge door opened and Neo walked aboard, before floating over to his seat.
"I got carried away. Sorry about that." The black haired man apologized.
"Enemy vessel is approaching from six o'clock." A crewman informed.
"It appears to be an awfully fast ship. This could be trouble." Lee warned, just as the Minerva fired more missiles at the Girty Lue, whose sensors beeped and buzzed in response. "Hard to port." Lee continued to order, while Neo, who was in a thinking position, broke out of his pose.
"Okay I have a plan, so listen well or we're done for!" He started, speaking up so all could hear. "Load all missile tubes with Sledgehammers. Have them aim for the area just in front of where that ship will be. Activate all Gottfrieds. Swing bow 360 degrees. When we are facing them fire everything and then quickly finish the turn and get the hell away from them. The shock wave should put some distance between us, and slow them down significantly." Neo ordered, taking up a stoic and silent expression while Lee just followed along.
"Swinging bow 360 degrees!" The helmsman reported as he turned the drive wheel.
"Gottfrieds One through Six activated. Thirty-eight Sledgehammers loaded and ready to be fired." One of the gunnery crewmen stated as the crew carried out the start of their escape plan.
Minerva Hanger Bay:
The area was very large, expansive, and outfitted to store, repair, and equip a large number of mobile suits. From the cockpit of his ZAKU Phantom, Rey stumbled out and floated away. Meanwhile the cockpit of the Impulse opened up and Shinn quietly went on his way, passing by the bodies of the two ZAKU Warriors used by Athrun Zala and Cagalli Yula Attha, unable to take his eyes off of them.
"Shinn?" Approached one of the younger engineers, whose hair was a long mess of brown and red, and whose name tag read 'Vino Dupre'.
"Hey, is he okay?" Yolan Kent, another one of the engineers with shorter black hair and dark skin questioned as he stopped next to Vino.
'I thought we didn't carry any ZAKUs besides the ones Rey and Luna pilot? Are these the ones which helped me earlier? Sure looks like it... but who was piloting them? Who?' Shinn inquired to himself, completely detached from his crew mates.
Outside the peace of the hanger bay, the Minerva continued to rain weapons fire upon the Girty Lue, firing salvo after salvo at the mysterious vessel, when suddenly, the forward vessel started to turn to it's starboard.
"Captain, Boggie One is swinging around. Looks like a full starboard turn!" Bart gave a heads up.
"So they're going to face us head on? Is that it? Or..." Talia questioned as the enemy vessel continued to close angle around.
Then, as the Girty Lue's tangent trajectory became perpendicular to that of the Minerva's, Neo's eyes shot open.
"All launchers: Fire!" The black haired man ordered. Within seconds, thirty-eight heavy missiles flew out of the ship and set themselves towards the Minerva, or so the crew of the Zaft ship thought.
"Incoming missiles! Dead ahead! THRITY-EIGHT OF THEM!" Bart screeched in horror.
"It can fire that many?" Arthur questioned, stunned to say the least.
"Intercept with all activated weapons! Fire, fire, FIRE!" Talia frantically yelled, feeling her sympathetic nervous system start to kick in. As Girty Lue's missiles closed in on the Minerva the Zaft ship fired it's own projectiles in response. When they met, most of them ended up clashing in front of the ship's bow, creating a massive shock wave and a fiery explosion cloud, slowing down the Minerva and blinding it's vision of the Girty Lue outright. "What the hell? Is this a joke?" She asked as the smoke cloud cleared slightly, revealing a vague, grey silhouette of Boggie One as it faced the Minerva bow to bow. However, one thing the Captain didn't notice was any lights from their engines, and that had her worried in a heartbeat. "HARD TO STARBOARD!" She screamed with all the might her lungs could muster.
"Incoming!" Bart alerted as a grand sum of twelve green lights flashed and an equal number of beam shots blurred forth through the cloud.
"Trying...!" Malik nearly bit his forward tongue off as he yanked the ship out of position as hard as his coordinator strength would allow him to. With a quick pickup, Talia was already on her chair-phone, ready to address this emergency.
