Old Friends Anew 4
Phase-4: Rest and Relaxation Cut Short
Adam's alarm rang loudly. He moaned as he brought his fist down on top of it. He tried to get himself up from his pillow, but slipped back into it. The orange mop snored into the pillow.
Shinn had just come out of the shower and was wiping his hair dry with a towel during the short escapade of Adam. He sighed and wiped the back of his head to get rid of the sweatdrop. He poked Adam in the arm. "Hey, wake up." Adam just murmured something unintelligible and flipped onto his side. "Are you going to do this every day? Wake up!" Shinn yanked the boy's arm.
"Umph. Dad, could you hand me that chisel?"
Shinn's eye twitched, but then he grinned wickedly. He went back into the bathroom and returned with a Super Soaker water pistol, filled to the brim and dripping with its charged pressure. "Hey, I just made a product placement. You're welcome…um…who makes these things again?" Shinn shook his head free of the thought. He lowered the weapon at Adam. "You asked for it, Adam." He pulled back the trigger and a stream of water erupted from the merciless weapon and coated Adam.
The boy shot up in bed instantly and Shinn hid the colorful gun behind his back. "Fine, I'll get the damn chisel myself!" Adam said, still partially asleep. As he blinked himself awake, Shinn came into focus, trying to hold back a smile. "Oh, it's you." His hair dripped water onto his arms. "And why am I soaking wet!"
"Don't worry Adam, I used to have the same problem, when I was FIVE! Now hurry up would you? We've got some free time and we don't want to waste any of it." Shinn turned to his dresser, giving Adam full view of the water pistol.
Adam snarled. "Why you!" He dove at the black-haired boy.
Shinn just smiled and pressed a secondary trigger, and another blast of water erupted from the handle, directly into Adam's face.
After Adam emerged from taking the rest of his shower the normal way, he put on his uniform. Shinn shut his magazine and got up from his bed. "Looks good on you, man." He said.
"Thanks." He looked at himself in the mirror. "But Luna was right. This collar is annoying." He tugged at it for a second but gave up.
"You'll be able to loosen it up once we get off the ship. I'll show you how to make it a bit more comfortable then. Speaking of which, we should get going. We're going to meet up with the others. Bring your money and ZAFT ID. We need to get you some stuff."
Adam got the said items. "Sir! Ready, sir!"
"Drop the sir act. I was your drill sergeant yesterday only. To day I'm back to being normal old me."
"Who ever said you were normal?" Adam said as he stepped out the door. "Pie guy."
Ray, Luna, Meyrin, Youlan, and the kid with a tuft of orange hair (Author's Note: I still can't figure out the kid's name. I know he's a mobile suit mechanic.) were chatting in front of the exit as Shinn and Adam approached.
"I'm serious!" Meyrin pouted. "The Captain was the one that came up with the idea to hang them out on the Leg Flyer, not mine!"
The orange-tufted boy chuckled. "Who cares whose idea it was? It was hilarious. I was rolling."
"Indeed you were." Youlan side-glanced at the boy. "If I remember correctly, I had to grab you before rolled off of the fifth platform."
Adam raised his hand in a greeting to the others when he joined up with them. "Good morning."
"Ohayo." The others echoed.
"Everyone ready to disembark?" Shinn asked and everyone nodded in approval. "I hope you all brought your umbrellas."
Everyone groaned. "Aww, that's not fair." Lunamaria pouted.
"Because you won't be needing them!" Shinn smiled as he hit the release for the hatch. The sun was rising on a beautiful cloudless day.
"Wow!" Adam said as he stepped out. "That's gorgeous!"
Ray spoke for the first time that morning. "So, where are we supposed to go?"
Everyone stopped dead in their tracks. "Um…" Someone said. Other than Ray and Meyrin, everyone flipped on their faces.
"Who's idea was this to go out without a place to go TO!" Luna lifted herself from the pile.
"Um…" Meyrin spoke up and pulled out a pamphlet. "There's this massive mall within about a mile and a half. They have some of the trendiest glamour shops in a 200 kilometer radius!"
Lunamaria rolled her eyes as she got up. "And what else do they have?"
"Um lets see, health food stores. They've got a really top quality salon." She ran down the list.
"Let me see that. I swear, you and your hobby." Luna snatched the pamphlet from the girl. "Let's see here. Ah! Perfect! This mall has everything! Junk food, bookstores, trendy restaurants, department stores, everything!"
"Then what are we waiting for? Luna, lead the way." Youlan stepped back and let her go first.
When everyone got to the mall, everyone went their separate ways. The two mechanics went one way, most likely towards the electronics department. Meyrin dragged Luna along her trip to probably a few hundred of a thousand different beauticians. Ray wandered around with no destination in particular. Lastly, Shinn and Adam headed to one place they hadn't been in together for over a year: an arcade.
Shinn smiled as he jumped into the pilot seat of one of the newest games and Adam jumped into another. This new game was a stunt piloting simulator. Two or more people would fly their planes and do stunts on their own or together and score points. Shinn called over to his friend. "Hey Adam, what do you want to do? Set routine or freestyle?"
"Freestyle it man! What fun is it if you have to stick by a set path all the time?"
"Got it." They both selected their stunt jets, which had the same color scheme as their mobile suits.
They were both directed onto the simulated runway, with Adam in the lead. He was given the clear to take of. "Adam Cancho, Falcon, yeehaw!" He said as he hit the throttle. Adam took off and went into a large and slow loop, and he flipped over halfway through.
