A/n

Here is Phase 4, so read and enjoy the chapter!

Phase 4: Paths Forward

January 26th, 71 C.E.

-Neutral pov-

The Archangel, Heliopolis Debris Field

Kira and Lacus brought in both the Heliopolis lifeboats on board the Archangel once they had been given permission. Reasoning with Natarle Badgiruel, that the life boats were damaged and if they left them floating, they would unlikely be found in time. The mechanics under the direction of Chief Murdoch assisted in the opening and unloading of the shelters. Some of the Non-commissioned crew set up a station to get the people's identifying information, specifically occupation as there were some skills that were in high demand at the current moment. Thankfully, skills such as medical knowledge and skill, were among the list as there was no ship doctor. Kira and Lacus also did what they could to help the process along and for Kira, he hoped that he would see some that he recognized and yet, didn't want that at the same time. However, both he and Lacus were surprised when they saw the blonde girl that they had gotten to a shelter before joining back up with Tyler come out of one of the lifeboats. Neither actually talked to her much, but both Kira and Lacus were glad that she was okay with all that had happened recently.

The two teens kept assisting with the unloading for a little bit, before it became clear that they were just getting in the way for the time being. So, Kira and Lacus were about to leave and find a room to get some sleep in as they were both tired. Defending the Archangel had been tiring and the collapse of Heliopolis had been taxing. Then, there had been no news of what had occurred to Tyler or the mobile suit he'd been piloting at all, and it worried them both. Yet, before they could disappear from notice, a certain redhead approached them, "Oh it's you! You're one of Sai's friends," said Flay Allster, floating to be in front of Kira.

The girl suddenly embraced Kira and he wasn't quite sure how to react to the gesture from the redhead. Sure, Kira previously had a 'thing' for Flay, Tyler and Sai had called it a crush, Tolle had said Kira was tripping over himself, but Kira had to admit, he had been attracted to Flay a little for a time. However, since Lacus had been visiting more frequently over the last year, that attraction and the feelings that had accompanied it, had faded. Kira thought Flay was nice and everything, but as she was Sai's fiancée, Kira was being careful. Sai was a close friend, Kira didn't what that friendship to be hurt by some sort of misunderstanding.

Lacus felt some irritation, for she didn't like how Flay was hugging Kira. It wasn't jealousy… exactly, at least she didn't see it so. No, Lacus was worried for Kira, her friend, not thinking about separating the two from the position she wanted herself. Of course, Kira hadn't gotten any of her hints, gestures or advances, and she had been trying to figure out a way to get the message across to him. Anyways, from what Lacus had been told, Flay was already engaged to Sai so, why was she hugging Kira like she was?! Once Lacus had this thought, she took a moment and calmed down, not letting her emotions show outwardly.

"Please," said Flay, not really paying attention to Lacus who was next to Kira, "Tell me what happened to Heliopolis. What was going on? What happened there in the end?"

"Uh," uttered Kira, uncertain how to respond to the barrage of questions.

Flay didn't seem to hear Kira, for she continued speaking, "I was with… my friends and I were," said Flay, stumbling over her words some, "I lost Jessica and Misha in a store when the crowds formed and panic took hold. I managed to run alone to the closest shelter I could get to and then everything…"

Lacus had stayed silent for long as she was willing to, yet as she was about to say something, but was interrupted. "Haro! Haro! I won't accept that! I won't accept that!" announced Haro as it flapped the circular flaps it had, spinning in the air towards them.

Flay flinched as Haro made its opinion and presence known, while the redhead herself finally seemed to take notice of Lacus being there. "Haro, stop that," apologized Lacus admonishingly grabbing the pink robotic ball Haro, then turned her gaze to Flay, who shrunk back just a little. "I apologize, I thought it was turned off," Lacus remarked.

The redhead shook her head slightly, looking back to Kira and doing her best to ignore Lacus. "This is a ZAFT ship, right?" she asked, her tone worried. "What's going to happen to us now? And what in the world are you doing on this ship anyway?"

"Actually," said Lacus, further annoyed by Flay's behavior of intentionally ignoring her, "This vessel belongs to the Earth Alliance."

"You're lying," said Flay, finally acknowledging Lacus. "There are mobile suits on board," Flay glance at the Strike and the Asuka.

"No," said Kira waving his hands slightly, "They actually belong to the Earth Alliance and Orb, one to each, but as things are right now, the distinction isn't really needed."

Flay looked at Kira, surprised, there was an awkward silence following Kira's explanation. he rubbed the back of his head and smiled a bit, "Well, it's good to know you're okay at least," he said, attempting to break the ice, but shook his head when he didn't get the results he had been going for. "Hey, guess what Flay? Sai and Miriallia are here too. I know you're going to be just fine."

Flay moved along with the rest of the refugees that were on the lifeboats from Heliopolis, while Kira and Lacus returned to their intended hunt for a room that they could get some sleep without being disturbed for a while. Once they had found a set of quarters that fit what they wanted, they wasted no more time and fell asleep next to one another on one of the beds. The pair were soon found by their friends, who didn't want to disturb them as they looked exhausted. So, they quietly left them be and went to the mess hall to talk to each other.

"Got to say, Kira and Lacus looked completely drained with the way they were sleeping." Said Sai.

There were mutterings of agreement between Tolle, Miriallia, Sai and Kuzzey. "Can't blame them, they were fighting ZAFT mobile suits to protect us. Then, with Tye disappearing without a trace just adds to this mess that we're all in." Tolle paused and hissed out with irritation, "I just wish there was something we could do to help them. Nothing against Kira or Lacus, but I'm tired of them having to defend us while we just stand around doing nothing!" Tolle said with frustration in his voice.

Miriallia nodded strongly, "That's right, it's not fair to them to be forced into fighting ZAFT pilots just because they have the ability to." She remarked.

"That all sounds good, but what can we do?" Asked Kuzzey.

The four thought about the question, what could they do? They were students, not soldiers and still, they didn't want to just accept things as they were. It was Sai that broke the silence that hung over the group, "Hey, I think I might have an idea that could help take some pressure off Kira and Lacus, plus, give us something to do."

Miriallia, Tolle and Kuzzey looked at Sai, waiting for him to elaborate on what he was talking about. "We could go to the Captain or Ensign Badgiruel and ask either of them if we can help by volunteering to help with the ship controls. They're shorthanded, we have the skills to at least operate systems and they could teach us the finer point that we would need to know. What do you all think?" Asked Sai.

"Sai, that's one of the best ideas you've had in a while!" Replied Tolle.

"Yeah, none of us can pilot mobile suits, but we could help with the ship and that would help both Kira and Lacus," agreed Miriallia happy that the suggestion had been made.

Kuzzey simply nodded and with the decision made, the four friends rose and began to seek out the two women that were in charge on the Archangel. They bumped into Ensign Badgiruel first, and laid out their wish to volunteer to help run the ship to the Earth Alliance officer.

Natarle Badgiruel was surprise and a little shocked at the teens asking to help with of the operation the ship. These teens were of the age to be able to officially enlist, but they were so young to be involved. She would have said no, if not for the fact of the ship being so shorthanded, refusing help is a very foolish choice and Natarle knew it. So, Natarle granted the teens their request with the understanding that they would be treated like any other member of the crew. That meant that all four of them would be expected to listen to and follow orders given to them. And even if it was temporary, they would be members of the Earth Alliance military, volunteers, but still considered the same as non-commissioned officers. Sai, Tolle, Miriallia and Kuzzey accepted the consequences and still said they would do their best to help.

With the matter settled, the next few hours for the four teens were spent being taught how the Archangel's controls worked at the stations they would be assigned to. All four were given the rank of crewman 2nd class and with their help the Archangel had enough to now have a skeleton crew.

During those hours of training, Kira and Lacus woke up from their nap and headed to the mess hall to get something to eat, though before the pair reached the mess hall, Mu and Krystal came up to them and asked to talk to them for a moment. Kira and Lacus agreed and looked to the two mobile armor pilots, wondering what they could want to talk about. Mu spoke first, "Look Kira, Lacus, for the moment, you two are the only ones that can defend this ship if it's attacked. As much as Krystal and I would love to go out with you and protect the Archangel alongside you both, we can't right now," began Mu.