"All hands this is your Captain. Brace for impa...ahhhhhhhh!" Talia tried to say over the intercom as the combined twelve beams either hit the Minerva or passed by it. A pair of them hit the bow, one of them struck it's port hanger bay, and two impacted it's port side hull. However, the ship seemed to not take that much damage despite this, unlike a Nazca-class or Laurasia-class, which would have easily been outright sunk. Rather, the armor seemed to heat up slightly and then cool down, in a similar fashion to the ablative laminated armor of the older Archangel-class.
Even though the vessel suffered little damage on the outside and no damage to it's offensive systems, the Minerva's innards were a different story. Chaos struck like lighting and everyone was practically thrown around if they weren't strapped to something.
"Bridge, what's happening?" Rey luckily managed to reach one of the phones and pick it up, but received no response. He then growled before hanging up and grabbing hold of a nearby rail.
"The... damn?" Shinn yelled, his mind spinning and confused; his physical body being treated like a rag doll by the forces around him, and his ears being bombarded by Arthur's voice which spoke through the intercom
"All stations. Damage reports immediately!" Echoed throughout the Minerva.
Finally, the 'earthquake' that was afflicting the ship had settled. The Minerva stabilized herself and everyone ceased to hold onto their chairs and hats, assuming they were sitting in one or were wearing one, respectively.
"What's the enemy ship's position?" Talia questioned while the smoke ahead of her cleared up.
"Ma'am, I just can't get a fix. Wait a moment, please." Bart's fingers scurried along his keyboard.
"Fire off a round of anti-beam depths charged, just to be safe." She sighed.
"Captain I have found the enemy ship. They're fleeing." Bart informed with new news.
"Belay that old order, Arthur!" Talia raised her voice. "Dammit, so they did that to get away! A trick like that? The nerve." She grumbled, while the bridge's door opened up and Rey walked forward, immediately noticing Gilbert Durandal.
"Chairman?" He said in a surprised voice as Gilbert waved back at him.
"That's how you anger your foe... making an escape like that." Talia shook her head angrily, but calming down at the same time.
"We seem to be facing a first class unit." Durandal stated with intrigue.
"Which is why we cannot let them get away, and will not let them get away. Imagine the devastation that will be brought on should we fail to apprehend them. Who knows what could happen?" Talia questioned, her tone fearing for the worst.
"Indeed." Durandal nodded. "This is now an issue of national security."
"It's too late to have you disembark now, Mr. Chairman. I believe we should continue our pursuit of that vessel." Talia stated with concern, but Durandal just raised his hand and waved it with a smile.
"No need to worry about me, I'm quite fine, Captain. I guess we'll have to treat this assignment as the Minerva's first. Besides, for all we know they might run into a ship belonging to ORB. They've been scouring the debris belt recently from what I've heard." He lightly chuckled in laughter.
"Whatever happens, I'll be sure to have this ship prepared to the best of my abilities." Talia stated, breathing in deeply. "Then it's settled: This ship will now continue the pursuit of Boggie One. Set course to follow their trail. Engines to maximum." Talia ordered as the Minerva fired it's main thrusters, gaining speed from her previous halt. Arthur took the spotlight again, announcing the ship's intentions to everyone on board.
"All hands: The Minerva is about to commence the pursuit of Boggie One. Due to unforeseen circumstances, our maiden voyage will be in the service of an extremely important mission." The Executive Officer once again stated over the line to all corners of the ship.
"Wait? A battle? Now this?" Athrun complained from the lounge where he was sitting next to Cagalli.
"This is your opportunity to show what you've learned during all those daily training sessions." Arthur finished his broadcast.
"So they didn't manage to get them, then?" Cagali stated, clasping her hands together, clearly in a state of deep thought.
"Raise the bridge. Go to condition yellow until we enter a combat situation." Talia turned to face Durandal. "Please use the Captain's Cabin, Mr. Chairman. Although the Minerva prides itself on being a fast ship, the enemy is no slouch either. Rey, please show the Chairman to his quarters." She finished politely, the bridge returning to it's much brighter, higher setting.
