DISCLAIMER: Gundam Wing and Gundam Seed Destiny are not mine (how I wish:-( ). Don't sue, it'll be a waste of money and time, which you can spend creating more Gundam series. :-)
TIMELINE: Happen throughout the Gundam Seed Destiny's events.
WARNING: Major spoilers!!! Especially for those who have not seen Destiny. So, there!
PHASE 03: OMINUOUS GUNFIRE
By Arayelle Lynn.
The second Shinn engaged the red mobile armor; he knew that he had just made a serious mistake. Judging by the ferocity of the attacks and its series of complicated maneuvers, Shinn figured that he was dealing with someone with a superior skill. The enemy pilot executed attacks after attacks, not even sparing Shinn a moment of reprieve. As he tried to fruitlessly dodge the advances, Shin had a nagging feeling that his first commission could be his last!
"Shinn!" a familiar voice crackled over the comm. as a white Zaku made a very timely appearance. It immediately engaged the MA, giving Shinn the much-needed room to breathe.
"Rey!" he called out, seeing his friend's handsome face on the screen. He wanted to say more but there was a strange expression on the blonde's feature. A little frown that was unusual on his otherwise stoic face. It's either Rey was finding it hard to match the enemy or he was distracted by something.
Suddenly a flash of weapon's fire reminded Shinn that he was still in the battlefield. He dodged away from its line of fire and tried to disable the Gunbarrel but missed. Another Gunbarrel fired at him, almost hitting him in the rear. Shinn tried to destroy it but like its brethren, it moved too fast!
Gritting his teeth out of frustration, Shinn tried to once again disable the little cannons that seemed to be surrounding him like annoying flies but only succeeded in avoiding getting hit. He spared a glance towards the other battle. He was surprised to see how well the enemy engaged Rey, without losing a single control over his Gunbarrels. But unlike before, this time the enemy seemed to be more than determined to destroy the Zaku. And he's using the Gunbarrels to stop Shinn from backing up Rey and keep him in place. The enemy pilot had successfully kept both boys trapped!
'What could he be thinking?' Shinn wondered as he tried another strategy. He tried to break away from the battlefield but the Gunbarrels drove him back, forcing him to stand his ground. A thought came to him then. 'He must b planning to capture Impulse as well!' He set his jaw. 'Not if I could help it.'
xxxXxxx
"We're approaching the battlefield," the helm officer announced. On the screen, the battle between Impulse, Zaku and the enemy's MA continued. They stared at the screen, momentarily awed by the spectacular dance.
From the corner of his eyes, Dullindal saw Quatre shifted. There was a look of open confusion in his eyes.
"Captain, we've spotted a ship!" the sensors officer announced. The screen flickered to show an unidentified ship not far away. Captain Gladys waited for him to continue, staring at the enemy's ship intently. "I can't find anything on the ship. It's unlisted. Not even a registration number."
'Damn! The Federation is getting clever,' she thought. 'Using a new and unregistered spaceship to avoid a global incident.' She spared a glance at Dullindal, who nodded back.
"Prepare for battle," she announced, noticing Dullindal's PA gave him a startled look. "Our target is the unidentified ship. We must stop it before it escape with the new models. From now on, we will refer that ship as Bogey-1." She turned to her second-in-command. "Arthur, move!"
The young man snapped into attention and scrambled to his seat, issuing commands. Within seconds, Minerva was heading straight for her first battle.
xxxXxxx
When Neo Lorrnoke saw the new ZAFT ship heading for his, he forced himself to abandon his hope in capturing the new white model. Disengaging himself from the enemy's Zaku, he flew back to Girty Lue at about the same time the two ZAFT mobile suits were recalled back to their ship. Once he landed, he jumped out of Exus, clapped Nanashi's shoulder before making his way back to the bridge. The ship shook, nearly threw him off balance as he reached his seat. "Let's retreat. We've gotten what we came for."
The ship shook again. Neo gripped his seat to keep his balance. The enemy's ship was getting surprisingly nearer and soon will be able to outrun them unless they do something. And fast.
An inspiration hit him. "Release the reserve fuel tank," he ordered, earning surprised looks from the crew.
"Sir?"
"Just do it," his second-in-command said, finally catching on. He turned to another bridge crew, "Ready the rear cannon. Target the reserve tanks."
"Aye, sir."
"Helm, get ready to get us out. Maximum speed, on my mark."