Krystal sighed, "With our mobile armors still under repair, it will still take a little over an hour until they're ready and ZAFT still could attack us during that timeframe. Since the one in charge of the force that tried to take this ship down already is Rau Le Creuset, trouble with ZAFT is far from over. We realize that you two aren't pilots and have been forced into the position," She trailed off.

Kira frowned, "So, you two want us to go out again? Is that what you're asking?" Kira inquired in a flat tone.

Lacus hugged Kira's left arm, both Mu and Krystal nodded slowly, "That's pretty much what we're trying to say, we wish it weren't the case," answered Krystal warily.

Kira started to become angry at this, "You know, what Tyler said about the Earth Alliance is making more sense than it did before. It feels like Lacus and I are being used and it isn't nice! We aren't pilots, yes we used the two mobile suits on board this ship, but that's all."

Lacus squeezed Kira's arm and he stopped, Mu looked at the two teens, "It's your choice, but the fact is you two are the only ones that can do it. If Krystal and I could use and pilot those mobile suits, we would, believe me. And if we were being chased by most other ZAFT commanders, I would say that we should be okay for a little while. But with the personal experience I've had with Le Creuset, he isn't one to give up a chase he starts… for almost any reason other than being directly order to and even that doesn't necessarily stop. Fact is, we can't pilot those mobile suits Kira, we can't change that fact right now. We hope that ZAFT won't attack us until our mobile armors are fixed… But honestly, it's unlikely. All I can say is no matter what, only think about protecting this ship, those onboard along with yourselves. This isn't about the Earth Alliance or the war, it's just protecting the ship, that's all."

Both Mu and Krystal said farewell to the pair and headed to the front of the ship. The two continued to the mess hall and found that their friends, yet they were in Earth Forces uniforms. The four came up to Kira and Lacus saying that they were going to help the crew run the ship so they could be of help to both Kira and Lacus while they protect the ship. Then the four said they were needed to go to the bridge for their duty shift and they left.

It wasn't long after Sai, Tolle, Miriallia and Kuzzey started their shifts, when things started going not so nice for the Archangel. "Captain, three heat sources approaching from behind, and another larger heat source behind the first three," said Kuzzey. "Distance for the closest heat sources, um… sixty-seven. Heat signature indicates mobile suits. The heat source behind them… Is the ZAFT Laurasia class vessel."

"What about the Nazca-class?" asked Murrue, letting Kuzzey's stumbling over his words pass. He was just a civilian volunteer after all still, it was a huge relief when they offered to help out.

"Nazca-class isn't in sensor range, don't know where it is," replied Kuzzey.

Mu looked up and around at hearing the Nazca-class vessel wasn't chasing them. Le Creuset was infamous for pursuing those he hunted down and he was well-known for it. To only have one ship and the lighter of the two pursuing them? Something wasn't right, they had to be missing something, other than the location of the Nazca-class vessel. Mu turned back to his station and focused on the battle that was coming.

"All hands, level one battle stations! Commence preparations now for anti-mobile suit combat," ordered Natarle, "Activate Igelstellung, load stern missile launchers tubes thirteen through twenty-four with Korinthos. Activate both Gottfrieds turrets and Valiant linear cannons. Input target data, your target, the ZAFT Laurasia class vessel and incoming mobile suits."

"We've identified the enemy mobile suits behind us," said Kuzzey. "System is showing match for… the Duel, Buster and Blitz?"

"What?! Those three?!" questioned Natarle, sounding worried.

"They're sending the G-weapons into combat?" Murrue looked at the forward viewport, "But what about the Aegis?" she asked.

Mu turned, "Well, as the Nazca-class is gone for the time being, maybe the fourth one is on board that ship, wherever it is," he said.

"Anyway, we're about to face down three out of the four stolen G-weapons," announced Murrue in her commanding voice.

That fact concerned the entire crew. It's true that the Archangel had two mobile suits of its own, but even with the Asuka and Strike, yet Kira and Lacus were just civilians. The ZAFT pilots were in machines of comparable power, and had received military training. What kind of chances did they have against those odds? The pair of civilian pilots would be pushed to the extreme just to survive the encounter, much less defend the ship as well.

-Line Break-

After hearing that their friends were helping by volunteering to assist the crew of the Archangel, what else could either Kira or Lacus do, but pilot the two mobile suits and protect the ship the best they could. When battle stations were sounded, Kira and Lacus headed down and put on pilot suits and then went to the hanger. They got into their respective machines, Kira into the Asuka and Lacus into the Strike.

"… No matter what, only think about protecting this ship, along with yourselves…"

Kira remembered Mu's words, and refused to forget them for they were the reason they both got back into the mobile suits cockpits. Certainly, it was an idea that was easier said than done, but for Kira, it was further reinforced by his promise to Lacus. Kira's eyes narrowed as both suits moved to the launching catapults and images of the enemy machines were displayed.

"Kira, those are," muttered Lacus.

Kira nodded, "Yeah, they must be the other three Alliance machines… But I don't see the red one, or the suit Tye had. Maybe he's okay and not captured by ZAFT?" he said, bringing up the information that had been added to the Asuka and Strike on board computers to help Kira and Lacus against the stolen machines, if or when they should come and attack. "I guess we have more than enough to worry about already without adding to them. Looks like the incoming mobile suits are the; X102 Duel, X103 Buster and X207 Blitz…"

-Line Break-

-Tyler's pov-

Aprilius One

With the meeting with the Supreme Council done, along with the 'shore leave' that I had to use. I saw it wise to report back to the Donnen so that, perhaps I could hitch a ride back to wherever I get to go next. I'm hoping that destination would be to wherever the Archangel had gone to, but I can't say right now.

I headed back towards the docking area where the Donnen was, yet as I came into the corridor that led to the docks, I felt a shiver run down my spine. That shiver made me freeze where I was and look around, to attempt to find what had caused the shiver to come over me. As cliché as it may sound… I was having the feeling I was being watched and I don't like this feeling much at all. Oddly, the corridor that I was currently in at the moment, was devoid of other people. Granted, this passage is meant for military personnel, but to be empty at this time when it should have activity… there's something wrong here.

Another shiver run down my spine, but before I could react in any way, a pair of arms wrapped around my torso. The grip of those said arms were tight and as I hadn't expected them, I was entrapped within this hold. From what else I felt, I was being 'embraced' by a female, likely a woman that was my age or a margin older. However, the most telling thing for me, was the voice I heard shortly after being trapped. "Ah, I found you again Tyler, this must be fate saying that we are a pair destined to be together. By the way, you do look very handsome in that uniform of yours," cooed a voice that I was put on edge hear, and it was feminine.

There was no way I would ever forget the voice that spoke, nor whom it belonged to, not after the things they had done to me. They don't leave me alone when our paths cross, no matter how many times I tell them or the way I deliver the message! I struggled hard in the hold, but the arms didn't release me. If anything, the embrace tightened around me and the sound of giggling filled my ears. That motivated me to try MUCH harder, as if my life depended on it… and it just might. I finally managed to squirm out of the hold the woman trapping me, made distance between her myself and then I spun around to face her.

The woman was twenty-two years in age and had a height of 5'8" and half-an-inch so, she was about the same height as me. Her hair was a neutral shade of pink and it went to her shoulder blades with its length. She had a noticeably full hourglass defined figure and nice feminine curves. In fact, she looks quite a lot like Lacus, or rather what Lacus could and would likely look like in a few years. Although, the woman's eyes were green and not blue like Lacus has and normally she has a completely different feel around herself. The woman's name is Sakura Clyne, Lacus's older sister. Currently, Sakura was wearing a light blue blouse and black dress pants.