"Ma'am." Rey nodded, but then a screen blinked, and Lunamaria appeared on the other end, all before the blonde could even move a muscle.
"Captain, I have some important information." The magenta haired pilot started.
"Go on." Talia spoke.
"The battle prevented me from reporting this earlier, but as the ship got underway, we took two ZAKUs aboard, each of them having faced combat during the robbery and each of them piloted by a civilian." Luna reported as Durandal lowered his head in shame. "One of them claims to be Lady Cagalli Yula Attha of ORB, and her personal attendant." She finished, and now Durandal cocked an eyebrow, while Arthur practically jumped like he had an encounter with the supernatural.
"What? You said 'faced combat'?" Talia asked, her eyes narrowing with disbelief.
"Yes, the ZAKUs they used are inside the hanger bay. The Chief Representative requests a meeting with Chairman Durandal as soon as possible." Luna finished, sealing her lips.
"ORB's Chief Representative? That's who was piloting those two unknown ZAKUs?" Talia questioned, still shocked with doubt, but coming to accept what had happened.
"The Princess? How did she end up here? Well, at least we know she's safe." Durandal stated with confidence, leaning backwards into his chair.
"I acted on my own and did what I could. They are currently in the pilot's lounge." Lunamaria finished, cutting the line.
"Well, this is unexpected." Arthur mentioned with slight sarcasm.
"It's not the greatest shocker..." Durandal spoke up. "From what I understand, Lady Cagalli is a very 'hands on' head of state."
"Then this will be very interesting, won't it?" Talia questioned with a sigh as she rose upwards.
Location: Girty Lue, nearing the debris belt
Time: Nineteen hundred hours
Date: October 2nd, CE 73
In the vessel's hanger bay, engineers were analyzing the stolen mobile suits. They gathered data from the computers while clinging to the deactivated phase shift metal bodies like leeches. Inside a big room, in an unknown section of the vessel, Sting, Stella and Auel were each sleeping in a large, circular bed with a glass cover sealing them up. Nearby, Neo, the man with black hair and a scar, was observing them quietly as doctors worked at several computer terminals, which seemed to control the environments of the three beds themselves.
"She will be okay though, right?" Neo asked.
"Absolutely. It's only scary if one of them goes for a significant amount of time without treatment. Like a couple weeks or so." One of the doctors answered.
"Good..." Neo looked down onto Stella's bed and smiled as he watched her rest in complete bliss. "They should all experience a good dream or two during their nap. They've earned it, considering how well they took care of those their machines." He ordered, making eye contract with the other doctor who silently nodded his head. Then, satisfied, Neo made his way to the bridge, where Ian Lee awaited him.
"When I was briefed for this assignment, I thought it would be my last. Yet, somehow, we've managed to pull this off successfully, against all odds." Lee looked at Neo as the black suited man took his seat.
"Against all odds is right. One of their other machines was also a gundam-type, and one that we had no data on. Nevertheless, how much longer till we reach point B?" Neo shivered in his chair with uncertainty.
"About two hours, sir." The helmsman answered from across the room.
"Do you think that new Zaft ship is coming after us?" Lee glared in Neo's direction.
"I don't know, to be honest." Neo answered quietly. "... And since I don't know lets assume it is and continue on our present course. It's always a good idea to plan for the worst outcome, especially on the battlefield and in politics."
"Oh, the PLANT Supreme Council is going to be in an uproar after all this is revealed, that's for sure. How are those three recovering?" Ian inquired.
"Sleeping like babies in their crib. Although Auel used a block word on Stella. THAT does bother me a little; it's not something he should make a habit of. Nevertheless, she should be fine."
"Pilots that have to be returned to their cradles every time something happens to them..." Ian shook his head and sighed. "Like rechargeable batteries for the mobile suits. Does the lab truly believe they're going to be of any real use to us?"
"You have to admit they are better than the last batch." Neo began, while images of Shani Andras, Clotho Buer and Orga Sabnak flickered in his mind. "Those three... from what I heard you were lucky if that one with twin eye colors didn't shoot at his teammates. Sting, Stella and Auel? At least they understand what we tell them and they know what they're supposed to do." Neo informed, taking pride in the specialized soldiers he commanded.