"Aye."
"Now, Ensign."
The tanks were released just as the enemy came within range. Neo watched the tanks floated towards the white ship. 'Lieutenant?'
"Target locked."
He waited a few heartbeats. "Fire!" The tanks exploded upon impact. "Helm!" The ship's pilot powered up the vessel, narrowingly missing the shockwave. The enemy's ship wasn't as lucky as the explosion hit them full in the face. Neo smiled as they widened their distance.
xxxXxxx
Alarms blared, adding more confusion to the already chaotic situation. Fires and smoke were every where as the crew struggled to put them out. On the bridge, Talia Gladys listened calmly as the damage report kept coming. Her eyes never left the image of the enemy's ship, now too far away.
"Maintain pursuit," she told her helmsman. She was not going to give up. But something held her back. "Mr. Chairman…" she began.
"Don't worry about my safety. Do what you need to do. Our top priority is to capture the enemy's ship and recover the stolen models." Dullindal interrupted.
Capt. Gladys nodded, seeing a new addition to the bridge. "Rey, please escort the chairman and his assistant to the officer's quarters." The golden-haired pilot nodded in obedience. Gladys turned. "Arthur, began repairs. I want the ship to be ready for the next round." Just as she said the screen flickered, revealing Lunamaria Hawke's pretty face.
She saluted. "Captain, I apologize if my report seemed long overdue but I was delayed," she said, her expression betrayed more than her words.
Capt. Gladys nodded. "Go on," she prompted.
"I have apprehended two intruders who entered the docking bay just before we launched. They claimed to be the chairman's guests from the Orb Union, Prime Minister Cagalli Yula Attha and her aide Alex Dino."
Quatre shot out of his seat while Dullindal and Capt. Gladys exchanged surprise glances. There was a murmur of surprise among the bridge crew as they comprehended the situation. Recovering, Capt. Gladys responded. "Escort them to the officer's quarters. The chairman and I will meet you there."
Luna nodded. Capt. Gladys turned to Dullindal, her eyes questioning him this latest development. "Shall we, sir?" she said, gesturing him to the door.
xxxXxxx
He was polishing his gun when he heard the sound. He perked up, dropping the rag onto the floor. He strained his ears, his finger hitting the table light, plunging the room into darkness.
There. It came from the windows. For a moment he debated whether or not he should warn his partner, who was in the shower. But when he heard the sound again, this time nearer, he knew that he would just give himself away.
So, grabbing the half-emptied clip, he slipped it back into his gun and silently tip-toed towards the windows. He leaned against the wall and peered outside. Sure enough, a silhouette of a man was climbing stealthily up the fire escape.
Gently cocking the gun, he took aim as the intruder started to climb in. He fingered the trigger, his eyes squinting to make out the intruder's face but before he could do anything, the intruder vanished!
A hand shot out from his left, grabbing his arm. He only managed a cry of surprise before he was spun around, his arm was twisted behind his back. The intruder slammed him against the wall, yanking the gun from his now numbed fingers. He grunted when he was thrown to the floor.
All of these happened so quickly that it took him a moment to realize that it was over.
The intruder towered over him. The borrowed gun was aimed steadily at his owner. He could only glared defiantly back at the intruder's cold and hard Prussian blue eyes.
Wait a minute! Prussian blue eyes?
"What the heck are you doing?" the intruder demanded. Almost at the same time, another voice, a female, barked. "What the hell is going on with you two?" She threw on the switch, flooding the room with light.
He blinked from this second assault. "Yuy? Geez. What the hell were you doing scaring the life out of me?" he asked, picking himself off the floor.
In his part, Yuy kept the gun trained on him. The suspicious look never left his face. "What are you doing?" he repeated the question, monotonously.
"Trying to stop an intruder," he answered, wincing as he rotated his bruised wrist. "Couldn't you just use the front door instead?" he complained, bitter at also having his pride bruised by a mere kid.
Yuy gave him an unreadable look before detaching the clip and throw the gun back at him with a "hn…". He then walked off to their work station. "Hey, aren't you even going to apologize?"
"He doesn't have to, Murphy," their female counterpart answered, grabbing a brush to comb her damp orange hair. "You should've known that he'll be using the fire escape as his means of entry and exit for the duration of this mission." She shrugged. "Besides, what's the point of him hiding his identity if he was going to announce it to the world by walking through the front door?"