Shinn shook his head as he was cleared. "Shinn Asuka, Splendor, ikimas!" His blue ship took to the air just as Adam's loop completed. Their cockpits were directly in view. Shinn looked up and saw Adam waving to his overhead camera, which broadcast a picture onto Shinn's overhead screen. "'Yeehaw?' Couldn't you have done something a little less stupid-sounding?"
"Well you did ikimas. I just wanted one of my own."
"Think up a better one. But do it later, we're on the stunt clock now. Break left and barrel roll in 3…2…1…break!" Shinn and Adam broke away from each other and went into separate barrel rolls. "Hoo! Adam, you've got the next stunt!"
"Okay. Chicken with a hyperbolic breakaway. Begin run." The two jets hurtled towards each other. "Break right in 3…2…1…break!" The two jets angled away when they came within 2 meters of each other. "All right! Shinn, now it's up to you!"
"Yokhai! Nosedive with a hangar clipper breakaway. Begin run!" The two began to plummet as they aimed their planes straight into the ground. They strained on the stick to pull out of it at the last second, missing the hangars by half a meter as they regained altitude. It shook their virtual shingles. "Adam, we're running out of time. Better make this one a good one."
"Oh yeah, this one will be perfect. Immeliman turn loop chain. Thread the turn and go into one of your own, and we'll continue like that. And use your smoke. I'll start it up." When Adam figured Shinn was a good distance away, he nodded. "Activate smoke. Begin run!" Adam's machine spouted out green smoke while Shinn's was red. Adam pulled up straight and forced a partial stall, curving around the hump. As he was leveling out and about to cross his vertical path, Shinn zoomed through the loop. Adam smiled and finished the maneuver and got into position for his run as Shinn pulled vertical. They linked together five of those routines before time ran out.
The simulation stopped and the scores were tallied. The display on both of their screens: ACE PILOT TEAM. They got second place. Adam and Shinn hopped out of their seats and slapped hands. "That was fun." Shinn said.
"Yeah. Brings back memories…of me kicking your butt." Adam put his hands behind his head.
"Okay, that's just not right."
"Then prove it. To the fighting games!"
"Cmon Shinn! Just pick one already!" Adam paid for his book, and had it under his arm. After being decapitated multiple times by the ruthless Impulse pilot, they both decided to go into a bookstore.
Shinn was still leafing through various magazines. "I want to get one that will last me a while. Just go around without me. I'll catch up later." He said as he pulled another magazine from the shelf.
Adam sighed and shook his head. "Fine. See ya around." He exited the bookstore in a huff. "Lousy magazine fanatic." He continued to walk along the second floor, but stopped as the sound of a piano reached his ears.
Adam turned to look in the store that the music was coming from. It wasn't a store, but a place to sit and rest. At the end, by the windows, was a baby grand piano, being played by someone that he instantly recognized. It was Ray. The melody was slow and sweet, and at first, Adam had no idea what it was, but then the notes came together and he understood it.
He smiled as he approached the Zaku Blaze Phantom pilot. "Guess you're not as much of a stick in the mud as I thought." He said. Ray stopped playing and looked towards him. Adam leaned on the piece of musical equipment. "That was 'Ignited' wasn't it? Didn't think it could ever be played as a slow song."
Ray nodded. "I wasn't finished. Would you like to hear the rest?"
"Please."
Adam closed his eyes as the melody flowed from Ray's fingertips. As he caught up to where Ray was in the song, he found himself singing along at the same pace the boy played. "Fukai kodou no saki ni. Kawasu honoo yo egakareta, unmei ni todoke." Ray finished off the song with a high note scale.
Two people applauded and both boys turned to look. It was the mechanics. "Not bad guys. We could strike up a band." The orange-tufted boy said.
"I had no idea you could play, Ray. And as for you, Adam, well I don't know that much about you to begin with so I didn't know you could sing either." Youlan smiled.
Ray closed his eyes and bowed his head slightly. "Thank you for your opinions. And especially you, Adam. It has been a long time since someone has actually sung to a piece that I played. I enjoyed it." He got up and grabbed his soda, and started walking out.
Youlan called to him. "Do you want to join us, Ray? We were just heading down to…."
"No. I must decline. There are a few things I need to take care of. See you all back on the Minerva." Ray left without another word.
Youlan shrugged. The other boy put his hands behind his head. "What's his problem? We were just going to ask if he wanted to grab some lunch with us. Do you want to come along Adam?"
"Does a ZAKU have one eye?" Adam grinned. Like he'd refuse a lunch invitation.
"Yes."
"Bingo. Let's go."
Adam and the mechanics were sitting on some barstools at a lunch stand, each eating a pita of some sort. Eventually, the conversation turned to the Minerva. Adam put down his drink. "The Minerva doesn't have any orders right now, right? So what do you think our next assignment will be?" He looked up into the skylight as he took another bite of his pita.
The orange-tufted mechanic cocked his head. "But we should be able to go back this time, right? To PLANT or into space, I mean."
"PLANT? Space? Geez, I hadn't really thought of that before. I've never been up there." Adam took another bite.
Youlan answered them both. "I guess so. Minerva was built specifically for space combat after all. What's the use if we're not in lunar orbit or the like?"
The other mechanic polished off his pita in three bites, leaving crumbs all over his face. "I wonder what's going on up in PLANT." His hand inched towards Adam's sandwich.
Adam slammed his cup down on the poor boy's hand. "No pilfering my pitas. And how so?"
"Well they did have nukes fired at them…."
"Nukes!" Adam stopped chewing. He swallowed heavily. "Man, I really need to get a newspaper."
"I'm really worried about my mom and the others, you know?"
Youlan smirked. "You mean like your girlfriend?"