"Hmmph." Lee simply mumbled with crossed arms.
"It can't be helped. After all, everything seems to be in the trial stages these days. This ship, their ship, the machines, the pilots, and even our very world itself. Yet for some reason there are those out there who would rush the Earth sphere into a twisted state of control for the sake of calming everything. Pathetic, if you think about it." Neo stated out loud, a sense of deep hatred and contempt in his voice.
"Yes...I understand what you're saying." Lee answered.
"The day is coming where everything shall begin for real... and I must guide the powerful ones to the truth, or else he will deny them until it's too late..." Neo stated with a tone of extreme concern, while all Lee did was raise an eyebrow in confusion.
Minerva's hanger bay, at roughly the same time:
"What the hell are you slobs doing? You've field stripped ZAKUs countless times in the past. Do it like you learned." The vessel's Chief Engineer barked down to the men he supervised.
"Yes...yes sir!" Another engineer responded.
"It all still seems like a dream. Who would think we would end up in real combat?" Vino asked Yolan, the two of them servicing Lunamaria's purple ZAKU Warrior together.
"Yea...it sure is strange." Yolan responded as he twisted a wrench.
"And I still don't get how it all happened so quickly." Vino shook his head, while Shinn flew in with a drink, listening. "I wonder if this will escalate to a full scale war?" Red eyes grew at the word.
War. Shinn remembered what happened to his family that day. How they all died to one shot, right then and there. That painful reminder of their death came back to his mind, as did his resolve to hate those responsible, or who he thought was responsible, all while, ironically, staring at the mobile suits piloted by two of it's officials.
"Words cannot express my regret. I apologize for involving you in this, Princess..." Durandal explained, just before he felt the Princess breath in a slightly heavier way than usual. "Eh, Chief Representative." He corrected himself, rolling his eyes away from her. "However, please try to understand our position." He then looked across the table again at the girl, while Captain Talia Gladys stood by his side, and Athrun stood by Cagalli's.
"If I may ask, have you been able to locate the enemy vessel? Have you acquired any data on their unit either?" Cagalli questioned with a stern, somewhat assertive tone.
"Actually...we haven't, and that's the bad part. Their vessel itself was of an unknown origin and class, and although some of their machines were of Earth Alliance make, who's to say some terrorist organization didn't manage to get a hold of them for the sake of deception. It's all an unknown at this point." Durandal grimed, and Cagalli followed. "This only enforces the urgency of the matter. We must quickly take control of the situation before it becomes too late, and... lives are lost as a result."
"I'm in complete agreement, Chairman Durandal. If I were in your shoes, I would probably be giving similar orders. Right now we can't do anything to upset the fragile world we live in. I pray that the PLANTs may be able to resolve this issue as soon as possible, and that those responsible may be met with reasonable justice." Cagalli stated confidently.
"Thank you for your blessing, Representative Attha, even if it is completely symbolic. You do not disappoint. If you'd like, I would be pleased to give you a guided tour of the ship." Durandal offered, while Talia Gladys jumped at the thought and so did Athrun.
"Sir!" Talia spoke, and Cagalli cocked an eyebrow.
"However temporary it may be, we are asking them to place their lives in our hands. Surely we can show this gesture of good faith towards our friends." Durandal added with a smile.
"A guided tour... would be wonderful, even if it mostly kills time. But first, may I use the communicator. I was supposed to contact ORB an hour ago, before I boarded the departing shuttle to inform my personal guard of the situation." Cagalli requested, her voice an uncompromising stance in and of itself.
"Of course, that shall be our first stop then." Durandal stated with a nod.
"Tell me, Captain. Where are we headed? I know we're following the enemy, but what's our destination."
"To the debris belt, Chief Representative." Talia responded.
"Thank you, I will not forget this." Cagalli stated, the two Heads of State standing up afterwords.
"Attha from ORB?" Shinn asked, placing his hand against the open cockpit door of Lunamaria's machine.