Murphy grinned at her. "Oh, yeah. That's right." He whispered conspiratorially to her. "He isn't supposed to be here."
The woman watched as Yuy slipped out of his technician disguise, leaving on a green tank top and a pair of jeans. "I trust I don't have to ask if you were followed?" she wandered, casually brushing her hair.
Yuy spared her a glance before responding. "Hn…"
"So, what happened back there?" Murphy questioned, as Yuy booted up the computer.
"The base was under attacked."
Murphy rolled his eyes. "We sort of figured that out ourselves. By who?"
Yuy paused, deep in thought. "Unknown," he finally answered, starting to type on the keyboard. "There weren't enough distinctive marks to make an ID."
"Hmm… most probably those idiotic Federation people. Everyone knows that ZAFT was up to something," Murphy interrupted.
"You can't make such assumptions."
The woman shushed Murphy. "Tell me what you saw."
Yuy stopped typing, turning to face her. "Four new models."
"Gundams?"
He nodded. "Apparently. Three were stolen and the other is commissioned to the new battleship, Minerva."
"And the Chairman?"
"He doesn't seem so surprised. And I believe he's on Minerva."
The woman thought for a little while. "Looks like he's eager to see his new toys in action." When she heard Yuy continued tapping the keyboard, she looked up. "I take it that you're going to report this to the boss?"
"Only after I completed my analysis."
"Well, make sure you don't stay up too late. You still have to go to your other life by morning."
"Roger." With that, he continued hacking into ZAFT Intel files.
xxxXxxx
"How are they doing?" Colonel Neo questioned as he studied the sleeping Extended.
The chief physician glanced at his reports. "Not bad for their first mission," he answered, skipping the medical terms since the colonel hardly had any tolerance for it. "There were some disturbing results from the female subject's brain activity. It appears that one of the boys have used the trigger code on her during battle."
Neo sighed. "Auel," he guessed, knowing Sting to be responsible enough not to endanger a fellow comrade like that.
The physician nodded. "We're dealing with that. My assistant will start the removal procedure in a minute."
Neo nodded. "Keep me informed."
xxxXxxx
"Please accept my apologies, Prime Minister Athha. We didn't mean to involve you in the conflict," Dullindal apologized once they were seated. As usual, Alex Dino stood behind Cagalli Yula Athha and Captain Talia Gladys and Quatre Winner stood behind the Chairmain.
Orb's head of state shook her head. "Never mind, what's done is done. The more important thing is we must do everything to maintain peace," she said, evenly. "You can expect Orb's full cooperation to apprehend this situation."
Her last words not only shocked her aide but Dullindal's assistant as well. The chairman just smiled gratefully at her. "That's a very generous offer, minister. Perhaps this could strengthen our friendship." He felt Quatre move to interrupt but Capt. Glady's stopped him in time.
"Anyway, why don't I take you on a tour around the ship," he said, this time his words shocked Capt. Gladys. "It seems that you two are going to be here for a while so you might as well get familiar with your surroundings," he continued, giving Capt. Gladys a knowing look. "Don't you think so, Captain?"
Capt. Gladys sighed, nodding. She knew that nothing she said could persuade the chairman to do otherwise. The heads of two nations stood up and walked over to the exit. But before Dullindal crossed over the threshold, he spared a critical look at his assistant. "Stay here, Quatre until I return," he instructed, before turning to Capt. Gladys. "Could you send someone over to tend to Mr. Winner's injuries? No matter how hard he tried to hide it, I think he has sprained his ankle." He gave Quatre a look that said he would not appreciate any objections.
In his part, Quatre shied away from the concern looks from the others. When the door slid close, he slumped tiredly onto the sofa. He leaned back and closed his eyes.
xxxXxxx
"Gundam Chaos, Abyss and Gaia. What magnificent machines," Neo voiced in awe as he read through the specifications. "Once again, ZAFT outdone themselves," he commented, recalling all the impressive mobile suits created and produced by the Coordinator army.
"Will Curtis said to inform you that he'll have the full specs within the hour."
Neo chuckled. "Remind me to thank the chief engineer, major. He and his team are working so hard for us."
"I did. Only he said that the gratitude belongs to our young John Doe."
"Nanashi?"
The ship's captain, Ian Lee, nodded. "Said the kid had been a huge help to his team."
"So, I was right in keeping him here with us," Neo threw back as they walked into sickbay.
