The floor was cold and comfortable. A young lady in a red ZAFT pilot suit slowly opened her eyes. Pain took over her entire body. Using nearly all her strength she sat herself upright. Crawling into a corner she leant against the wall and examined her predicament.

She was in a dull grey room. It was tiny. A miniscule amount of light shone through a barred window in a metal door. As she looked around the room she spotted a silhouette in the opposite corner. Squinting her eyes and focusing hard she was able to make out the form of a person sitting on the floor like her.

"Who's there?" Her voice was hoarse from the pain. The person seemed to respond. They moved slowly toward the light. She saw the person's right arm and leg as they reached the light. They were wearing a green ZAFT suit.

"Commander Campbell? Is that you Cadence?"

The voice was familiar. She knew it well. It was Ensign Ricardo Hernandez. He was one of her squad members. His arm was covered in bloodstains. All of sudden she remembered what had happened. They had been in a drop pod on the way to Cairo when the Alliance had spotted them and opened fire.

The pod has been severely damaged and she had ordered everyone to perform an emergency bail. She could remember the incredible bright light of the sun burning her eyes as she jettisoned herself from the pod.

Cadence had seen the other three pilots leave the pod as well. Ricardo was here. Perhaps the others were. She couldn't remember what happened after they landed. She just remembered getting caught in her parachute after she hit the ground. She must have passed out. She ran her fingers through her dark red hair to move it away from her eyes.

"Ricardo, where are we? What happened to your arm?""Oh Cadence! Thank god you are alright! I… We're in an Alliance holding cell. They… They attacked us after we landed. They killed Chris and Kato. They.. were gonna kill you too…"

That when it hit her. The wound on his was a bullet wound. As Ricardo moved gradually into the light she could see he was riddled with similar wounds.

"Ricardo! What the hell did they do you!?""They were gonna… kill you… I wasn't going to let 'em…"

Ricardo slumped to the floor. His handsome young face looked so void of feeling. Cadence knew it. He was dying in front of her.

"Ca… Cadence… You've gotta… get out of here… At least one of the squad should… survive…"

His eyes suddenly looked so blank. His body slipped to floor. He was laying flat on the back not making a sound. Cadence sat in the shadow looking at the body of her team mate and friend. She understood all too well what he had done. Ricardo had received those wounds defending her. He died because of her. The Alliance would pay for this.

Cadence spent the next hour sitting in the corner wrapped in a ball. She was constantly rocking back and forth with a look of hatred on her face. Footsteps approached the door. A shadow was cast through the barred window as the handle started to twist. Cadence closed her eyes and lowered her head. The door slowly swiftly open and a pair on men in blue Alliance uniforms walked it.

"Well look what we 'ave 'ere! Seems the dumb sod died on us!" said the shorter of the pair."We've still got the girl over there. The Captain will be satisfied." Said the other.

The hatred in Cadence rose. How dare they refer to Ricardo like that. She waited. She was sure they would walk closer to her. Her eyes slowly opened underneath her hair and she examined her prey. The taller one had a knife attached to his left leg. That was her key. He did exactly as she thought. Dumb Naturals. They were all so predictable in person.

He neared. She smiled. Jumping to her feet she caught him off guard. A swift kick to face knocked him backward and she span round, grabbing his knife. She pounced. The knife did its job. Thrusting it into the soldier's heart she forced his body to the ground. As she tore the knife out blood flew onto her face. Her expression resembled a wild animal. Cadence turned her attention to the other soldier. He was trembling. She darted across the room and drove the knife into his neck. Payback. He deserved it. They all did. Those damned Naturals!

The soldier's lifeless body fell to the floor. The door was still open. Leaving the cell she ran as fast as she could down the corridor hoping she was going the right way. As she dashed round a right turn a soldier in front of her saw her. He raised his rifle. Cadence dived and rolled. The knife found his abdomen before he could fire. She forced the knife out of his body, sideways. Grabbing the gun she pocketed the knife in her pilot suit's sheath.

Ahead of her she could see a pair of metal doors. On the wall next to it was a painted sign. It read Mobile Suit Hangar with an arrow pointing to the doors. She made up her mind. She needed a suit. That was all there was to it.

The doors flung open as she kicked them. An engineer turned around just in time to see her pull the trigger. The room filled with the sound of gunshots. There we only four engineers in the hangar. Other than them it was empty. Cadence wasn't going to let them live though. Not after they killed Ricardo, Chris and Kato. The engineers died quickly.

She discarded the gun and began to climb a ladder to the left of the room. At the top was a long metal bridge leading to the cockpits of three mobile suits. There was a Buster Dagger, an incomplete Strike Dagger and a damaged Windam. Only one choice. She leapt into the pilot seat and closed the hatch. The system activated and the suit's eyes illuminated. The visual screens kicked in and Cadence started the suit moving.

She readied the Dagger's cannon and aimed at the hangar doors. The blast sent the doors spiralling through the air allowing her to escape. Such low security. Did they really think that would hold a Coordinator like Cadence? She was a ZAFT Red for a reason.

The light burnt her eyes once again as she left the hangar. She wasn't used to sunlight. They didn't get the real thing on PLANT. The Dagger turned around and aimed the cannon once again. This time the shot his the Windam. The suit exploded instantly covering the hangar in flaming metal. Cadence turned the suit toward the building next to the hangar. It had been where she and Ricardo were imprisoned.

She knew Ricardo would want her to destroy the place. She said on last goodbye to him in her head and fired twice. The facility burst into flames. She saw one soldier run into hangar. She wasn't going to let them escape! She shot at the coupling holding the Strike Dagger.

It fell to the floor, crushing the soldier and tilting to the left. Landing flat on its side it blocked the exit. Perfect thought Cadence. She had a sinister smile on her face as she turned the Buster Dagger around and walked away.

There had been so many other drop pods. Someone must have landed relatively close. She hacked into the computer's communication and scanner systems with incredible speed. Searching purely for ZAFT drop pod communication channels she picked up a result. A total of two hundred miles east of her current location.

She would need help in order to complete her mission and avenge her teammates. The suit started to walk forward. It would take a good few hours to get there. The suit was slow and heavy. Cadence closed her eyes briefly.

"Ricardo… Chris… Kato… I'll avenge you. I promise."