"Ahou. I don't have one. Why does it always come back to that with you?"
Adam chuckled. "Probably trying to live vicariously through everyone else since he can't be the 'Lucky Pervert.'" He took one last bite of his sandwich. "Well, thanks for showing me this place, guys. I've got to make a few more stops, but I'll see you back at the ship, okay?"
"Ah."
"Sure." They both gave small waves as Adam left them to their own devices, soda in hand.
Adam went from shop to shop in the mall, picking up little things here and there. A newspaper, some breathmints, a candybar for later. Gotta love the candybars. Then he entered the department store and grabbed a cart and a basket. In almost every isle he found something he needed, and he bought two of each. He spent his time in the civilian clothes section, trying things on and getting some new clothes for when he had some time off. A couple of defensive knives from the hunting and army supply section, just in case he had to defend himself without a gun as well. When he walked into the pharmaceutical and hygiene section. This was going to take up most of his basket, since he had basically nothing.
He was nearing the end of the hygiene isles, his basket weighing heavily on his arm as he pushed his cart along, and he heard a very familiar voice. "You know, the repairs to the Minerva will be done soon, right?" Adam smiled. It was Meyrin.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure." Lunamaria was with her. They were in the final isle looking at makeup and facial products. Adam continued looking for a good shampoo while they talked.
"In that case, we'll be ordered to leave at any time. Right? Maybe I should buy some more, since I might not get the chance again in a while."
Luna looked at her basket and compared it to her little sister's. Meyrin's was full to the brim. "I don't know why you need all that stuff to begin with."
Adam, finding his shampoo, rounded the corner. "Some of us need more than others, especially when you had nothing to start with. Hey girls."
"Oh, Adam, it's you!" Meyrin grinned and walked up to him.
He took a quick look at her basket. "Planning on creating a beauty salon onboard?"
"Ha ha. A girl's got to keep herself looking good for the potential boyfriends, you know." She flipped a pigtail over her shoulder.
Lunamaria shrugged and shook her head. "I just don't get you sometimes, Mirei."
"So are you two heading back to the ship?" Adam tried to break away from the subject. The girls nodded. "If you don't mind, I'd like to join you."
"As long as you don't pull any pranks on us." Luna crossed her arms.
The orange-haired boy rolled his eyes. "Oh darn. And I was going to get you good too. I know when and when not to pull pranks Lunamaria. I'm just trying to be friendly."
"Besides, Lumi, he won't prank anyone with me here." Meyrin turned to her big sister.
"Unless I decide to prank you too." The boy narrowed his eyes.
"But I'm too cute to prank, right?" The younger girl smiled sweetly.
Adam coughed. "Kawaii." He coughed some more to cover it up. "Come on, once we get through checkout, I'll buy you two sodas."
As Adam lugged his bags over his shoulder, while trying to sip on his soda. Meyrin had two bags on one arm and a bag and her soda on another. Lastly, Luna had only one bag, and she finished her soda a while ago. As they approached their ship, its portside Linear Catapult opened.
Luna looked quizzically at the ship. "Are they launching someone? In dry dock?"
"Maybe one of the secondary crew got out of line and this is the Captain's version of saying 'You're fired!'" Adam chuckled.
"No. That's the reason!" Meyrin pointed ahead of the ship. A red jet with a double nose headed towards the Minerva. It transformed into a red and yellow mobile suit as it flew into the launch bay. The three looked at each other, and in a wordless agreement, they doubled their speed towards the battleship.
As Luna, Meyrin, and Adam made it to the docking bay, the new mobile suit was moved into locking position. "Wasn't that thing red before? Does that mean it has Phase Shift armor?" Adam asked.
"Is this a new model? Who on earth is that?" Lunamaria asked one of the senior members of the engineering staff. No sooner were her words spoken then the cockpit opened up and the pilot came out with a suitcase and had the elevator rope lower him down. He unsealed his helmet and shook his dark blue hair out. "Athrun-san!"
"Athrun?" Adam blinked.
"ID number 285002. Athrun Zala of the special unit FAITH requesting permission to board this vessel."
"FAITH!" The senior staff gasped.
Shinn came rushing in, and bumped into Youlan. "Hey, just now…was that a new…." He saw the 18 year old pilot. "You!"
"You're late, Shinn." Adam gave him a side glance.
The boy ignored him and stepped next to Lunamaria. "Just what are you doing back here? What the hell is going on?"
Luna bumped his arm with her elbow. "Watch your mouth, baka! He's with FAITH now!" Everyone started saluting to Athrun as Shinn stared at the Zala's white and gold insignia.
Meyrin and Adam dropped their bags and drinks and saluted as well. "Adam, fix your uniform!"
"Huh? Oh!" He quickly snapped up the collar and resumed his former position.
Shinn was about to say more, but he was stopped as the newly reinstated ZAFT pilot began returning the salutes. He realized that his hands were full, so he forced Meyrin to hold his bag and Adam to hold his drink. The two pouted as Shinn fixed his collar and saluted.
Athrun smiled at the minor mistakes and finished saluting. When Shinn put his hand down, Adam put the soda on top of his head. "Next time use the ground as your damn cupholder!"
Athrun asked the chief mechanic "Is the captain on the bridge?"
"Ah, I think so."
Meyrin started to speak. "Allow me to show…."
"I will accompany you and confirm it." Lunamaria said as she stepped forward.
Athrun smiled. "Arigato gozaimasu. But I would like to have someone else come around as well." He motioned towards the boy with orange hair. "You there. You're a pilot, are you not?"
"Me, sir?" Adam asked. "Yes I am."
