Chapter III: Finding the Truth
*** March 2nd, 74 CE ***
The next morning couldn't come any faster. They quickly loaded up the ARCHANGEL and headed towards Earth. Reentry seemed to take forever when in truth it went very well. Mir wanted to get there was fast as possible. She knew the longer it took them the less chance they would find them alive. She shook her head of the thought. Dearka was alive she could feel it.
Soon they arrived on the island. Mir order the mobile suit to launch and scout out the area. For the next hour they searched the surrounding area for any signs of an enemy.
"It doesn't look like BLUE COSMOS is in the area anymore" Commander La Flaga announced through the communicator.
"Then it's safe for us to search on foot?" Miriallia questioned.
"Yes. But the scouting team will remain in our suits if that's alright with you Commander Haww. If they can come in as fast as those kids said we need to stay ready"
"Sounds good to me." Mir and a select team of trusted soldier headed landed on the island. Cagalli sent her trusted guard and friend Kisaka to stay by Mir's side. She was worried about her friend. She couldn't imagine the pain she was in right now.
The island was littered with the parts of fallen mobile suit. The walked through the wreckage looking for some signs of the missing soldiers. "OVER HERE!" They heard someone call. Miriallia started running. There on the edge of the beach was the head of the Dearka's gundam. About thirty feet away from it was a cockpit. She ran towards it as fast as she could before starting to climb.
"Commander Haww stop!" Kisaka yelled worried about what the girl would see. But it was too late. She was already inside the cockpit.
She could tell it had been forced open. The seat belt had been cut. She noticed a stain of the back of the seat and something shining. She reached in and pulled out a bullet. Her finger tips were stained with the still damp blood. Whoever's cockpit this was they were taken out by force. She turned to give her finding to the crew on the island when something else caught her eye. It was an old crinkled up photo. The same photo Dearka had on his dresser. His good luck charm. This was the cockpit of the BLAZE ZAKU PHANTOM.
She jumped out of the cockpit and into the sand of the beach. "What did you find?"
Mir opened her hand to show him the bullet "They shot him. He's injured. If the wound is bad enough her could already be-"
"Don't think about that. There is still a good chance he is alive somewhere on this island. We need to keep searching" Kisaka said trying to reassure her.
They walked around the cockpit. Soon they found foot prints leading towards the center of the island. The team followed the trail until they spotted someone. They were injured on the ground. They were only in short and a t-shirt. The same set worn by ZAFT soldiers under their flight suits. Mir was the first to notice the bullet wound in his shoulder. "Get the medical team now!" She ordered before running towards the soldier. Kisaka followed close behind.
He rolled the soldier on his back. He grunted in pain before opening his eyes "Orb?" He said weakly.
"Shhh… It's okay you're safe now." She tried to reassure him. He looked so scared and weak. He had lost a lot of blood. They needed to get him help soon or else he wasn't going to make it.
"The Captain..."
"Huh?"
"W-we couldn't sav-." he managed to say before losing consciousness.
"What... what about the Captain" She yelled in a panic. Kisaka leaned down and checked for a pulse. He looked back at Mir sadly and shook his head. The soldier died. There was thirteen soldier missing. They just failed to save one. She looked over at one of her subordinates. "Take his body back to the ship. We will take him home for a proper burial." She stood up. She could see a trail of blood leading from deeper on the island. That was the way. The way to the others, she was sure of it. "Have the medical team assemble, chances are the rest of the soldiers are injured as well."
They made their way following the trail of blood. Eventually they came to a clearing. There they found twelve cockpits. They were line up 2x6. There was about 30 to 40 feet in between the two rows. Through the clearing they could see a cave. Before entering the cave the checked each cockpit. All were the same as Dearka. Seat belts cut and signs of being shot. These soldiers were all injured. For over 24 hours they had been suffering without medical attention. It wasn't looking good. Mir took her camera and began taking photos of the wreckage. She chose to catalog the tragedy for future reference when they would finally have the BLUE COSMOS members on trial.