"I know I was surprised too. A famous war hero, here! I know it was a bit rough at the start when we met. Me pointing a gun at her, but I think we'll see more of her for sure!" Luna said as Shinn lowered his head, thinking, depressed, and silent. Luna starred at him, wondering what was up, and why he was in this state. "Is there something wrong with that ZAKU?" Luna asked, looking at Cagalli's ZAKU, and Shinn snapped out of it.
"Uhh...no. Nothing. It's just that it hadn't been assigned to the Minerva, neither of them were." He said, looking at the ZAKU that Cagalli had piloted. "I was wondering who the pilot was, whoever it was actually helped me."
"Tsk tsk tsk." Luna crossed her arms. "Rusty Shinn. Actually, I believe it was the Princess of ORB herself who had piloted that suit. Her body guard used the other one." Lunamaria informed as she looked at the ZAKU with the arm taken off. Shinn's eyes widened as he processed this new information. "He said his name was Alex, but Miss Attha accidentally called him Athrun. HUH?" Luna closed in with wide eyes. "Maybe it's Athrun Zala? Another war veteran!" She excitedly said as she leaned on the cockpit cover of her purple machine.
"Athrun Zala, and Cagalli Yula Attha... how come you never applaud my hard work? I kicked ass in the Academy and also on the field of battle today!" Shinn muttered under his breath. The memory of the ZAKUs trying to help him out playing in his head over and over.
"Oh, I will, perhaps one day when you show me some skills!" Luna giggled before floating away.
A group consisting of Durandal, Cagalli, Rey and Athrun walked through one of the Minerva's many hallways.
"...but this ship has found itself in a remarkable situation. To find itself engaged in battle the day before it's launch ceremony." Durandal stated as Rey led the five of them.
"Yes, it is a great shame that this happened. Unfortunately you can't break the old wine bottle on the ship's hull as she sets sail... not like anyone does that these days..." Cagalli added, causing a nearby crewman to give off a very subtle laugh.
"We'll take this lift to the mobile suit deck." Rey said, stopping near an elevator door, and waiting for the other three to step aboard before its door closed and the platform started to descend.
"Think of this next area as the heart of the ship. I am not at liberty to discuss how many mobile suits this vessel can hold, but rest assured that it is more than what is currently on board." Durandal said as they travelled down through the elevator.
"Understandable" Cagalli acknowledged, seconds before the door opened and the four walked into the hanger deck.
"Behold. The ZGMF-1000, or what you would understand to be the ZAKU. It's our most popular model and is easily mass produced in the most numbers." Durandal explained, directing the Princess' attention towards the crowd of large, mono-eyed machines. Before the Chairman continued on to the nearby gundam, Cagalli noticed how the ZAKU she had piloted was still there and how it was being serviced, which made her smirk just a little.
'You need every man you can get... I don't blame you either...' She thought before following back along.
"And then there's the Impulse with it's unique launcher system, which is perhaps the most distinctive feature of the Minerva. You must have seen it in action at the arsenal. From what our engineers tell me it's supposed to be a completely new mobile suit with remarkably high combat efficiency." Durandal explained, pointing at the Impulse, which was still assembled in place albeit missing the Blast Silhouette from before.
"The ZAKU seems to be like it's something from another universe, and another century, to be honest." Cagalli stated. "The Impulse on the other hand... what prompted you to design an entire ship around just one mobile suit? Well, it must be it's 'remarkably high efficiency.'" She analyzed.
"Yes. I'll be the first to admit I'm no expert on the technical details." Durandal added and Cagalli scanned the suits, specifically for the Impulse, paying attention to detail.
"I take it you don't much care for it, Princess."
"You seem to be happy, Mr. Chairman. I myself am rather fond of mobile suits, as you are well aware."
"Ah yes, the Strike Rouge. The suit you piloted in the battle of Yachin Due. However happy is not my word of choice for the matter. My thoughts come from how hard everyone's worked to gain such strength, and that we, the people of the nations we live in, can look back at the achievements of the past and smile but continue onwards into the future."