"I've never seen you before. Please, accompany us."
"H…hai!"
Lunamaria was confused with Athrun's request, but she wasn't about to question a member of FAITH. She and Adam walked slightly behind Athrun. Shinn took his soda off his head. "So you've returned to ZAFT?" It was more a statement than a question.
Athrun stopped. "It seems so, doesn't it?"
"Why?"
Athrun didn't answer the boy, he just walked away and motioned the other two to follow.
Adam and Luna waited outside of the locker room until Athrun changed into his uniform and returned, carrying the briefcase. "So, what's your name, Pilot?"
"The name is Adam, Adam Cancho, sir."
"What do you fly? A Zaku warrior?"
"No sir. I fly the M-3 Astray, Falcon."
Athrun stopped in mid-step. "The Falcon!" He whipped out his pistol. "Explain yourself. How did you get ORB's prototype unit? Did you steal it?"
"Athrun-san, that's going to far! Adam is just…." Luna stepped in.
"I didn't ask for your opinion, pilot. Now explain, Cancho!"
"Cagalli-sama gave it to me to save my life!" Adam said as he kept his hands in the air.
"Cagalli!" Athrun put the gun down. "I acted rashly. Forgive me. Please continue with your story."
"Yes sir, you see, about three days ago…." As they traversed the halls, Adam spoke his peace.
"Naru hodo. You're another victim. I think Cagalli made the right decision. Although that means that the situation there had become unstable." They stopped in front of the elevator and waited for it to arrive.
"Um, Zala-san, you seem to know a lot about ORB. May I ask you what your connection with my home country is?"
"Adam!" Luna snapped.
"No. It's alright. I was Cagalli Yula Athha's personal bodyguard, before this second war."
"And you're with…but you were…and now you're…" Adam shook his head. "I need a damn scorecard and a year in review article and I need it bad."
The elevator opened up and all three stepped inside. "So you were recalled, Athrun-san?" Lunamaria asked.
"I wouldn't say recalled. I went to talk with Chairman Dullindal when the first shots were fired. But more importantly, when did you leave ORB? When I went there…."
"You went to ORB?" Adam and Luna asked in unison.
"Were you okay?" Luna continued.
"They scrambled against me."
"Damn it." Adam almost spat. "What the hell happened down there?"
"Now I understand why Shinn gets so angry. That country is really messed up right now. They allied themselves with the Atlantic Federation. What do you think happened when the Minerva left? The EAF had set a trap for us and ORB wouldn't let us back into their territory. If it wasn't for Shinn we'd be sunk."
"But how could Cagalli…shit!"
"And then they passed a law banning all Coordinators." Adam scowled. "What happened to my country?"
"I used to admire her, Cagalli Yula Athha. But now she does all these crazy things, then she and this weird guy get married."
Athrun dropped his briefcase and Adam took a step forward. "Kekou!"
Athrun turned to Adam. The boy answered his stunned gaze. "She never mentioned it to me. I knew she was holding back on something, but this!"
"It was on the news a little while ago." Luna continued. Adam and Athrun lowered their heads. The elevator came to a halt and the doors opened. No one moved. "Anno…." The girl pointed out and the boys raised their heads and stepped out of the doorway and the elevator closed behind them, to move to its next destination. "But there's a rumor going around that she was abducted during or after the ceremony. I'm sorry I don't know more." She bowed.
Both boys gasped. As Athrun made his way to the Captain's ready room, Adam turned to Luna. "You'd better start filling me in Luna. Why is he such a celebrity and how do you know him?"
As Athrun continued on his way, Lunamaria and Adam went the other. "Well, you know he fought alongside Kira Yamato in the battle of Jackin Due, the final battle of the first war. He piloted the Justice. I wonder what happened to that mobile suit."
"Sorry, I don't know. Everything I know about the first war goes to the battle for ORB and then just stops. I need to find out what happened after that."
"Hmm." Luna scratched her cheek as she looked up at nothing. "Ahh! He piloted the Aegis for ZAFT before he got the Justice."
Adam's eyes went wide and he spun around, looking at the empty corridor, trying to catch another glance of Athrun. "That Athrun? Pilot of the Aegis, the one who took down Strike, which was supposed to be the strongest of them all? But the pilot for Strike was Kira Yamato, wasn't it?"
"Sou. I don't really know what happened between them, but they became wingmen at some point. They saved us all, even me. I was in PLANT at the time, when the nukes were fired."
"So he really is famous." He turned back again. "Wow."
"And he was with us when all hell broke loose up in PLANT. He was there, with Athha, fighting when those three Gundams were stolen. Meyrin tells me he saved the Minerva when she was cornered in an asteroid. He actually flew with us when we tried to break up Junius-7 before it crashed into Earth. Boy was that a nightmare. The terrorists attacked the demolition team and we had to fight them off. We almost lost both him and Shinn during the whole ordeal. But he came back. He even helped me with my aim." She pointed her finger like a gun towards the wall. "Bam."
"Heh, compared to him, I'm like a mobile armor with only one cannon."
"Yeah, probably." Luna said without thinking.
"You don't have to agree with me you know." Adam got an annoyed look on his face.
"Well, you've only been a pilot for a couple of days, have no military experience, can't tell the difference between the bridge and the engine room, …."
"Alright, alright! You can be so mean."
After asking Captain Gladys for an audience, Athrun and Arthur followed her into her ready room. He handed her the briefcase and stood at attention as she reviewed the contents. She opened up a box that contained a pin that was identical to the one that Athrun was wearing. She sighed. "So he reinstated your FAITH, assigned you to this ship with the newest and most powerful suit, and is appointing me to FAITH as well? I wonder what the Chairman is thinking with all of this." Athrun said nothing. "You look like you have a lot on your mind as well."