Finding no one in the remains of the mobile suits they entered the caves. They were horrified by what they saw. Blood stains covered the floor of the caves. In the middle of the area was chains hanging from the ceiling and another set of the floor. Blood drops surrounded the area where the chains were. The cave had a strange smell they couldn't quite put their fingers on. The looked around and that when they saw them. The missing soldiers against one wall in their ZAFT issued shorts and shirts.
"Check for survivors" She ordered. Her soldiers began check for signs of life. Those who had passed already were moved out of the cave. She took pictures of the various blood stains and the chains. Thirteen soldiers went missing on the mission. Seven were confirmed dead. Three in critical condition. Two were only had their bullet wounds which seemed be be just grazes but were still unconscious. And one remained missing. "Where is Dearka?" She questioned under her breath. Noticing another area of the cave she walked over to examine it.
When she entered she walked to the center of the area. Her eyes opened wide in shock. Written on the wall of the cave in what appeared to be blood was:
For Our Blue and Pure World
There was no doubt in her mind now. This was the work of BLUE COSMOS. She began to back up in horror. She wasn't prepared for this. As she backed up she felt something strange at the back of her heel. She turned to look and screamed. She had stepped into a pile of ashes. In the ashes she could see the fragmented remains of a skull and peaking out through and set of ZAFT issued dog tags.
She couldn't breath. It felt like a thousand bricks were being placed on her chest "It can't be" She said over and over again. She wanted to cry but the tears wouldn't come. She was horrified. Dearka was the only soldier they didn't find. The only one left.
"Commander Haww! Are you alright?" Kisaka asked.
"Please have them take samples of all the blood found in the caves" She said in a monotoned voice. "From the looks of those soldier they put up a fight. Maybe some of the blood is from the enemy. Make sure you get a sample of that blood as well" she said pointing to the wall without looking. "And… Collect and test this pile of ashes as well. They appear to be someone's remains. We need to confirm the possible identity of this soldier." She handed him her camera. "Make sure to catalog the evidence in this room as well."
"Miss Haww" He said concerned.
She looked him in the eye "I need some fresh air. Please instruct everyone as I've asked"
Mir walked out of the cave and toward the beach. Everywhere there was soldiers collecting the remains of the mobile suits, bring the injured and dead to the ship and taking samples of blood. She ignored it all making her way to the water. She looked down at her reflection. She could see all hope had left her face. No smiles were left. She she had no doubts about what she saw. He was gone.
She sat alone on the rocks compiling a report on what happened. She would be presenting it to Yzak when they randevu with his ship tomorrow. She wrote out all her findings updating the statuses of the various soldiers from the mission.
"Miriallia?" Commander La Flaga said sadly. "The test results are back from the samples found in the inner cave."
"And?" She asked without looking up.
He could sense the coldness in her voice. She already knew what he was going to say. "We weren't able to confirm the identity of the bone fragments found. Judging by the amount of ashes there and the size of the skull fragments they determined it was an adult male. But… We have a pretty clear idea of who it is. This was found among the ashes" Mir took a quick look at the tags. They were burned and partly melted but some letters could still be made out. They were his. "The results for the blood on the wall came back as well. Judging by the amount without medical attention the soldier would have bled out in hours. We would have never made it in time. I'm sorry Miriallia given all the evidence we need to make it official. Dearka Elsman is dead"
"I understand" She looked out at the water. The sun was setting over the ocean. She had always loved the sunset. Now it was forever ruined for her. It now was the symbol for the saddest moment of her life. The moment she realized another man she loved died a horrible death. "Have the ARCHANGEL prepare to leave. We can reach Carpentaria in a few hours and randevu with the VOLTAIRE by morning"
"Mir you need to talk to someone about this" She closed her laptop and stood up.
"I'm fine Mwu" She replied "I knew this was a possibility when we set sail. He's gone nobody can change that."
"Your camera" he tried to hand it back to her but she refused.
"Put it with the rest of the evidence. I don't need it anymore" She replied before walking off. He watched her worried. She was in more pain then he could imagine. She was cold like a stone. All emotions wiped away. Dearka was the person who helped her get past the death of her first love. Now so soon after admitting her love for him he too was gone.