As I've mentioned before now, Sakura isn't easy to get along with all the time. She has a huge reputation with the service she's done in the ZAFT military. Mention her name and you can silence a room filled with ZAFT military personnel and kill the mood in no time flat. The reason is that Sakura is known to be cold unyielding and outright stubborn. The woman doesn't accept defeat or take crap from anyone, enemies or allies, whether they be superior officers or subordinates. Sakura is seen to be one of the most ruthless commanders that ZAFT has. Officers in the ZAFT military respect her… Or they're out right scared of her, and I don't blame them! The Alliance is normally scared of her and if they aren't, by the time she's done with them, they will be. Hell, even commanding officers in the Federation are wary of her! That's the kind of reputation that the eldest of the two daughters that Siegel Clyne has.

Yet for some reason when she's around me, especially when it's just the two of us, she's VERY different than her reputation paints her to be. No, the pink-haired woman that was before me acts like a girl obsessed over a pet or boy when I'm around her. I've never been able to explain why that's the case or why Sakura is so fixated on me. Even with the time and effort that I've put into trying to figure out why, none of the facts have made sense or helped me connected the dots.

Seeing the expression on Sakura's face, made me wanted to bolt and run away from her. But, I know from previous times, that running is pretty pointless with Sakura. Yet, dang it! I've got to try to get away from her! I gave no sign or warning, I just bolted off down the direction I had been heading before I'd stopped. For the briefest moment, I believed that I could get away, but alas it was not to be. My attempt proved fruitless as I didn't get far, before Sakura caught up with me and wrapped me in her embrace once again, giggling at my actions. "Still playing hard to get Tyler? You know that makes chasing you all the more fun, but it's foolish to think that you can get away from me. Although, it's so cute," said Sakura in a sweet voice that was admittedly pretty, yet didn't fit her at all with the person she's supposed to be.

Shortly after entrapping me again, Sakura moved her head to start running her left cheek against my right. I struggled to free myself… oh, did I ever struggle however, it was in vain, Sakura didn't let me brake her hold this time. "Accept that I'll have you as mine," she whispered in my ear.

At hearing that, my struggling transformed into me thrashing as I became more desperate to get away from Sakura. But, the grip of Sakura Clyne was too strong for me to break. Hell, she was giggling at my efforts to escape! She was moving her face in the view of my face, probably to… kiss me, when the situation mercifully changed! "Ah Sakura, there you are. I was wondering where you had gotten off to," came the voice of Siegel Clyne.

I'M SAVED! Sakura turned around to face her father Siegel Clyne, my back was still held against Sakura's front, so I was forced to face the man as well, a rather embarrassing position to be in. "Hello father, what is your reason you would need to find me? I'm a tad busy as you can see, so if it's not important, then whatever it is you need can wait," replied Sakura, hugging me a little tighter when she mentioned being busy.

Oh no, I'M POTENTIALLY SCREWED! My worry and panic returned in full force at hearing Sakura. As if to prove me right, Sakura then once again turned me around, but just my whole body this time and leaned herself forward. I could clearly see where the situation was heading and I don't want to go there. Sure, Sakura is pretty, I don't dispute that, but I'm only eighteen damn it! I'm not interested in a romantic type of relationship right now and not with Sakura! Still, I had the thought that Tolle would be rolling around on the floor laughing and as well as cheering me on. He would be completely and blissfully ignorant of the real situation I'm facing. I tried to pull away from the motion of the woman about to kiss me, but it didn't help, she drew ever closer. "Sakura, the Defense Committee wanted to have a word with you as soon as possible," remarked Siegel.

The pink haired woman stopped an inch from kissing me on the lips and frowned slightly, "Is that right? Fine, if they're so insistent, then I'll give them the time. They'll regret it if this is a method to waste my time with their personal agendas and/or vendettas. I'll make sure of that personally," she said in an emotionless voice.

SALVATION! That's the kind of attitude I expect to see and hear from this woman by the reputation Sakura has, cold and emotionless. Yet, before Sakura let me go, she leaned in and kissed my cheek and then push away from me. She 'blew a kiss' as she floated down the corridor and turned around a corner, disappearing from my view. My body involuntarily shivered before I let out a relieved sigh, "Siegel, thank you for your impeccably timely arrival! You saved me from the clutches of that eldest daughter of yours," I said gratefully to my savior.

The man smiled, "Yes, Sakura has always been stubborn and determined to achieve the goals she sets out on. She gets that from her mother, pity that she's not around to see either her or Lacus as they've grown. Although, I've never understood why she's so set on having a relationship with you Tyler. Still, I have little complaint were you two to end out together," returned Siegel.

"I guess anything is possible, yet it won't be anytime soon if I've anything to say about it. I'm still eighteen for goodness sakes! I'm too young to enter a serious relationship, let alone think about getting married and I don't have an interest in such a thing right now. The way Sakura acts around me verses others, is just weird!" I commented.

I continued to the dock after making my farewells to Siegel Clyne and boarded the Donnen, not wanting to stay and give Sakura the chance of catching me again. Once on board the ship, I headed to the quarters that I'd been given for the journey to wherever it will be to. I'd barely had the time to change out of the stiff Human Federation uniform and into the much less formal uniform, when a knock came at the door. When I answered the door, I found Commander Sulu and he said that the captain wanted to see me in her cabin. Since I'd nothing else to do for the moment, I went to Captain Shepard's cabin and once let in. I… hovered in front of her desk. "You wished to see me captain, what is it that I can do for you?" I asked.

Captain Shepard pushed a folder towards me, "New orders for you and your team from Federation High Command, you should look them over." She replied drily.

I caught the folder and opened it, then scanned the two pages that were contained in the folder. My eyes widened a bit as I took in the orders from Federation High Command. To me, what I was being ordered to do for my new assignment, was good and bad at the same time in my mind. The orders were as follows:

To: Commander Tyler McGregor,

Lieutenant Lisa Malto,

Sargent Alan Knight,

Sargent Luke Lascy

From: Federation Admiralty

Subject: Priority Assignment

Commander, you and your team were assigned to investigate Earth Alliance activities at the neutral resource space colony of Heliopolis. That mission is officially considered concluded and as such, regulation would have all of you getting time off before a new assignment would be handed to you all. However, due to recent developments, all of you are being assigned to an important mission right away. It is regrettable that this is being asked of all of you after what occurred with Heliopolis, but time is of the essences. The before mentioned mission which is being put to you is very important and the experience you gained at Heliopolis will serve well.

Your mission, is to track down and follow the Atlantic Federation's prototype warship known as the 'Archangel'. The knowledge of the ship and potentially the members that make up the crew along with the possible equipment on board the ship which was gained on the investigation, will be valuable. Time is limited and will become more so the longer this assignment takes to complete. That being stated, this assignment is to be completed as quickly as possible, but the completion of the objectives is of the highest priority.

The objectives that must be achieved for the mission to be considered completed are as follows:

Prevent data pertaining to mobile suit construction blueprints or schematics from reaching either Earth Alliance Lunar Headquarters or the Alliance's Earth based JOSH-A headquarters.

Preventing a mobile suit unit from reaching either before mentioned Alliance bases.

Delaying the Alliance vessel named the "Archangel" in their journey to either base, and prevent the ship from reaching them if possible

The methods which are used to accomplish this mission are up to you and your team. The more of the objectives that are achieved, the better it will be for all in the Human Federation. Current information obtained, indicates that the "Archangel's" location is in the area of Lagrange 3, heading away from the remains of Heliopolis. Evidence points towards the vessel making its way to the Eurasian Federation's military base Artemis.

Understand the critical importance of the success of this mission, for the Earth Alliance gaining the capability to mass produce and use mobile suits is viewed as extremely dangerous for the Human Federation. To all of you, do your utmost to succeed in this assignment and the best of luck.

Admiral Ben Moses

Admiral Matilda Ajan

That was the first page, the second page gave other details about Alliance forces that might be in the position to help the Archangel along its journey from what I saw. There was more specific detail on things with the assignment, but that was for study later.