"Yes, such strength. I did say strength was vital. Vital to protect the innocent, and punish the cruel..." She led on, and although it probably wasn't intention, her words reached Shinn, standing on a lower level, who clenched his fists at the very sound of her voice.
'Protect the innocent. Ya, you certainly did a good job of that last time!' He thought, while Cagalli continued.
"However, I must ask you how you can possibly rationalize what has happened on this day. Due to the production of your new state-of-the art mobile suits, the PLANTs have suffered a dreadful lose." She firmly stated, putting her foot down and expecting an answer.
"Representative!" Athrun spoke out.
"And therefore you believe that we should not seek to acquire power and strength in that way, is that correct?" Durandal tilted his head to one side.
"Not exactly, but I now feel the need to remind you of something important." Cagalli stood straight up. "We made a vow to prevent the mistakes of the past from ever taking place again. To not allow the tragedies of the past to repeat themselves." She continued, and as she did, Shinn growled in a corner, the feelings of rage and sorrow gathering inside his being to great levels. "We said we would be committed to following a path that we could walk on together." Cagalli explained, the very growl of the Lioness reaching all corners of the hanger bay.
"That's true. Ahh... but... Princess..." Durandal began, only to have his voice overpowered by one from below, that was both louder and much younger.
"Making lies and excuses up has ALWAYS been a useful trait of the Attha family, hasn't it?" The voice of the Impulse's pilot yelled in a fashion that was clear it was out to stir trouble and attention.
"WHAT THE?" Cagalli called out, leaning over the rails, looking to where she had heard the voice come from, only to find the Zaft red shirt with matching irises and black hair staring directly at her, eye to eye. "Who the hell are you to make such a bold statement?" She questioned in an angry growl meant to match his own.
"Your drivel not defending you? 'Orb will not attack another nation, will not allow another nation to attack them, and will not intervene in the conflicts of other nations.' Yet for some reason YOU were piloting that ZAKU over there!" The boy kicked up a fit, raising his voice and pointing towards her temporary machine, yet Cagalli remained focused on him, strong eyes to strong eyes. "A bit hypocritical, if you ask me! Right, Princess Cagalli Yula Attha, daughter of the very dead Lord Uzumi Nara Attha and now Chief Representative of the ORB Union?" Shinn barked in the most triumphant and insulting way possible.
"Excuse me!" Cagalli tried to jump off of the rail and lung directly at the young pilot, only to be caught by Athrun and held back by the back of her coat. Quickly, she glanced at the bluenette, only to find an expression of genuine concern on his face. Then, she turned to Durandal, who had raised an eyebrow, but was nevertheless silent, as if he was stunned, or so it seemed. Finally, she turned back to the red suited boy who had called her out. "How dare you! Were you that pilot? If I wasn't there, you would be dead now! I thought you would know better considering the skills you displayed, but apparently not!"
"Cagalli..." Athrun whispered, trying to get her to stop.
"Shut your mouth, now." With a faint whisper, Cagalli commanded firm authority, making sure her voice could not be heard by those below. Athrun, needless to say, was silenced quickly by her sharp words, while Cagalli herself diverted back towards Shinn once more. "I'm sorry, but I wasn't in the mood for just standing by and letting myself die out there, alright? We knew those people had stolen your new mobile suits, but we did not know of their exact intentions. Who's to say they weren't going to come after the other mobile suits in that base, or Chairman Durandal himself? I knew that if you had fallen, the suits belonging to both myself, and my personal bodyguard, Alex Dino, would have probably been their next target on their way out, considering how many of your comrades out there perished at their hands! Besides, Chairman Durandal has directly informed me that you have NO DATA WHATSOEVER on that enemy unit! No proof of their nationality or anything of the sort! Therefore, I can only rule that they may be terrorists, and therefore not part of any nation! Now, with that in mind, am I violating my ideal by protecting my right to live? HMM?" She gave him a stern, killing look, the entire chamber quiet as a mouse right then and there. Shinn wanted to roar back towards the Lioness, but before he could gather hot air in his lungs, Rey intervened.