Athrun sighed slightly. "I apologize for that."
"There's no need to. I'm sure we all have a lot to think about. In any case," She picked up a small stack of paper on the table. "Do you know what these orders say?"
"No ma'am. I was not given permission to read them."
"I see. This is rather interesting." Gladys said. Arthur shifted and listened more intently. " 'When the Minerva is battle ready, she is to depart to Gibraltar and assist all ZAFT forces in the battle for Suez.'"
"We're supposed to go to Suez?" Arthur leaned forward somewhat. He was, like everyone else, expecting to go back into space.
"Suez is a real hotspot for trouble right now, even though all of western Eurasia is in turmoil. The EAF base in Suez poses a problem to our base in Gibraltar, but the problems aren't so serious that we should have to be sent all the way from here, in Australia."
"I agree." Arthur tucked his hat tighter under his arm. "Minerva isn't made for surface combat anyway. It doesn't make sense to be called on again."
"I apologize for interrupting, but what are those Eurasian conflicts that you spoke of? I'm not fully aware of the situations here." Athrun finally spoke.
Images flashed on the captain's screen for Athrun to see. Most of them brutal or bloody. "You see, Eurasia has always cooperated with the EAF, to the point at which they were basically servants to it. But now some parts have declared independence and fights have broken out. This only started quite recently, so it's no surprise that you didn't know."
"It was just after the war was made official, right?" Arthur attempted to confirm.
"Quite right."
Athrun took a closer look at the pictures. People dieing, mobile suits fighting, civilians getting caught in crossfires. It was horrible. "I knew that Eurasia was a powder keg for all of this, but…"
"The war declaration lit the match and set off all of the kegs at once." The blonde captain turned in her chair. "They were being drafted and restricted, and finally couldn't take it anymore. So the EAF decided to use force on them, and started destroying the revolutionaries. It's a rather horrible situation, isn't it?" Athrun's eyes trembled at the sight of a dead woman covering her live infant in an attempt to protect it. "And our orders are to go there."
Arthur took a step back. "Into such a place?"
"Remember what Chairman Dullindal said. 'Without exception, we fight only because of our right to active self-defense. PLANT has no territorial ambitions.' We have to be careful where we do and do not intervene. But this place is exactly where we have to go, especially you and me, Athrun, as members of FAITH." Talia smiled at Athrun. Arthur shot him a cross look, but stayed silent.
Aside from Athrun, who was still at the meeting, the other pilots were down in the launch bay. Lunamaria and Adam stopped to talk with the two younger mechanics who were working on the Blaster Silhouette. "So is he like assigned here now?" The tufted boy asked.
"Seems that way. We didn't really ask him though." Adam said.
"Why not?" Youlan slid out from under the flyer for a second. "It seems like a valid question. Pass me the arc welder."
"When he came onboard he seemed a bit stressed didn't he?" The other mechanic slid him the requested object and a welding mask.
"I'm not sure." Luna was thinking back.
"I sure am sure." Adam crossed his arms. "You weren't looking down the business end of his pistol, Luna. That dude was really freaking out."
"Well wouldn't you be if the country you served scrambled fighters against you? I know I sure would." Luna sighed.
Youlan fitted the welding mask to his head. Before flipping it down, he spoke to them. "In any case, we did some repairs to your suits. You might want to check them out, and see if there's anything we missed. Especially yours, Adam. You know Falcon better than any of us."
"Yeah. I'll get right on it." Adam went up the elevator to the access point to board the Falcon. Shinn was already there, booting up Core Splendor. "Hey."
"Hey." Shinn said as he was testing his systems.
"Finally find that magazine you were looking for?"
"Yeah, of course." He took a glance at Savior and hissed.
Adam blinked, but shrugged after a little while. "I guess I'll leave you to your work. I gotta check up on Falcon myself."
"Yeah. Bye." He hopped down from his ship and went over to the edge and called down to the two mechanics working on the Flyer. "Hey guys, did you recalibrate the navigational controls on Core Splendor today?"
"We sure did, why?" The tuft called back up to him.
"You forgot to calibrate the stick in the process. It's too loose for my tastes."
"We'll get someone on that right away, Shinn. We still have the data from the calibration, so it shouldn't be too hard to fix."
Ray leaned back against a wall, drink in hand, and looked up at the new unit contemplatively.
Luna entered and emerged from her cockpit. "Hey, Youlan!"
The darker-skinned boy slid out from under the Flyer. "What!"
"My left hand panel lights keep going in and out, like there's a loose connection. Think you can take care of that?"
"Sure. I'll take a look at it after I'm done with this!"
"Thanks!" Luna came down from her unit.
Adam booted up the operating system and flipped three switches to his left. "Let's see what they did."
As he went through the diagnostics, Meyrin popped up on his communications screen. "Adam, got a second?"
"Meyrin? Hold on." He flipped the cockpit closed. "Okay, what's up?"
"You didn't have to go that far, Adam. It's nothing private."
"Can't be too safe. So what's new?"
"The mechanics boys and I are going to meet in the lounge in an hour and hang. You want to join us?"
"Sure. I'll be there. Thanks for the invite."
"No problem. See you then." She winked and closed the communication.
Adam opened up the cockpit and dismounted. "Hey guys!" He called down to the mechanics.
"What is it this time?" The tufted mechanic looked up at him.
"You did a great job. If anything, she feels better than my first flight with her."