His subordinate hesitated before responding, "You are but I do think that not all of us are especially thrilled about having him here." He nodded at the approaching chief physician.
Neo turned. "Dr. Kimball?"
"I've just released the subjects, as you can see," he said, gesturing at the viewing glass. The three of them watched as Sting and Auel stood protectively over the yawning Stellar. "The procedure went well. The female subject has no recollection of the little incident," the doctor continued.
The three Extended make their way towards the exit. The door automatically opened, revealing a tall young man waiting at the other side. The three men heard Stellar squealed in delight as she threw herself into the young man's arms and the other two boys bounded towards the couple. Then the three began to talk excitedly to the older boy.
Seeing that, the doctor snorted and turned away. "Is there a problem, doctor?" Colonel Neo asked, seeing his disgusted look. The doctor dropped the disgusted look and straightened himself.
"Sorry, colonel. I'm just wondering why in the world the street rat is doing here. And why won't you let me erased their memories of him. He could jeopardize the whole experiments."
The colonel smiled. "Well, for one, our resident chief engineer thinks highly of the 'street rat' and two, I don't see the point in segregating the four of them. The Extended seems to function even better when he's around," he said, watching Stellar pulling the stoic Nanashi with her while Sting and Auel followed after them.
xxxXxxx
The repairs were just finishing by the time Shinn took a breather. He tossed the wrench to the floor and wiped his greasy hands. The chief mechanic had tried to tell him to leave the repairs to his team and rest but Shinn felt he was too jumpy to keep still.
Well that and the fact that he needed to keep his eye on something.
A female voice tore his gaze from the unknown Zaku. He watched as Luna observed the repairs on her mobile suits. Her suit had suffered tremendous damage and it will take the repair crew the whole night to return to its original state.
Rey was there as well, supervising the repairs of his own suit. But he was not the person Shinn wanted to talk to now.
"Hey, Luna," he called out. The red-head looked up. Spotting him, she made her way up. She saw Shinn looking curiously at the green Zaku. "Who piloted that thing?" he asked, recognized the suit that assisted him in his battle with the new models.
"You mean that?" she confirmed, noticing a couple of mechanics repairing the new addition. "The Orb's minister's bodyguard piloted it," she answered, unaware of Shinn's surprised look. She searched her memory. "What was his name? Oh, Alex Dino!" Then she winked. "But the funny this is, I heard the Orb's prime minister called him Athrun."
Before he could ask her any further. A couple of familiar voices attracted his attention. He looked up to see Capt. Gladys and the Chairman of PLANT, Gilbert Dullindal walking in with Orb's Prime Minister, Cagalli Yula Athha.
The very sight of her invoked an unpleasant feeling which had been buried deep inside him. He listened to their conversation. The Chairman was showing her Impulse, proudly informing her how the new model had fared in its first battle. As he spoke, his eyes never ceased to watch her as if gauging her reaction. In her part, the Orb's head of state expressed her disapproval at seeing the mobile suit, telling the others how the incident earlier had proven her point that they do not need weapons.
Her words made Shinn seethed in anger. How dare she? How dare she sprout words such as peace and harmony when she herself had caused the death of many? His fist tightened. Just like an Attha to sugarcoat their words for their own goal!
When all eyes turned towards him, Shinn realized that he had just expressed his words out loud. However, he was too riled up to watch his mouth. "You are a hypocrite, Ms. Attha," he pronounced her name loathingly. "You and your father are hypocrites!"
Before Capt. Gladys could chide him for his insubordination, the klaxon wailed. Meyrin's voice echoed throughout the ships, insisting for Capt. Gladys' undivided attention. Shinn stared long and hard at the Orb's leader before feeling Rey and Luna tugged him into the ready room.
xxxXxxx
Dullindal watched the shocked expression on Attha's face as she stared at the retreating young pilot's back. The Orb's head of state paled, her whole frame shook as she tried to digest what had been said about her and her late father. The man who had literally sacrificed his life for Orb!
Next to her, Alex had stiffened as well. But he recovered quicker and was whispering a word of comfort to his employer. A curious look had replaced his shocked one but there was also a tinge of anger flashing from his emerald green eyes. All of these Dullindal observed with deep interest.
Then he dropped the 'bomb'.
"It's funny that he should say that," he began, drawing the two's attention. "That boy is actually part of the reason you're here." The Orb representatives looked at him questioningly. "Shinn Asuka is actually from Orb!"