This mission had several points that were difficult for me at least specifically, which can happen with any mission. In this instance, there were things that I might have to do that I REALLY don't want to do! Don't get me wrong, it's great that I get my wish to follow the Archangel, I'm now being given the permission to do so by my superiors. Yet, the objectives are where I see problems would coming. To Have to prevent the Archangel from getting the Strike and/or the Asuka into the hands of the Earth Alliance wouldn't be an easy task at all.

Why won't it be easy? The mission of the Archangel to do exactly what my team and I were to prevent. I certainly didn't disagree with the view of Federation High Command, the Earth Alliance obtaining mobile suits is a very BAD thing. They would use mobile suits against ZAFT true, but it wouldn't take long before they were used against the Human Federation as well. There were those in the Alliance who didn't hide their frustration with the Federation and they would likely attack the member nations to acquire territory and resources from the Federation on Earth. It's the of the major reasons that the Federation doesn't share scientific information with Earth Alliance anymore… far too much risk involved.

I glanced back up at Captain Shepard, "Captain, could I request the Donnen to provide transport for my team and me for the time being while we chase an Alliance vessel? Or at least take us part of the way," I posed.

The woman nodded, "Yes, as it happens, my new orders for the Donnen, state it is suspected that there are probably citizens of Heliopolis on board that ship and as citizens of the Human Federation, it's our duty to protect them as best we can," she replied to me.

I bowed, "Thank you captain, your hospitality is very much appreciated and my team and I will be staying on the Donnen for a time and look forward to working with you and your crew." I said politely.

Shepard returned the gesture, "Likewise commander."

After that, I left the captain's cabin and searched for the other members of my team to tell them of the change in what we would be doing. I was happy that the team wouldn't be split up, we work well together and in a mission like this one, we need to work well together. I found Alan and Luke in the room that they had been provided and Lisa was there helping them pack. We'd assumed that we would be leaving the Donnen and going to either be reassigned, very likely separately, or be given leave to get some R&R. Neither of which would be occurring, we would be staying together for a while and I had no problem with that.

I cleared my throat to get their attention and the three turned and looked at me, "Hey all, new orders have come already, Priority mission. So, stop packing, we'll be staying on the Donnen. Now sit down, shut up and listen, I'm going to lay out what our new orders will have us doing."

My three teammates sat down on the pieces of furniture that were in the small room and focused on me. I took a deep breath, "Okay then, our," I said, emphasizing the inclusion of all four of us. "New assignment is to pursue the Archangel and to prevent them from getting even a mobile suit or data upon the subject into the Earth Alliance's hands. We'll still be working as a team with this assignment. The methods of how this will be done will be up to us. Are there any questions?" I asked.

When no one responded, I took that to mean that the information was understood and there were no questions about it. So, I left the room, while Alan and Luke began unpacking their stuff. However, before I got too far down the corridor on my way to my quarters, Lisa stopped me, "Tyler, are you okay with this? You do understand that to obtain the objectives, you might have to either betray those you know on the Alliance ship or at least appear to do so. You still going to go through with this, I doubt any would blame you if it were mentioned that there are friends of yours on board that vessel," she inquired.

I frowned, "Thanks for your concern Lisa, but it best and in my view, has to be me, someone else might get it wrong. And the consequences that would come as a result of getting things wrong in this, with be people dying. Plus, if I don't, I very well may end up attending the funerals of at least one of my best friends, if not more than just one. I… I don't think I would be able to forgive myself if my two best friends end out killing each other and I did nothing to stop them."

Lisa had an expression of confusion on her face, "What are you talking about?"

"I've two friends that I went to a lunar prep academy with, now one is a ZAFT pilot that's with the team that's pursuing the Archangel. He's piloting one of the stolen Alliance suits, specifically the X303 Aegis. The other is on the same Alliance ship that we're going to chase and is one of the two pilots no doubt protecting the ship." I paused, shuttering at the thoughts at the possibilities of what could happen in the future, "At some point in the future, they're going to be forced onto the battlefield on opposite sides and will have to fight one another. If I side with either one of them, I'll be seen as an enemy to the other… I just don't know what to do in this!" I was writhing my hands in frustration and being unable to change how things were right now. "And that's why I hate this war! It's pitting friend against friend, and those who are leading this conflict don't give a freaking care that their views and choices are causing this!"

Lisa tried to comfort me in this, she didn't succeed, but she didn't fully fail either. I returned to my quarters, and just after I got there I felt the ship moving. I looked out the viewing port that was in the room and saw that the Donnen was exiting the docking area of Aprilius one. And so, the journey begins and I feel it will be a long and harsh one in more ways than I want to know.

-Line Break-

-Neutral pov-

The Archangel

"It looks like the ZAFT vessel is pulling back," said Miriallia, pulling double duty of mobile weapon controller and com-officer. "Mission accomplished, both the Strike and the Asuka are now returning to the ship."

Even if the battle had been against one Laurasia-class ZAFT vessel, it had been a three against two when it came to mobile suits. When the Blitz, Duel and Buster had come from the ZAFT vessel there had been a lot of worry and some despair. Having to go against three of the five prototype G-weapons, and with them having experienced ZAFT pilots, who had likely had the time to make the OSs on the prototypes usable and capable… hopes hadn't been high to say the least. What had happened to the Nazca-class ZAFT ship, was anyone's guess, for it had been absent. Since the Aegis hadn't been on the battlefield, it was likely on the Nazca-class, wherever it went to. Yet, if what Mu La Flaga had said about the ZAFT commander that was supposedly pursuing them Rau Le Creuset was true, the question on many of the minds on the Archangel wondering, why was only one vessel giving chase?

On the Bridge of the Archangel, the crew were relaxing a bit from the tension that had built up from the collapse of Heliopolis and the recent battle. There were a few murmurs of awe followed her words as Murrue sighed in relief. "Captain, since the Laurasia-class is falling back, we should make a break for Artemis," said Natarle.

"Indeed, let them go for now and set course," said Murrue, "Best to use the opportunity to forge ahead to Artemis."

"Engines to maximum," ordered Natarle.

Meanwhile, just after Kira and Lacus exited the two mobile suits they proceeded to the pilot changing room. Once there, Lacus removed her helmet and tears floated from her face. Kira noticed, and he made his way over to her and hugged the girl, saying nothing. Lacus returned the embrace and silently cried as Kira held her. Kira smiled slightly, "It will be alright Lacus, we're both still alive and everyone on the ship is okay, that's what counts." He said.

Lacus sniffled, "Yes, but Tye isn't with us anymore… He might have been shot down or is dead," she choked, holding back sobs.

Kira's smile grew a bit, "There is no doubt in my mind that Tye is fine wherever he is right now. He is strong and won't die easily, trust me when I say that. He'll show up when he can, but even he needs some time to work with to get things done. As he has said to me from time to time, 'I'm good at what I set my mind to, but I'm not a miracle worker'. You'll see Lacus, Tye has never failed at coming through for those he calls friends yet, and I doubt he'll start now," replied Kira.

Lacus started to calm down after hearing Kira's confident reply and nodded in agreement. Before the two teens could start changing, the door to the room opened and Chief Murdock was at the doorway. "Oh, there you two are, just wanted you to know, both the Lieutenant's and the Major's mobile armors are done being repaired. So, from here on, you two won't have to be the only ones out there defending the ship. The Lieutenant and Major will be supporting you out on the field as well," he said cheerfully.

Chief Murdock waved to them and then left the room, heading back to the hanger. Kira and Lacus then headed off to the quarters they had found before. However, the two had been watched and listen to without them knowing it. A little way down the corridor was Mu La Flaga and Krystal McAlester, Krystal smiled a bit after hearing the exchange, "It's hard to believe that those two defended the ship on their own, isn't it Mu?" Mused Krystal.

"You're right, though they may have incredible talent for piloting," Mu said, "They're still just teenage kids… probably a good thing we have both of them. I don't want to even think of what sort of emotional state they'd be in without having each other to lean on for support."

Krystal nodded in agreement, "Well, now that we have mobile armor to work with, we can help those two so that their emotional state doesn't get all that much worse," she said.