"Hey thanks man!" He flashed a thumbs up.
"On a side note, did you guys get the Phase Shift armor on the new legs to match the rest of Falcon? I didn't have time to get the frequencies to match in the battle, and it was wasting power."
"We forgot all about the legs. We'll make that a top priority." Youlan slid out from under the silhouette and sat up.
A phone rang in a cubby hole on Adam's level. The tufted boy yelled up to him. "Pick it up, that's the chief. He wants to talk with you."
Adam picked up the phone. "Moshi moshi."
"Thanks for bringing that to our attention Adam. We've basically treated your unit like Core Splendor until now. We'll get on it as soon as possible."
"Thanks Chief. Any idea how long it will take?"
"Well we'll be devoting all our manpower too it, so we'll have to finish everyone else's repairs first. We'll start up right after break in about two hours. An hour, maybe two is all it will take. It would be easier if you could get her into mobile suit form first before we work on her. Call the bridge from this phone and ask for permission to launch, transform, and re-dock."
"Got it. Thanks again." Adam hung up, picked it up again, and dialed the bridge extension.
"Bridge."
"Hey Meyrin, sorry to bug you, but could you schedule me for a launch and re-dock after our break hanging out? The mechanics have a few things they still need to fix and they need it in robot mode."
"No problem Adam. I'll get the captain's permission and schedule it."
Athrun was about to leave after the rest of the meeting was over, but he turned around at the door. "Um, pardon me." The other two in the room looked at him quizzically. "Do you know what happened in ORB, captain? I haven't been able to find out much of anything."
"Oh." She responded. "It's in quite the uproar isn't it? Something about the Representative being kidnapped, or something to that extent. ORB is engaging in quite the coverup, but there are rumors that the ones that took her are Freedom and the Archangel."
Athrun gasped as he went rigid. "K…Kira!" He whispered.
"What is going on in ORB? I'd like to know that myself."
Athrun composed himself and bowed. "Arigato gozaimasu." He left, and let the door close behind him before he let out a heavy sigh.
"What! Seriously!" The tufted mechanic asked. Meyrin nodded as she clutched her drink.
"Hey guys. Sorry I'm late." Adam came in and walked to the vending machine. "I was surfing the net and I wiped out." After getting his drink, he turned around. "So what were you guys talking about? I wasn't sneezing, so it wasn't about me."
"I'm just still in disbelief. The captain has really, really been appointed to the genuine, honest to God, FAITH, too?"
"Again with this FAITH stuff?" Adam sat down on a couch.
"Yeah. It's not out yet officially, but the Executive Officer told me straight up. He was really happy." Meyrin put an arm over her chair.
"Cool!" The tufted one turned to his jumpsuited co-worker.
Youlan just looked at him and asked "It doesn't really effect the XO does it?"
"Huh? Not the XO?" He turned to Adam. "Then what about us?"
Adam shrugged. "I have no clue. You tell me."
"It doesn't effect us either. Don't you know that FAITH is something that you're appointed to?" Youlan put a hand in his pocket.
"Huh?" The confused mechanic looked at him again.
"Why don't you know that anyway?" Youlan rolled his eyes.
"Hey, I know! I just needed a reminder is all. Heh heh."
"Um, pardon." Adam raised his hand. "There are some of us present that have no idea what FAITH even is."
"Oh yeah. Only those with great war records and certain character qualifications, who have been recognized by the Council or the Chairman, can be a part of FAITH. They have authority above squadron commanders, and if needed they can even give strategic and executive orders."
"Wow!" Adam said.
"They're the top elite, and report directly to the Council or Chairman. They wouldn't have anything to do with you." He pointed towards his fellow mechanic.
"It wouldn't effect you either, Youlan!"
"That's what I'm trying to say!"
Meyrin was deep in thought. Adam noticed and passed his hand over her eyes. "Helloooooo? Earth to Meyrin, anyone in there?"
"Top elite…wow."
Adam folded his arms and huffed. "Quit your fantasizing, Meyrin. It'll never work."
She went rigid and blushed. "Wh…wh…what are you talking about!"
Adam waggled a finger at her. "He's too old for you. Besides, isn't he engaged to Lacus Clyne?"
"Who is?"
"Athrun! You've been daydreaming ever since Youlan started explaining how great being in FAITH is."
"I was not!"
"Was too."
"Was not!"
"Was too."
"Was not!"
"Was not!"
"Was too!"
"Ha, you admitted it." Adam said as he beeped her on the nose. "Gotta make like a banana and split. See you later guys!" Adam said as he ran out the door.
Meyrin was still stunned. "I…but he…and then…ooooooohhh!" She pouted.
Adam walked onto the access platform to Falcon. Youlan handed him his helmet. "Why are you in full flight suit? You're only taking her out to transform her."
"No. I'll be doing a little more than that. I want to test out the calibrations you made." He slid the helmet on and sealed it at his neck. "It'll also give me a chance to get a better feel for her." Adam gave a thumbs up.
"Fine, fine. I get it now. Have fun, but don't forget to keep the weapons on safety, okay?" Youlan stepped off the platform.
"Don't worry." He jumped into the cockpit. "I'll be back before you know it, and you'll be able to fix those legs." The hatch closed and sealed on him. "Okay, let's start you up." He hit the main power switch, the OS booted up, and he started up the engines. He fired up his communications screen. "Bridge, are you receiving me?"
Meyrin popped up, still pouting. "That was a cruel trick, Adam. You embarrassed me in front of my friends."
"C'mon, don't be that way. You're on duty after all. If you want to take a swing at me when you and I are off, feel free. Right now, your job is what matters."