"Shinn?" Rey questioned, leaping over to him and rushing at a high speed. The black haired boy looked at Cagalli, and she looked at him. Time stopped as the two starred each other down. Their piercing gazes trying to read each other, and neither side wanted to look away, for that would mean defeat. Defeat that neither of them was willing to accept. However, Rey was to reach Shinn, and when he did, he tried to get a lock on the boy's arm, but Shinn only groaned and kicked the wall, catapulting himself away from everyone else.
'You... murderer... one day...' Shinn thought to himself, his anger boiling as he floated away on his own.
"I'm very sorry..." Durandal lowered his head and closed his eyes as normalcy returned to the hanger. Most crew members dared not even speak still.
"Cagalli..." Athrun said in a stern tone, and she looked at him. He then lowered his voice to a dull whisper and spoke. "We're on a Zaft ship... political correctness?"
"Athrun..." Durandal's ears twitched and his head tilted towards the two, while the Princess raised her voice. "Alex." Cagalli just shook her head in disgust, and any sense of happiness or joy on his face quickly left. Seeing this, Cagalli frowned, but then cheered up, as if she was trying to tell him that she was sorry, and that she would explain everything to him and 'make up for it' when they had some alone time, but that did nothing for Athrun, who's expression remained the same. As far as he was concerned, she should have never did that in the first place, she should have just sat back and took it like a good girl. Still, with a cloudy silence and the rain of melancholy pouring down upon the three of them, they pressed onwards.
Minerva bridge:
"What's this thing happening in the hanger bay? Shinn and..." Talia started to speak up in a dull voice, only to be interrupted by her radar operator.
"Ma'am, it must wait! We've found Boggie One! It's at orange fifty five, mark ninety alpha!" Bart reported with a howl.
"Red alert. All hands to battle stations." Talia ordered, sitting up straight and preparing for combat.
Rey had caught up with the group, but before he could have a chance to explain what had happened, the Minerva's sirens began to go off.
"Enemy vessel detected! Distance: Eight thousand! Going to condition red. Pilots are to standby in their machines." Meyrin announced.
"Hurry up with the final checks! Its starting!" The Chief Engineer demanded, standing atop Rey's ZAKU Phantom.
"I'm sorry Mr. Chairman. He will be disciplined for his actions." Rey addressed, while Cagalli simply nodded at Rey, who took notice. With that, Rey began to hunt down Shinn.
"My sincerest apologizes, Princess. That young pilot was an immigrant from ORB, who fled..."
"...I need no other words, Chairman. Many terrible things happened on that day when the Earth Alliance attacked. My father... took drastic measures which I hope... I will never be forced to even consider." Cagalli said, her voice laced with a calm sadness.
"May we observe the battle from the bridge?" Athrun inquired, placing his right hand on Cagalli's back.
"Should you choice, I will not stand against it." Durandal answered.
"Fine then." Cagalli stood up straight. "All I have to say is... I hope that isn't my final encounter with that pilot." They began to walk together, yet Athrun stood behind them, shaking his head in disagreement.
'Not your final encounter? Why... you'd only fight him...' Athrun pondered with a confused look.
Girty Lue bridge:
"So they've followed us after all..." Ian spoke.
"Yes, it just goes to show you that Zaft isn't slacking off. Alright then, we'll end them here! All hands to battle stations! Prepare the ship for combat! Pilots to the briefing room!" Neo quickly ordered, lifting off his seat and making way for the bridge's elevator.
Minerva bridge:
"I don't expect the enemy to enter the debris belt on purpose but it's a dangerous area for fighting!" Talia mentioned as the bridge crew prepared for battle. The bridge, right now, had already been lowered into it's protected level. Off in the distance, one could even see the Earth itself, past the belt of man made garbage. "Helmsman, I'm counting on you."
"Ma'am." Malik affirmed.
"Shinn and Lunamaria can go out first. What is our range to target?" The Captain questioned.
"Six thousand, five hundred to target." The Bart answered as Cagalli, Durandal, and Athrun entered the room.
"Chairman..." Talia said as she noticed them.