The next few hours that passed by were uneventful, and when the sight of the Artemis Asteroid came into view, there were feelings of relief for most on the Archangel. On the bridge, a request was sent to the Alliance base to dock and those on the Archangel waited for the reply. "Message from Artemis," said Miriallia. "Request to enter port acknowledged. Inspecting officer Will be sent on board when you dock."

"Alright then," said Murrue, her relief obvious. "Thank you."

Things had gone surprisingly well for them… sure, things didn't go as was hoped originally by any means. First, the collapse of Heliopolis along with the loss of Tyler McGregor and the machine he had been piloting. Things only got direr when they had almost lost both Kira and Lacus with those two being only civilian volunteers, and going up against three trained soldiers. And, with only relatively minor support from the Archangel, they'd been successful in driving off the enemy. The two had successfully held their own against three other machines, all three of them of the same model series as their own. It was nothing short of astounding really what the two teens had done. Murrue didn't want to admit it, but when she realized what they were up against, she'd been certain that both Kira and Lacus were going to die. The two had a natural talent for piloting that Murrue knew only appeared in one out of every thousand or even hundred thousand individuals… but they were still just untrained kids, not soldiers.

Yet, now that the Archangel had reached the Artemis base, things could finally start going better. Granted, it was doubtful that the ZAFT forces that were pursuing them would give up the chase, but at least at Artemis those on the Archangel could have a rest bit. "We were lucky…" Murrue muttered under her breath.

-Line Break-

-Tyler's pov-

The Donnen

The Donnen was under way and there were things to do in the time it would take the Federation cruiser to get in range of the Eurasian military base Artemis. I wasn't one to be idle when I have time to wait for something to happen. There would be more than twelve-hour trip that would need to be made to get to their destination, so I have to give myself work, not to be restless.

The first thing I did, was heading down to the hanger bay, to talk to the chief mechanic to see if he might be able to do some work on the Shadow, for there were things I wanted to get improved and changed. When I found the man I was looking for, I began to lay out what I was hoping for.

I'm not saying that the X209 Shadow is a badly made mobile suit, it's a marvel of engineering and I'm becoming very optimistic of what it could do. However, there were systems that weren't designed to work well with the rest of the system or to work efficiently by themselves. The Mirage Colloid for instance, was a jump in a stealth system, but the way that it is, sucks down power and generates a great deal of heat. Both issues of power drain and heat output, make the stealth ability to work for a short timeframe, and the heat can give away position to an extent. Given time to refine and improve it, those two major issues could be lessened or fixed onboard the Donnen.

The shield the Shadow had, was nice and had worked for the three instances that I'd used it in. However, I want it tailored a bit, mostly for personal preference and as I'll be the one piloting it, why shouldn't I have it fit my personal preference? Would like to increase the defensive capabilities, specifically blocking power against beams as phase shift takes projectiles and minimize damage to the suit.

The chief mechanic had no issues with my request, especially since the majority of the mechanics on the Donnen have been looking at the mobile suit with great interest as it was quite different than Federation machines. He did however, tell me that it would take him and his crew a decent amount of time to get what I wanted done as my requested changes were fairly extensive. I told him if problems that required me to be out on a battlefield, I would use one of the four fighters that were onboard the ship. The chief was good with that and so he and the other mechanics set to work and I went back to my quarters.

When I was back in 'my' quarters, I went to the bed and 'laid' on it, or rather I floated up with there being no gravity. Yet I didn't take much notice as I got to think about recent events. With the collapse of Heliopolis, a lot had changed, yesterday morning, I was with friends I go to school with. Within the last twenty-four hours, I've been separated from them, don't know what their circumstances were or if they were okay or hurt. I feel horrible that I'm not with them right now, but it's what it is. How can I face Kira and the others after leaving them as I had? Admittedly, I was a member of the Federation Military and not even Kira knew that fact, yet that's not a very good excuse for me to have. I would have to think of an apology that I would make to them when I see them next… hope that will be soon.

-Line Break-

-Neutral pov-

The Archangel, Near Artemis, Lagrange 3

Kira and Lacus stepped out of the quarters they had chosen for theirs, blue for Kira and pink for Lacus, the uniforms had been brought to them along their way to the room. Their breathing was still somewhat strained, as they were still recovering from the strain of the battle and the near-death experiences they had undergone. Their dependence on one another, was probably one of the major reasons that either of them weren't having a mental breakdown or close to having one. They drew strength from one another and were able to keep going forward. The two were heading towards the mess hall to see what was going on, when both Mu and Krystal came into the same corridor from one of the side ones.

"Huh?" muttered Kira, as they found Mu and Krystal coming up behind them as they floated along the hall. The lieutenant playfully grabbed Kira, wrapping his arm around his neck, while Krystal held Lacus's left shoulder.

"I forgot to mention this earlier to you two," said Mu pleasantly, then he leaned in and lowered the volume of his voice, "Put a lock on the Strike and the Asuka activation programs," said Mu.

Both teens looked between the two mobile armor pilots, "Is this some kind of joke Lieutenant?" Asked Lacus.

Krystal shook her head, "Not in the slightest, we'll be docked at the Artemis base soon."

Mu nodded, "Yes, so make sure that no one can operate those mobile suits but you two," he said seriously.

Both Kira and Lacus looked between the two mobile armor pilots, "It's not that we don't trust the people from Eurasia, but," Krystal paused, then continued, "To say that the Atlantic Federation and the Eurasia Federation see eye to eye… that would be wrong. Let's just say that they will likely make trouble as this ship is a secret from parts of the Earth Alliance." Commented Krystal.

Kira looked at both pilots, then he shook his head, and shared a quick look with Lacus. "Alright, we'll do it," he returned.

Both Mu and Krystal nodded and then continued to wherever they were going to on the Archangel. Kira and Lacus went back to the hanger and Kira put locks on the OSs before the pair resumed the journey to the mess hall. Once they reached the doorway, the went in, though they saw Sai and Flay who were staring out of the window at the asteroid that was an Alliance Military base.

"Wow…" murmured Flay as the Archangel backed into Artemis, moving through the inactive section of the umbrella.

"It's a lightwave barrier, known as the Umbrella of Artemis," explained Sai. The two were standing at the observation port in front of the mess hall. After Flay had recovered from her fear of the battle, and Sai had recovered from Flay's earlier anger at him for leaving her alone like he had to take a station on the bridge. "They say it even blocks laser beams. It's the ultimate defense that the Alliance has." He finished.

"I'm so relieved," said Flay, smiling. "We can finally feel safe. Wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah," said Sai, matching her smile.

Mu and Krystal reached the elevator after telling Kira and Lacus to put locks on the mobile suits and took it up to the bridge to watch how this situation would unfold. Neither of the mobile armor pilots were expecting what most would consider a 'warm welcome' by the Eurasian forces in the base, quite the opposite. The real question would be how much trouble would come to the ship and those on board while they were here at Artemis. The Archangel backed into the base through the hole that was opened in the umbrella. Yet, as the warship descended into the dock the crew had been told to go to, shuttles along with mobile armors surrounding the ship.

'Oh great,' thought Murrue, Natarle, Mu and Krystal at the same time as they realized the ship was being locked into place in several ways and wouldn't be able to leave the dock while those methods were in place. The help that had been hoped for, wasn't likely to come their way.

"Captain… I think that we are going to have problems." said Natarle in a worried tone.

"What was your first clue Ensign Badgiruel?" Asked Krystal in a flat voice.

It wasn't long after being locked into one of the docks inside Artemis, when the door to the elevator opened and armed soldiers spread themselves across the bridge and aimed their weapons at those present. "What's going on there?" asked Tolle.

Murrue turned to the inspection officer from Artemis that was floating out of the elevator. "Well, what is this about… commander?" she asked.

"I must advise you captain, remain silent," said the officer.

"I was afraid of this…" said Mu under his breath.

Krystal glanced over to Mu, "Yeah, not the warm welcome that we hoped for, but more than what we expected. That why we prepared for this idea the best we could think of Lieutenant," she whispered.