"Hai." She said, still grumpy.
"You know you're really cute when you pout like that."
"Shut up! You're on duty too you know!"
"Suman suman. Could you just bring the Central Catapult online?"
"Yeah yeah." She took a breath. "Maintenance crew clear the Central Catapult. Closing central shutter. Central Catapult online. Platform moving into liftoff position. All systems online." Falcon lifted to the runway. "Hatch opening. Catapult system engaging." Green lines lit up all along the runway path. "Path is clear. Dozo!"
The boy flipped his visor down. "Adam Cancho, Falcon, kissing the sky!" He hit the throttle and headed out, doing a loop the moment he was steadily airborne. "Yeehoo! What did they do to her? This is awesome!" Falcon double barrel rolled left, and did a forced 90 degree turn. "Aw man! That's just beautiful. I've gotta get a copy of the flight recorder on DVD so I can watch that again. Or better yet, how about I do it again?" Adam, once again, forced a full corner turn. "That's almost addicting. But let's see how you handle an Immeleman, Falcon!" Adam cranked straight up and did a loose Immeleman Turn. At the end of the turn, Adam decided to switch to mobile suit form.
The leg hatch opened and the robotic legs extended. The wings tilted back as the cockpit receded and changed orientation. The Vulcan cannons retracted and the entire nose popped off. The nose split into two parts and attached as shoulder shields. A blaster slid into its right hand and a shield slid onto the left. "Even the transformation seems a bit smoother. They must have completely overhauled the OS." With a few button presses, Meyrin popped up on the communication screen. "Meyrin, I'm ready to come home. Please open the docking bay."
"Yokhai." She said as the catapult doors opened. "Maintenance crews prepare for docking procedures. Falcon, the Cancho Unit, is approaching. Adam, you're cleared to land."
"Thank you." He said as he decreased speed, and pulled up. His mobile suit took three steps to stabilize itself on landing.
The chief was looking up at the mobile suit above him, and Adam turned on the external microphone as he zoomed in on the chief's face. "Three steps? Try to make it in two next time. In any case, step onto that catapult launcher. The clamps will take Falcon to the stall where we'll work on her."
"Yokhai." Adam acknowledged. He turned around and backed onto the two steps attached to the large electromagnetic catapult. Two clamps fit around the shoulders and attached with magnets to the armor, padded by rubber. Once secure, the clamps lifted him up a few feet and slid him into the main hangar. Once in an empty stall, Falcon was put down.
The chief called up to him. "Just stay in there for a little longer, Kid. We'll wheel you over a descent platform."
"Will do, Chief."
"Please don't ignore me like that." Lunamaria's annoyed voice was picked up by the microphones.
"Huh?" Adam said as he sat up. On his left monitor, Athrun was on a descent platform and Luna jumped on it with him just before it rose to the Savior's cockpit. "Oh this should be good." Adam opened up the cockpit and leaned out, secretly watching the two.
Athrun was completely taken aback at her actions, and the lack of personal space. That platform was only made for one. Luna looked up at him as he said. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around all that's happened."
"And aiming pistols at peoples' foreheads." Adam rubbed his as he took his yellow helmet off.
Athrun had jumped into his seat quickly, and Luna was left to sit on the outside, looking in as he did his maintenance check. Although Luna wouldn't exactly quit. "Was it really such a shock, you know, about Athha's wedding?"
Athrun slammed his back against the seat and Adam fell over outright. "Of course it was. You saw our reactions. Geez, how ditzy can you get?" The orange haired boy sat up again.
Athrun stuttered some incomplete answer and Luna just continued. "But all it was was a political marriage, right?" She turned to the outside contemplatively and Adam slipped back into the cockpit so she wouldn't see him. "I guess she had no other choice…" She turned back to Athrun. "If it was me, I'd never do it!"
The now depressed Athrun sighed. "Um, why are you here again? Don't you have something to do?" He said as he played with a few buttons.
Not taking it as a cue to bug off, Luna continued as Adam popped his head out again. "Oh! I'm a Zaku Warrior pilot, Lunamaria. Lunamaria Hawke." Without warning she was inside the cockpit, looking over the controls from above. "This is the newest unit right? I heard it has a transformation toggle."
"Uh, yeah." Athrun was completely at a loss for words with this weird girl.
Luna's pink skirt was the only thing left outside of the cockpit. Adam decided to capitalize on this opportunity. He climbed out onto the cockpit boarding step and called out. "Hey Luna, sit down would you? Unless you like flashing your ass to everyone in the hangar!"
Normally Luna would have been rather peeved at this if she wasn't busy talking some more, rather loudly. "Wow! I knew it! It's totally different from a Zaku." She moved her face into within a hand's distance of Athrun's as he tried to remain stoic. "Is it like the Impulse? Or maybe Chaos?"
Athrun tried a tactic to get her off of his back. "Would you like to see from my view?"
"Really!" She pressed even farther forward and Athrun pressed himself back into his seat again.
"Yeah, just don't move it okay?" The blue haired teen stated as he and Luna started to switch places.
Shinn walked along the platform at the edge of the hangar. He stopped as he saw Adam watching the other two. "Hey, how'd the test run go?"
"I know that!" Lunamaria said.
"Oh, hey Shinn, it was beautiful. She handled perfectly." Adam waved to his friend as the platform was finally brought to him.
"Wow! The mode selector panel is different after all!" Luna raved from inside the cockpit.
Athrun saw Shinn there and made eye contact with the glaring boy. Shinn called to Adam. "Tell me about it some other time." He shot a visual dagger at Athrun before he left.