"May I ask a favour? I would like to invite our honoured guests to observe the bridge as we are in battle. The Representative and her bodyguard both have experience on the battlefield so this should be second nature to them." Durandal turned to Cagalli. "In fact, didn't you take command of a warship at the age of... sixteen or so?" Durandal asked, and Cagalli nodded in agreement. Seeing this, Gladys felt a tad intimidated by the Lioness' presence.
"Very well. If that's how you feel. Welcome to the bridge, Lady Attha." She greeted, pointing the three of them several seats that sat on the level above her chair.
"Thank you, it's an honour." Cagalli said, floating down to Talia and sticking her hand out. Captain Gladys looked stunned for a moment, but nevertheless, accepted her offer, and shook her hand. "Thank you for everything."
"Arthur, if you haven't finished preparations yet... get it done!" Talia turned to the front screen and ordered as Cagalli took her seat in the back of the bridge.
"Yes ma'am!" The Executive Officer said with enthusiasm.
"It's that new ship again." Auel quipped as he got his flight suit on, zipping up it's strap.
"I wonder if we're going to see that combining bastard again?" Sting questioned with a glare.
"Either way, let's capture him or break his face." Auel snickered.
"Breaking his face would be ineffective... Stella thinks we should try to break... other things on his suit..." The blonde spoke with a glazed look in her eyes.
"Fire anchor. Cut engines after firing and launch decoy. Get the timing right on this..." Neo commanded with a snarl. The Girty Lue fired a large, powerful hook positioned on it's mid section into an asteroid above it. The anchor then sunk into the rock and gripped it tightly as the vessel itself began to pull upwards due to tight tension.
Inside the Minerva's hanger bay, the purple ZAKU was loaded into the launching pad as Meyrin announced it's preparations.
"Lunamaria, ZAKU Warrior, standby to launch. Commencing launch sequence." Meyrin attended to her sister first, and then switched to Shinn. "You sure you're good with the Blast Silhouette, Shinn? You did a lot of damage last time you used it." Meyrin asked.
"Yes, in this debris field the enemy will try to hide behind rocks. When they do I'll shoot overpower them. Plus, it's good against their vessel, if I ever get the chance." He said as the Impulse was prepared for launch with it's gamma silhouette.
"Hatch opened. Linear launch sequence engaged."
"Target is maintaining course. Distance forty-seven hundred." Bart announced.
"ZAKU and Impulse, launch!" Talia ordered, while behind her, Cagalli thought about what that red eyed boy said to her.
'Why...would he...think like that? What reason does he have to say those things?' She wondered to herself.
"Gunner ZAKU Warrior engaged." Meyrin said as a hatch above Lunamaria's ZAKU opened and a backpack equipped with a large, folded up beam cannon and a bulky, cylindrical battery unit came down and attached itself to her suit.
"Lunamaria Hawke, ZAKU, I'm taking off!" Lunamaria announced, her purple ZAKU left the Minerva in an instant, distancing herself from the vessel.
"Boggie One... We call it that, but I wonder what it's real name is." Durandal led on.
"The name is a reflection of it's owners nature, correct?" Cagalli asked.
"Correct... but, what if the name is a fake. Does that make the thing itself a fake." Durandal said, turning to face Athrun with the grin of a fox. "Alex." He called out that one single word. "Does that mean that the thing is fake? False by nature? Is that what it would mean... Alex? Or should I call you... Athrun Zala...?" He questioned, stealing the attention of everyone on the bridge. Athrun's green eyes grew a little, and his breath became a wee bit heavier, just from those words. Then, Cagalli's eyes narrowed... she looked at Durandal, and she did not look impressed.
'Leave him alone, he has enough problems as it is without being bothered while on a bodyguard mission...' The Lioness thought.
Finally, the Minerva's second mobile suit took off.
"You're next, Impulse." Meyrin announced.
"Shinn Asuka, Core Splendor, launching!" The red eyed teen burst his engines to full and took off with his small core fighter, the remaining three pieces of the Impulse falling behind shortly, all configuring themselves into the Blast Impulse once again. With that, the white, black and green mobile suit sped off into the distance, in search of the Girty Lue-class vessel known to the Minerva as Boggie One...