Mu smirked slightly behind his hand at Krystal's comment, for she was right. The Alliance officers won't get the Strike or the Asuka… But that brought up the question of who's in charge here… even with the bad relationship that existed between the two major powers that made up the Earth Alliance, this was more than what should be happening, most Eurasians wouldn't behave quite like this…

-Line Break-

-Tyler's Pov-

The Donnen

Admittedly, it was nice to get some sleep as things had been stressful as of late, what with recent events of the meeting with the Supreme Council and Heliopolis. And since the trip to Artemis wasn't short… well, I managed to catch some much-needed sleep. It wasn't the best quality sleep, but I'll take what I can get right now. The trip itself from the PLANTs at L5 to the area of L3 passing by the debris field of Heliopolis, took ten hours or so. Then there was another hour almost two to arrive outside the range of the Earth Alliance's Artemis military base. So, the whole trip was twelve hours and that time was used for preparations as there was a very high chance that my team and I would be going into Artemis.

Once we had come in sight of the Eurasian base, I made my way to the Bridge of the Donnen, or specifically, the Tactical Center section of it. In this area of the bridge, the holographic display system to help ship officers see the battlefield in a way that makes more visual sense overall and in real time too. When I entered, I saw that Captain Shepard was at the table, looking at the general area of Artemis and what surrounds the base. "Captain Shepard, what's the current situation thus far with Artemis?" I asked closing the distance between the door and the table.

Shepard glanced up at me and then back down at the digital display. There was a holographic representation of the asteroid base and there was a layer over the base itself. Then, there were three much smaller images which were that of ZAFT vessels that were in range to attack the Alliance base. "As you can see, Artemis has it's lightwave umbrella up, like due to the three ZAFT vessels nearby. By the radio chatter we've picked up on the Alliance channels, the Archangel is inside of Artemis. Although, given the relations between the Atlantic and Eurasia Federations, I doubt that the Archangel is being given the nicest treatment. My assumption is that those inside Artemis are interested and intent on inspected the mobile suits onboard."

From what I know of the internal workings of the Earth Alliance, Captain Shepard isn't wrong. The Eurasia Federation wasn't on good terms with its ally the Atlantic Federation, the two were at serious odds as of late. If Eurasia could gain an advantage over the Atlantic Federation, then they wouldn't likely say no to the opportunity.

Shepard moved the image so that the Artemis base moved to one end of the field displayed and three other smaller images appeared. "Then, there are these three ZAFT ships, a Laurasia-class and two Nazca-classes. They're on the edge of Artemis's defensive range and that would be why the lightwave umbrella is up. Unfortunately, with that barrier up, even Federation fighters wouldn't be able to get in while it is active."

I was silent at what I was being told, for I knew the situation would be difficult coming into it, with the facts that I had at this point. However, even with that mindset, I hadn't thought it would be THIS bad! This meant there would be significant amount of difficulty in helping those on the Archangel as things stood, any could see that. However, as my father would tell me often, there's not a problem, to which there isn't methods to obtain a solution, a lesson that had been reinforced during my time in the Federation military. There's a way into this Eurasian base, even if it isn't a simple one to see, it just needs to be found!

Captain Shepard, took a breath and kept going, "Plus, as this is an Alliance base, it makes us go around or inside it is more of a political mess more than anything else. Artemis is especially problematic, being as close to the border between the Federation and the Earth Alliance as it is," she finished.

I didn't speak or reply to the information that Shepard had stated, I was looking over the field, studying it carefully. With how things stand, this situation that's a bomb waiting to blow up and the explosion won't be small, were I to give a prediction. I don't expect that ZAFT would just sit and twiddle their thumbs while the Archangel sits in Artemis. They'll be looking for a way into Artemis… plus, I know for a fact that Sakura has dearly wanted to defeat the umbrella of Artemis, just to prove that it can be done among other reasons. As I've said, the woman is very determined when she has a goal set in mind, plus she loves a good fight and challenge.

When this is viewed from a political standpoint, don't see that preventing us Federation pilots from entering the base. From the huge amount of observation of my mom at her job when I visit my homeland, to blame another in the world of politics, you need concrete proof. If you don't, well you might as well keep your mouth shut, for your complaining is nothing more than angry cries. "You have a point on most of the situation Captain however, I disagree going into Artemis being a problem," I remarked.

Shepard stared at me with a brow raised, "And why would you disagree Commander McGregor?"

I smirked, "You say that politics make this a problem for my team being in Artemis. That would be true IF, and only if, two things occur. The first being that the base is still around and functioning when this situation is said and done. Then the second thing, you assume that the Alliance personnel will see or detect us enter or us moving around Artemis. If we're being honest, what amount of currency would you bet, that ZAFT will attack Artemis as their quarry is inside? That alone will give the Alliance much more to worry about than Federation pilots being inside their 'impregnable fortress'? As for us being in their base overall, they won't have proof of any of us being there, so politics is of no real concern in this," I answered confidently.

Captain Shepard blinked and then chuckled, "Indeed, you have a valid point." She replied with a slight smile.

-Line Break-

-Neutral pov-

The Archangel, Artemis Interior

Those in the mess hall who worked as crew of the Archangel and were off duty, were curious as to why they had been ordered to gather here. Their curiosity grew when the refugees came in and appeared to be worried and scared. However, it was clear that something was off and wrong when the non-commissioned crew came in and were followed by Alliance soldiers with guns. "Alright, freeze!" said the Artemis soldier in the lead. The soldier behind the first, followed suit and leveling their assault rifles at the people in the mess hall. "No one move!" said the leader.

The refugees huddled in a tighter group, further confused and scared at what was happening, while the crew members in the mess hall were just trying to process what was going on. Artemis was supposed to be an allied base belonging to the Eurasia Federation, so this action wasn't expected at all. Meanwhile, the same actions of pointing guns and capturing members of the crew were happening throughout the ship. The next twenty minutes, all over the ship except the on the bridge, Eurasian soldiers herded any members of the crew and passengers they could find towards the mess hall. It was a means of containment for those on board the Archangel for those at Artemis.

On the bridge of the Archangel, the commanding officers were the most confused and puzzled at what was occurring. The only two that had even the slightest idea what this was about, was Mu and Krystal and this was more of a reaction than even they had planned for entirely.

"What are you doing?" demanded Murrue.

There was no reply to Murrue from any of the Eurasian personnel or the one they listened to. "Lieutenant Commander Biddulph," said Natarle, controlling her growing irritation, "I request an explanation for these actions. I assure you, we…"

"This is only to lock down the ship's controls and weapons systems as part of our standard security procedures," said Biddulph, interrupting her.

Natarle experienced a mix of incredulity and irritation, "Lock down, since when do lock down," Natarle stopped herself in her outburst and took a quick moment to regain control of her emotions. Then she continued in a calmer voice, "There's no need for you to go this far."

The response that Natarle received, was a soldier aiming a gun at her. "Isn't a large and heavily armed force a bit much for a standard 'lock down' of an allied ship, Lieutenant Commander? It's almost as if you're treating us as prisoners, rather than allies," remarked Krystal flatly.

The man in charge of this glared at Krystal, but she returned the glare and for half a minute there was a stare down, which Krystal won in the end. The commander straightened his uniform before turning back to both Natarle and Murrue, "Your vessel isn't recorded in the ship register," continued Biddulph, "Naturally we have no identification code for it. Given the circumstances, we permitted you entrance to our port. Unfortunately, it hasn't yet been determined if we recognized you as friendly."

"But that doesn't," Natarle began to object.

"This is a military facility," said Biddulph. "At the very least, it'd be appreciated if you kept that in mind."

Something else is up, thought Murrue, gritting her teeth. Mu and Krystal were right after all…

Meanwhile, Mu and Krystal couldn't help the thoughts of, what an obvious lie. Both could see there was more to this than met the eye and it likely had to do in some way to the two mobile suits on the Archangel.

"Now then, I would like the officers to brief us on the current situation," said Biddulph. "You shall accompany me."