The next morning they met with the VOLTAIRE no one there knew anything of the true fate of the Elsman team. Mir walked down the halls of the battleship until she came to the Commander Office door. She pressed the button of the communicator.
"Commander Joule… It's Commander Haww. I have the report on the rescue mission" She sound so distant. It wasn't the usual voice he had gotten use to.
"Come in" He said pressing the button for the door to open. She walked in and saw Shiho standing next to him. He had chosen to keep her as his lieutenant.
"Here" she said handing him the report. He opened it and his eyes went wide. She quickly looked through the pictures and the status reports. "Seven soldiers are dead?" he asked he was having trouble controlling his breathing.
"Nine… one of them that had minor injuries committed suicide on the way here. And the Captain is dead as well" She said it so seriously and without emotion. Like he was some nameless soldier to her and not the man she loved.
"He can't be" Yzak said under his breath.
"The evidence is all there at the back of the report. It undeniable. He's gone." She said before turning to leave.
"Where the hell are you going Haww"
"Noah Woods has woken up. He was the other soldier with minor injuries. I'm going to go find out what happened" Yzak jumped up to follow her signalling Shiho to remain on the ship.
"Let someone else do it"
"We are the ones in charge of Operation Freeing Humanity. The first step to completing that mission is finding out what really happened that day. You can stay here if you want but I'm going. I need to know"
"Do you really want to know what happened. He was your lover"
"And he was your best friend. That doesn't change anything. We need to put those feelings aside for the mission. Like you said the moment you go soft is the moment you are killed. Now come on if your coming"
They boarded a shuttle that took them both over to the ARCHANGEL. They walked to the halls and down to the sickbay. There they walked into a room with a single patient inside. He was bruised and battered. His right shoulder was bandage to cover the bullet wound.
"Noah I'm Commander Ha-"
"I know who you are. And I know what you want." He said without looking at her "He's dead. Leave it at that. Believe me your life is better of not knowing what happened that day"
"I don't care if my life would be better. It is my job to know the truth please tell us what happened" The soldier looked over at her, tears in his eyes.
He was silent for a few seconds before finally giving in. "Fine if you really want to know but don't say I didn't warn you." He took a deep breath trying to find the words to explain what happened "The first few hours we were all held against a single wall. We were guarded by five maybe six soldier with guns. We were unarmed and couldn't fight back. Every few hours the guards would switch. It was the Captain that noticed that by the end of the shifts that men would act funny"
"What do you mean funny?" Yzak asked curious.
"They looked weak and like they couldn't breath. He said they were extends. Enhanced naturals made to be able to compete with the skills of coordinators. The Captain began timing the shifts. And after six hours of being trapped we made our move. It was 20 mins before the shift change was suppose to happen. They were at their weakest. We pelted them with rocks and anything we could get our hands on. We killed them all and just before we had a chance to get their guns the next shift came in." They could see he was scared.
"It's ok take your time" Miriallia said kindly.
"They were angry. They held their guns towards us backing us back against the wall. That when they grabbed him. They took the captain and strapped him up in these chains that hung from the ceiling. You could see the pain on his face from just hanging there but that wasn't enough for them. They started to choke him with his own dog tags until his face started to turn blue. He tried to struggle but couldn't… they just laughed."
"They choked him to death?" Yzak asked
"No. The soldier released the tags before that could happen. He just hung there for a while struggling to catch his breath. That's… That's when they took the knife. They cut open his shirt first before..." His voice cracked. They could tell that the memories of that day were playing back in his head as his eye darted around. "They stabbed him in the stomach. They told him that they were going to show everyone what coordinators truly deserve. The Captain held strong. He didn't make a noise when the knife went in. It was all the way in and he was bleeding but still he stayed strong. Until they twisted the knife. He screamed out in pain. It was a horrifying screaming that I still can't get out of my head. They pulled out the knife. The blood rushed down his body and dripped off his leg. They collected it in a bowl underneath him, and he just hung there motionless."