Again, the shocked look returned to their faces.
xxxXxxx
"Status," Neo demanded as soon as he was seated.
"The enemy has found us," the sensors officer reported, displaying the ZAFT ship that had been pursuing them since their departure from PLANT. After spending a few hours studying the enemy's ship capabilities, Neo was not surprised that the ship had caught up with them so quickly.
Suddenly, he felt tired of the chase.
"Helm, take us into the asteroid belt," he commanded, drawing surprised look from his bridge crew. Only his second-in-command gave him and understanding glance.
"You heard the colonel," he supported his commanding officer, as the helmsman scrambled to set course.
"Let's destroy the enemy once and for all."
xxxXxxx
"…we must capture the enemy before they enter the asteroid belt," the voice of Capt. Glady's reached their ears as soon as the door opened with a whoosh. Dullindal saw her giving them a surprised look as she stared questioningly at him.
"Don't mind them, captain," said the chairman smoothly. "Minister Attha used to lead her soldiers in battle during the last war. Perhaps she could give us a few suggestions to assist us in our current situation."
The captain backed down, knowing she needed the time to prepare for the battle, not battling a fruitless argument with a politician. So she allowed the two Orb citizens to take up the empty seats behind her while the chairman occupied the third one.
Then the door swished open again, revealing an anxious Quatre Winner. Upon seeing him, Dullindal shot him a disapproval look. "Are we going back into battle?" the blonde young man asked, addressing everyone.
Capt. Gladys swallowed a curse as she ordered Commander Trine to assist the limping PA onto the remaining seat. She then tuned out the presence of the quartet behind her to concentrate on the coming battle.
"We're too late, captain. We've lost them in the belt," the sensors officer reported, unable to sort through the magnetic fields. Capt. Gladys bit her lips before coming to a decision.
"Keep trying," she said, turning to her second-in-command. "Arthur, get Luna, Shinn and Rey ready for launch. Since we can't locate the enemy, it's up to them to find the ship for us."
Commander Trine nodded and began issuing orders.
xxxXxxx
Nanashi watched as the three Extended slipped into their flight suits. The three were silent, as they usually were whenever the order for battle was issued. It was as if the call for arms had switched off the lively side of them. Now they were acting like machines, ready to destroy anyone that they had been ordered to.
He hung back while the three made their way towards the new mobile suits. As usual. He had learned long time ago that it was not a good idea to engage them when they were in this mode.
Not that he wanted to anyway. Strangely, whenever the klaxon sounded, he also found some part of him was switched off. And he found himself all over the place to ensure the efficiency of everything that he could get his hands on.
As he rechecked a Doppelhorn Dagger Ls' power converter, he spared a short glance at the three as they launched.
xxxXxxx
"I wonder what her real name," Dullindal suddenly said, drawing the attention of everyone on the bridge. In his part, the chairman kept his eyes on the screen, watching Impulse and the two Zakus leaving the ship.
"We called the enemy's ship Bogey-1. But she must have a proper name," he wondered. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Alex shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He almost smiled. "You know, a name represent the existence of something. But if the name is false, does that mean its existence is false too?"
He turned, his eyes staring directly at Alex Dino. "What do you say to that, Athrun Zala?"
TO BE CONTINUED…
Author's Note: This chap was supposed to be out a looo…ng time ago. But I lost my Seed Destiny's dvd collection 1 so I couldn't finish it in time. And the video store is out of stock! (Note the lack of original dialogues towards the end of the fic.) So, if anyone can tell me where I can get the downloads, I'd appreciate it.
GozenV: More Heero? Well, I sure hope you're happy with Heero's little part in the chapter. Can't really put everything though because it'll give everything away too soon. Thanks for the review!
HolyKnight5: Thanks. After this I'll definitely reply the reviews as soon as I get them. And yes, I am trying very hard to blend the GW boys nicely into the Seed timeline.
Zammy: Patience, my friend. Duo and Wufei will make their appearances soon. Just not this soon. I need to put everyone nicely as to not disrupt the timeline. As for Zechs, I'm sorry to tell you that he won't be in this. And the GW gundams? He..he.. we'll see!
Unfortunately, people, I'm going to have to hit the books soon because exams are coming. So, I might not be able to write anything until some time in mid May, which means, I'm not going to be able to update until late May (that's only the earliest estimation) Just pray for a smooth study time and good health (I need those!)
Ja ne!