Meanwhile, in the command sector of Artemis, Rear Admiral Gerard Garcia to himself, the leading commander of the Artemis base, staring at screens displaying the harbor from his office. "The top secret military project of the Atlantic Federation," he said smiling. "Who would've guessed it would jump right into our lap? This is very good fortune for Eurasian Federation."

"So, all those rumors that have been circulating about Heliopolis were true after all," said Garcia's second-in-command. "It's more surprising that the Federation nor ZAFT found out about it and did something before this."

"Indeed… We'll invite these people to remain here," said Garcia, still smiling, "On an extended 'shore leave'." At that moment, there came a knock on the door.

"Excuse me sir," came the voice of Biddulph. "I've brought with me four officers from the unidentified vessel."

"Yes, enter," said Garcia. Biddulph opened the door and entered, followed by Murrue, Natarle, Mu and Krystal. Garcia stood up, smiling even more broadly. "Greetings, welcome to Artemis."

-Line Break-

The Archangel

By the time the commissioned officers the Archangel had were taken off the ship, all onboard of the Archangel had been brought to the mess hall and were divided into two groups. The first group was the rest of the crew of the ship and the other was those who weren't helping run the ship. The only thing that had been told to any of them, was that they would be kept here while the 'lock down' was in place. Any resistance to this had quickly been put down, and none asked their watchers anything since they would unlikely get anything from them. Sai himself was getting irritated at what was happening, both Eurasia and the Atlantic Federation were a part of the Earth Alliance, weren't they? The subject was so frustration, Sai leaned over to Romero Pal, "The Eurasian Federation is supposed to be an ally to the Atlantic Federation, isn't it?" muttered Sai, looking at Pal. "Don't they have good enough relations with the Atlantic Federation for something like this not to occur?"

"No, not really," replied Pal quietly. "In truth, the only part of the Earth Alliance that the Atlantic Federation is on tenser terms with than Eurasia Federation, would be the one between us and the United States of South America. Honestly, the members of the Earth Alliance don't really get along with one another. The only reason the Alliance hasn't fallen apart or collapsed, is the war against ZAFT. Our current situation might not be as much of a problem if we had proper identifications codes, but I can't say"

"Don't have proper codes my rear, they're just latching onto that as an excuse to do what they want," said Murdoch quietly, glancing at Arnold. "There's something else going on here."

"I would agree," said Arnold.

Listening in on the exchange, Kira sighed at the subject matter, it made him feel uneasy and worried him. He stepped over into a corner bringing Lacus with him so that they could have a private conversation, "What do you think of this?" asked Kira quietly.

"I think we may be in trouble," she said softly. "Even if Le Creuset wasn't with those chasing us at the start, he will be as soon as he can. He is one of ZAFT's elite, a dangerous strategist and extraordinarily persistent. My sister may not like him, but she can't deny that he gets results, even if she doesn't like the methods he uses to get them. We have lost some that would help us and from the looks of things, we haven't found allies at all. It's like were shoved back to square one."

"Yeah," mumbled Kira in a disheartened tone.

Back into Office of Garcia, he was looking over the personnel files on the four officers that now stood in front of him. "Lieutenant Murrue Ramius, Lieutenant Mu La Flaga, First Lieutenant Krystal McAlester and Ensign Natarle Badgiruel," stated Garcia. Then the man glanced up at the four he had referred to, "Well, it would appear your identification is authentic Atlantic Federation IDs."

"We apologize for any trouble we might've caused," said Mu, taking the lead.

"And thank you for allowing us to dock here in Artemis sir," added Krystal, instantly seeing what Mu was trying to do.

"Think nothing of it," said Garcia, before he smiled. "As a matter of fact, I'm well acquainted with both of your illustrious names Lieutenant La Flaga and you Lieutenant McAlester." He pointed to Mu first, "You're the one they call the 'Hawk of Endymion'." He then pointed to Krystal, "And you're the one known as the 'Lunar Peregrine'. I too saw my share of action while stationed at the Grimaldi Front." Garcia grimaced slightly. "Came closer to death there than anywhere else… And when the Roc and his demons behind him showed up, doubt I was the only one that thought I would make it out alive at that point."

"Ah, then you were with Commodore Marks's defense unit were you?" asked Mu, hiding his own grimace. The "Roc" to which Garcia referred was the infamous "Grimaldi Roc," an elite ZAFT commander and one of ZAFT's champions. His team had the nicknamed the 'Vultures', as they cleaned up a field like the bird they were named after.

The Roc himself had the infamous reputation for his talent with close-combat tactics, as well as his use of a scythe to cleave his enemies into pieces whether mobile armors or ships. And lastly, the other point was his love for attacking from above in a manner reminiscent of the same mythological predator he was named after. Mu had tangled with the man at the Battle of the Endymion Crater, managed to tick off the man by shooting down one of his comrades. It was an encounter Mu barely survived, though the Roc later saved his life by warning him of the Cyclops System blast that ended the battle. The man had vanished and nothing was heard of him after that battle and was presumed dead.

Krystal also suppressed a grimace at the mention of the ZAFT Campion and ace as well. A close friend of hers had been shot down by the Roc, when the man had decided to leisurely sit outside the carrier she had been assigned to, blowing apart the mobile armors after they distanced themselves from the ship as they did for resupply. She herself had been a fresh green armor pilot at the time and so could do very little but watch and pray. The man seemed to have a bizarre sense of humor, but the results achieved couldn't be denied.

"That's right," said Garcia, in response to Mu's query. "The battle may have ended in defeat for the Alliance, but your heroic feat in single-handedly taking multiple GINNs each, gave us a sorely needed morale boost." Garcia glanced over at Krystal, "Then you, damaging and disabling the Black Zephyr's Jade Knight along with half of their team forcing them to retreat, didn't hurt at all," said the man, referring to another infamous ZAFT team which Krystal had managed to take on.

The ZAFT mobile suit team, which had been led by the 'Jade Knight', had been under the command of the most infamously dangerous of ZAFT's champions, the Black Zephyr. There were rumors that the Jade Knight, was also another ZAFT ace, also known as 'the Mocking Jay', but no fact could confirm if that was true or now. Most of them had been destroyed in the Endymion Cyclops blast, including their leader assumedly. If the pilot was somehow still alive, what they were doing now, none knew as there had been no evidence about what happened to them.

"Very kind of you to say, sir," said Mu with Krystal nodding, but saying nothing.

"However," continued Garcia, "Who would've believed the two of you, of all the people that could have popped up and appear on the prototype ship of the Atlantic Federation?"

"My comrade and I are on a special mission sir," said Mu seriously. "Unfortunately, we aren't at liberty to disclose any details at this time."

"I understand," said Garcia. "But it'll be difficult to resupply you right away."

"It's absolutely vital that we head to Lunar HQ as soon as humanly possible," said Murrue. "As you no doubt know, we're being pursued by ZAFT."

"By ZAFT you say?" said Garcia, something almost condescending about his demeanor. He pressed a button on his desk, and the nature scenes displayed on the screen behind him disappeared, replaced by an image of Artemis, umbrella shield activated, the surrounding space… and a single Laurasia-class frigate and two Nazca-class Destroyers. Murrue gasped, "As you can see, the ships have been roaming around outside the umbrella." Garcia said turning his chair to face the screen. "They've been there for a short while now. One or two, even three vessels are of little concern to us here, though if you were resupplied…" Garcia turned his chair back to face them, "it would still mean you'd be unable to depart, wouldn't it?"

"They won't abandon their pursuit of the Archangel sir," said Mu. "We cannot afford to remain here for long and risk damage to Artemis."

Garcia chuckled. "Did I hear you right Lieutenant?" he asked. "Damage to our base? They're powerless to do anything to us, and they'll eventually leave, it happens all the time."

Mu held in the frustration he felt at that, "With all do you respect commandant, their commander, Rau Le Creuset won't just give up," Mu stared, but was cut off as Garcia raised a hand.

"At any rate, I recommend you get some R&R," said Garcia. "You appear to be exhausted. I'll have your quarters prepared." He pressed another button.