"So that is where they got the blood to write on the wall" Mir said more to herself than anyone else.
"When the bowl was full the wrapped his waist tightly in bandages. They didn't want him to bleed out yet. They wanted us to watch him die a slow death. That is till he pissed them off."
"What did he do?" Yzak demanded. He felt sick. He hated knowing how much his friend had suffered. He was shot, choked and stabbed and in the end his body was burned. He didn't want to know anymore but he needed to.
"He said that not matter what they did to him BLUE COSMOS would come to an end. Naturals and coordinators would someday live together in harmony and even fall in love. The man got so angry he rushed over to the chest of tools they had and pulled out as small chainsaw. He was going to cut off his head for such an insult. We all closed our eyes, we didn't want to see. Captain Elsman just held his head high ready to receive the punishment they had for him. They nearly did too, but someone stopped them just in time."
"Who?" Mir asked eagerly. She hated hearing all this just as much as Yzak, maybe more. She loved him, she wanted his life to be full of happiness but instead his last moments were filled with pain and fear.
"I don't know who he was but they all listened to him without question. He ordered them to release the Captain and immediately they removed him from the chains. I stupidly thought that was it. They were going to just let him lay there and die. But instead they picked him up and brought him to the inner cave. A few minutes passed and we heard a horrible blood curdling scream and then a gun being shot. We didn't know what had happened. Then the smell entered the room. It smelled like meat cooking… but it wasn't it was the Captain's body being burned. Then a smoke bomb was thrown into the room and we all lost consciousness."
"Thank you Noah." Mir said "We will add this information to the report. I will make sure that those who did this are brought to justice" She turned and walked out of the room.
Yzak quickly followed. "Haww! Haww get back here!" He yelled angry. She didn't seem to want to listen to him so he grabbed her by the arm. Mir looked back at him. For a second Dearka's face flashed in her mind. It reminded her of the time Dearka asked her if she was still going to fight or run. She pulled her arm from him.
"What do you want Yzak"
"Are you ok?" he asked concerned.
"What do you care?" she snapped. She could see he was just as hurt as she was. "I'm sorry. I didn't expect to hear what we just did"
"He tried his hardest to save his men. There was nothing he could do. Four soldier out of Thirteen soldiers lived. All will live with the scars from what happen for the rest of their lives. We need to make a promise… as promise that we will avenge what happened"
"No matter how long it takes Commander Yzak Joule, I am you partner in this mission and I will see it through to the end no matter what life throws our way" she said shaking his hand. A deal was struck. They were forever bonded by the loss of someone dear to them.
They arrived back at the PLANTs later that day. She and Yzak gave their report to the three councils. Yzak chose to do all the talking. He didn't know if Mir could handle it. She had yet to cry over Dearka's death and he worried she would soon break. The council was horrified at the news. They order the pair to continue pursuit of BLUE COSMOS for as long as it took. Any resources needed would be at their disposal. The organization was a treat to both the treaty and the peace itself.
After the meeting they were given a box to go collect Dearka's personal belongings. Shiho joined the two worried about them both. They entered his room together in silence. Mir walked over to the bed. It was still as mess from their night together. She sat on the bed and hugged his pillow. It smelled just like him. Yzak sat down at the desk and opened Dearka's laptop to wipe the files before packing it away.
"What the hell is this?" Mir got up of the bed and walked over. Her and Shiho looked over the young man shoulder to see what he was looking at.
"I don't believe it, he was really going to build a colony just to be with me."
Yzak looked at her funny then back the computer. They were plans and specs for a new colony that would be publicly inhabited by both naturals and coordinators. A meeting ground for the Three Councils. A place they could all live in harmony.
"You need to show this to the Three Councils" Shiho stated "It was his wish for this colony to be built. The least we can do it give it a push" They looked at the plans. She was right. Dearka would never get to see it but he would alway live on as the creator of the colony... the colony he name 'Harmonix'. Yzak closed the laptop and set it aside. He was willing to fight to have this colony built. The last piece of his friend that would be part of this world.