"Ah! This is a new plug-in isn't it?" Luna continued her annoyance.
"Hey, what's with you today, man!" Adam asked a retreating Shinn as he started being lowered to the ground.
"Ah…unh." Athrun was in a monotone as he answered the girl.
"Hey, cmon. Don't be like that, Shinn. Shinn!" Adam said as he ran after the boy.
On the bridge, Arthur and Talia were discussing orders. "They want us to leave tomorrow morning?"
"Yes." The captain said. "The Chairman sent orders to Carpentaria too. They'll send a Vosgulov-class submarine with us. Please relay that to the ship."
"Yes ma'am!"
Meyrin was completely oblivious, as she looked at her computer screen, checking Athrun's file.
"And don't forget about preparations."
"No ma'am, I won't forget!"
On the flagship of the EAF, John Paul Jones, close to Carpentaria, a blonde girl hung her legs off of the ship, entranced as she looked forward, her purple eyes staring intently at nothing.
Two EAF officers came outside. "I'm telling you, that store is the best for THOSE kinds of things."
"Come on, that's not true!" The other said.
Both stopped when they saw the girl. "Huh? Who's this?" He approached her.
"Hey, don't. Don't you know who she is?"
"What are you doing out here? Hey."
"The ocean…" she replied, "It's so…beautiful to watch."
"Huh?" The officer said as he looked out towards the ocean, not really getting it.
A sky-blue haired boy came walking out slowly as the second officer started pleading. "Come on, stop this, man!" The boy got a sly look on his face.
"You sure are a weird girl, aren't you? Why don't you come with me and have a little fun for a while? You might like it more than the ocean." The first man said as he grabbed her behind the back with an evil smirk.
The boy ran forward, jumped onto and over the second man's back, and whipped around the original officer pointing a gun to his neck. "I'd stop that if I were you. We're from the 81st Independent Mobile Unit. Stellar may look out of it right now, but she's scary when angry. The change is almost magical." Auel said.
"L…let go of me!" The man who would be rapist begged. Auel let go and both men took off like jets away from them.
"Heh." Auel said as he put away his pistol. "Are you going to stay like that forever, Stellar?" The girl made eye contact with him. "We're being summoned, by Neo." He headed back to the ship. When the name registered in her brain, she became instantly happy and ran after her comrade. "In other words, we're back to the war again."
"Yeah."
"It's our job after all."
"Yeah."
"I wonder how many kills we'll get this time around!"
"Yeah!"
Adam flopped onto his bed and sighed. "Leaving already? I thought we'd have at least two more days of R and R."
"We're a battleship after all, Adam. It's what we do." Shinn flipped his phone shut again.
"Yeah, I know, I know. But the crew seems so disappointed that we're not going back into space."
"Of course, they're all from PLANT, unlike us. We were born down here, on Earth."
"Then why are you never happy down here?" Adam said. The boy didn't say a thing as he turned over. "Sorry."
"So your test run did well?"
"Quite well in fact. She's twice as good as she was when I first flew her."
"What about the Phase Shift problem?"
"Finished that too, nice shade of brown with blue trim again." Adam smiled as he closed his eyes. "I took her out and sent her back in in jet mode. They mounted her back onto the Central Catapult."
"That's good to know. Good night, Adam. We'll be launching tomorrow, so try to wake up on time."
"Right…zzzzzzzzz." He instantly fell asleep.
"Heh. What a guy." Shinn put the phone on the dresser and fell asleep himself.
"Look out." Adam muttered in his sleep. He tossed as if something had given him an electric shock. "Tousan, Kaasan…no, no, NO!" He sat up in bed, once again awake in the middle of the night. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he tried to stop shivering. "That was the worst so far. Why am I crying? Was it that bad that I have tears?" Nothing answered him as he calmed down. "Dammit. I'll have to talk to the infirmary about sleep medications if this keeps up." He forced himself back to sleep.
Shinn looked at him out of the corner of his eye. He pulled a small medicine bottle out of his drawer. "It doesn't help. They don't do shit!" Shinn flung the bottle across the room. It hit the wall and fell into the trash can below.
The next morning, the Minerva watched a green submarine class ship leave port. The crew on shore saluted the crew on the ship and vice versa. As it pulled away, one of the bridge crew of Minerva spoke. "The Nyiragongo has launched."
"Then we'll be on our way too." Gladys began her orders. "Minerva, hashin. Bizoku zenshin."
"Minerva, launching. Ahead, slow!" The helm broadcast to everywhere on the ship, including in the lounge, where Adam was sipping his soda in his yellow flight suit. As Athrun entered in his purple flight suit, he took notice of Shinn, lying on his back, looking up from his new magazine, with High and Mighty Color on the front of it.
Athrun ignored him and walked to the window while Shinn put the magazine to his face again. Adam took a large slurp if his drink. 'The enmity in here is so thick you could cut it with a knife.' He thought.
Athrun sighed. 'If Kira is with her, then Cagalli should be alright. In any case, they can't go back to ORB.' Shinn took another quick glance at the thoughtful teen.
Carpentaria wasn't the only place that was monitoring the Minerva's departure. An EAF satellite broadcast information to the John Paul Jones. Neo stood watching that screen. "So there you are. I've finally found you…little kitty."
Chapter 5 Preview: The battle returns to the Minerva, a familiar sight to all but one. How will he fair in his first true fight? What is it all for? To protect something? To gain something? Beyond the blasts and swords they swing, what will the two young pilots see, and what will Athrun offer? Next time on Old Friends Anew: The Oceanic Battlefront. Spread your virgin wings, Falcon!