"Commandant couldn't we…?" started Krystal.

"Excuse me sir," said an officer, opening the door.

"We'll have a chance to get in contact with Lunar Headquarters once they leave," said Garcia, seemingly to reassure them. "We'll make arrangements afterwards. So, relax and get some rest, all of you."

"You're that certain?" said Mu after a moment. "You think Artemis is that safe?"

Garcia smirked, "I assure you Lieutenant, it's as safe as an infant in its mother's arms."

Naturally, this did nothing to reassure any of the Archangel officers. After the 'meeting', the Archangel's officers had been escorted to a room that had been prepared for them. once inside the room and the door closed, Natarle privately let her companions know her opinion. "I understand that the Archangel may be unregistered," she said, "but this kind of treatment is inexcusable!" Military protocol was so heavily coded into Natarle's mind and psyche, that the thought of ambitious soldiers acting against protocol to further their own goals was almost entirely foreign to her. She herself, came from a family that for many generations had served in the military and done so with distinction.

"Logically speaking, you're probably right, but people aren't always logical. Besides, there isn't much we can do for the moment," said Mu. "Right now, those guys would much more prefer we didn't return to the ship. A way to keep us from organizing resistance against them I would bet, but there's something that concerns me even more." Mu looked down at the ground in thought.

"Would it be the fact that these soldiers here on Artemis have an unquestioning faith that their secure against any enemy assault?" Inquired Krystal.

Mu nodded to Krystal's question to him, "Exactly, there is no such thing as a base that cannot be taken," said Murrue in agreement, "and no defense is perfect or absolute. That fact is one that has been proven in this war by both ZAFT and the Federation to the Alliance."

-Line Break-

The Gamow, Near Artemis

The mood aboard the Gamow was tense and it was mostly due to a few people on the ship. One of those, would be Yzak Joule and he was in a very, VERY bad mood, and the reason why was readily apparent. While Dearka and Nicol got to keep their fancy new captured machines after the battle with the Alliance vessel, the same couldn't be said for Yzak. He had gotten stuck in a GINN so that he could fly while the heavily damaged Duel was being repaired. However, while everyone knew why he was in a bad mood… being around him and having to deal with his foul mood, wasn't something any of them really wanted to tolerate. Not even his fellow pilots Dearka and Nicol could ignore how their comrade was acting. So, Yzak did his best to rein in his foul mood… mostly by just keeping his mouth shut.

Right now, after settling themselves fully, Captain Zelman, who had gathered the three pilots in order to discuss how to go about their current mission, began the briefing. They had been watching the Alliance base for around an hour and nothing had changed, "The Umbrella blocks all lasers and projectiles coming at it," explained Zelman, as the tactical screen displayed a digitized model of Artemis and the umbrella, "Although the same could be said for anything going out."

"So, what it comes down to is, they won't be attacking us and we can't attack them," said Dearka, somewhat condescendingly. "What a perfectly lame invention."

"Although it is a purely defensive system, it's quite an achievement nonetheless," countered Zelman. "This base hasn't had any strategic importance, so up to this point, our forces have pretty much ignored it. That's of course, outside of the Black Zephyr expressing an interest in trying to crack it open to prove that it can be done."

"I'm guessing the opportunity never arose?" said Nicol. "I've met and have known the Black Zephyr for a couple of years, I can't see something like this slowing someone like her down for long."

"Correct, but that reason is irrelevant to our current situation," said Zelman. "For us, it's a matter of not having the means to break through that Umbrella, even with three ships on station. So, we're in a tricky position, but they're pretty much stuck as well."

"So, what's the strategy then?" asked Dearka. "Kick back till they come out?" Dearka snickered to himself at that.

Zelman frowned at his behavior, "Stop clowning around Dearka," growled Yzak angrily. "When Commander Creuset gets back from the PLANTs, do you want to be the one to tell him we weren't able to do anything about the 'legged ship'? We'd be totally humiliated if we have nothing to show for the time we've had!"

Nicol kept quiet and ignored the argument between his comrades, focusing on the tactical problem they faced. He frowned as he stared at the tactical screen, trying to come up with something that could change the current situation. What would the Black Zephyr say at a time like this? She certainly wasn't one to just accept that there is nothing that can be done facing an opponent that's in a place of security. Then Nicol remembered a line that she had said while visiting his father the last time, 'In war, the way is to avoid what is strong, is to strike at what is weak'. However, there wasn't a weakness apparent or obvious, not while that Umbrella is… up… wait, that's it!

"Captain Zelman, when does the Umbrella of Artemis close? I assume that it isn't up all the time, it would draw lots of power if they did that. So, it has to be shut down at some point," asked Nicol, drawing everyone's attention.

Zelman put a hand to his chin, "You would be correct, it does close and shut down. The umbrella only remains active while enemies are within a particular range of the base," said Zelman, before he looked at the display and frowning. "The problem, is that range is greater than any ZAFT vessel's weapons can reach. So, even if we were to approach while it's closed, they'll detect us before we get close enough to fire upon the base, since they will simply reactivate the Umbrella."

"In war, the way is to avoid what is strong is to strike at what is weak," muttered Nicol to himself.

"Nicol?" questioned Dearka uncertainly.

"What is the weakness of the lightwave barrier?" asked Nicol, before barreling on to answer his own question. "It's the emitters that generate it. The umbrella made up of a network of projectors across the surface of the fortress that emit the lightwaves that construct and maintain the barrier. That's where the defense of Artemis is weak, and so that's where a strike must be made to take down the defenses."

"Sure Nicol, you're probably right with the emitters but, not even the Buster's combined rifle in the sniping configuration could hit enough emitters before the Umbrella went up. You would have to take out enough of them in a small area and you would have to know exactly where the emitters are. The other difficulty is that N-jammers will start interfering with targeting and throw off your aim within a few shots." Shot Dearka in return.

"True, but that's a direct approach that ends up striking at what's strong again," said Nicol. "All warfare is based on deceiving your opponent while thinking ahead of them to bring about victory for yourself. So, breaking that down, we need to find a way to strike at the fortress's weakness, and a deception would be the best way to do that… and I think I know the perfect tool for the idea."

"And what is that, coward?" demanded Yzak irritably.

Nicol looked up, seeming almost serene, "The Blitz is a rather unique machine," said Nicol. "Sure, it has the same Phase Shift armor as the other mobile suits, but it has another rather interesting feature as well, one that, used right, will put me in a position to take down enough of the umbrella emitters." He tapped the screen. "To strike at what is weak… to give us a tactical advantage."

-Line Break-

Artemis Interior

Garcia stood in the Artemis control room, looking out at the Archangel docked right outside, smiling, still not believing his luck. The power this would bring, not only to Eurasia, but also to him personally… there was a lot of possibility. The console in front of him beeped suddenly, alerting him that someone wanted to speak with him. Activating the intercom, he spoke.

"What is it?" he asked.

"The ZAFT Laurasia-class and the two Nazca-classes are leaving the area," said the officer, "Yellow eighteen, mark twenty, Charlie, distance seven hundred and increasing steadily."

"Very good," said Garcia. "I'll leave it to Rize to handle the rest of closing the Umbrella when ZAFT is gone. Continue to maintain surveillance of the area." At that moment, his lieutenant entered the control room behind him. "Find anything?" asked Garcia.

"Sir, it's proceeding smoothly," reported the lieutenant. "We're still in the process of examining the unregistered vessel. However, about the mobile suits…"

"Well, what is it?" asked Garcia.

"There is some kind of lock on their OS's that we simply haven't been able to figure out," he said. "We have been attempting to activate them, but have had no success."

"What?"

"We have assigned all of our technicians to study how to remove the lock, and they're working on it as we speak," continued the officer. Garcia gritted his teeth. This could be trouble and he didn't like that at all.

Phase End!

A/n

I think this ends at a slightly better transition point than I had before. Plus, it doesn't then leave a LONG chapter 5 to read through. Please take the time to write a review and tell me what you think of this story, Thank you for reading and peace out until the next chapter!