Disclaimer: Gundam Seed and Freelancer do not belong to me – they are the properties of Sunrise and Microsoft respectively.
Gundam Seed: Freelancer's Fate
Chapter 04: The Prohibited Zone
--Zone 21 Fact File--
Located in the New York System, Zone 21 is a restricted area owned by the Liberty Navy. Any un-authorized ships attempting to enter the sector are to be shot on sight. The field itself is a large and nearly impenetrable mine field guarding at its heart the only jump gate to the Alaska System, home of the Liberty Navy's top secret Juneau Shipyard and most of its research and development.
Landing Pad, Planet California Minor, Sector 6E, California System
"How is it, Mu?" Tolle asked as Mu tried futilely to contact Juni, "Can you contact them?"
Mu shook his head, "This is bad. I'm pretty sure I had that kid's signal just a few moments ago, and Juni's not replying any of my calls. Just what the heck is happening?"
"Maybe they're being attacked?" the thought of losing Kira was tormenting Tolle, "Didn't Jun'ko Zane sound strange when she contacted just now?"
"Come on, I have a bad feeling about this," Mu climbed into the cockpit and offered his hand to Cagalli.
"Where are we going?" Tolle asked.
"I'm meeting with a friend of mine. He's a captain of a Navy battleship who also happens to be a good friend of Juni. I'm sure he will help. Besides, my Moebius Zero is in his ship at the moment."
"Fine," Tolle walked towards the cockpit of Mu's Patriot fighter, but was stopped from doing so, "What's the problem?"
"There isn't enough space in the cockpit for the three of us. I'm afraid you have to bear with the ship's cargo hold for the moment," Mu said apologetically.
"What? Again?"
Tahoe Ice Cloud, Sector 6E, California System
Juni could feel tears beginning to form at her eyes as the Starflier was brutally cut in half, the destroyed ship reduced to scrap by an explosion seconds later. In the few days she had known him, Juni had taken a liking for Kira. Polite and well mannered, Kira was one of the few people Juni had ever taken herself to trust. Mu was one of the other few Juni trusted, though he was probably ranked last among those that made it into her list. She was just about to break down when her sensors picked up something familiar.
"Oh my goodness, he's alive?" Juni could not contain her joy as she quickly tractor in Kira's life pod before the Blitz could react in any way. The joy was short-lived, however, as the Blitz turned its attention to Juni's Patriot fighter. Juni froze as the probability of her surviving a fight against the Blitz was next to zero.
"Lieutenant Zane, this shall be my last warning. Hand over the life pod and I will spare your life," Nicol ordered as he inched closer towards Juni, his beam saber still activated.
"That voice, a Rheinlander," Juni recognized the German accent straight away, "But he sounds like a child. Just what is happening? Is Rheinland involved?"
Nicol saw no response and pointed the beam saber at Juni's ship, "This shall be my last warning. Hand over the life pod and I shall spare your life!"
"What is your purpose for attacking us?" Juni tried to delay time, "Who do you work for? Is this the doing of Rheinland? Is this a declaration of war?"
"I'm the one in charge here!" Nicol fired a warning shot to show that he was serious.
"I'm not handing him over," Juni replied as she activated her cruise engines.
"Stop right there! Do you want to die?" Nicol immediately gave chase.
As expected. The pilot's pretty soft. If I were him, I would have fired already. Juni made a run for Willard Station as she tried to shake off Nicol, but her efforts were useless. Within seconds, the Blitz had overtaken her and blocked her path.
"There will not be a second chance! Hand over the life pod now!" Nicol demanded.
"No way!" Juni replied defiantly. She had no idea what was the cause for her courage, but something within her refused to give Kira up.
"You leave me with no choice," Nicol readied himself as he prepared to attack. Juni closed her eyes in prayer as she braced herself for a fiery end, but nothing happened. Surprised, she opened her eyes to see a swarm of friendly contacts on the radar.
"To unknown mobile suit, this is Captain Marcus Walker of the Liberty Navy. I order you to stand down now!"
The sudden interference was far from what he had expected. "What? When did they arrive? Have I taken too much time?" Nicol cursed his luck as scores of heavy fighters approached. More than a dozen Defender Heavy Fighters were within firing range before he knew it, with probably more still yet to arrive.
Nicol, however, was in no mood to give up. Numbers will do you no help! He was about to engage his enemies when a transmission was received. Rau Le Creuset showed up on the screen.
"Return back to the Vesalius immediately, Nicol. You will have a lot to explain when you get back."
"But Commander Creuset, I can take them on," Nicol protested softly.
"That's not the issue. You have attracted too much attention. It's a good thing I have a back up plan. My operatives will finish what you couldn't accomplish. As I had expected, you're too soft for my taste."
"Understood, Commander Creuset," falling back, Nicol used the Blitz's speed to weave pass the rain of bullets and shots that were aimed at him. The Liberty pilots watched in disbelief as the Blitz broke through their siege of fire and cloaked itself. Both human eyes and sophisticated sensory lost sight of the mobile suit as it vanished like it was never there to begin with.
"Juni!" Mu rushed towards Juni as his distinctive orange colored Moebius Zero emerged from the crowd of Defenders, "Are you alright?"
"Barely," Juni replied, panting, "The same cannot be said of Kira. He's in my cargo hold now. I'm not sure if he's alright or not."
"I'm sure that kid is alright. C'mon, dock with Walker's ship," Mu was more relieved than ever to hear that Juni was fine. He had feared the worst when he lost Kira's signal.
Juni, on the other hand, was surprised at the sight of the Nelson-class battleship in front of her, "Walker, it's really you!"
"Who else did you expect?" the warm smile of Marcus Walker on the screen was a welcome change from the near death experience Juni just went through. Walker was just as glad to see Juni. The last time he met her was years ago; when Juni and Mu were still young recruits in the Liberty Navy. The news that Juni was in trouble had startled him greatly.
Mu smiled as the Moebius Zero escorted Juni to Walker's ship, "USS Endymion. Sure brings back the memories, huh?" Unfortunately, Mu's reminiscence of the good old days was halted by the appearance of three new contacts on the long range sensors, "What the…"
"Hold on, Mu. They're green," Walker said as the three bleeps in the radar turned out to be Liberty ships – Defenders to be exact.
"To incoming Liberty ships. This is Captain Marcus Walker of the USS Endymion of the 3rd Fleet. Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Good day, Captain. This is Lieutenant Jack Thermon of LSF Special Command. I'm under direct orders of the High Command to bring Lieutenant Jun'ko Zane back to New York for immediate questioning. The extra baggage in her ship's cargo hold is to come along as well. He is a prime suspect regarding the destruction of Freeport 7."
Mu never thought he would hear something as absurd as that, "Immediate questioning? Just what did Juni do? For what reason are you people bringing her back?"
"Apologies, Lieutenant La Flaga. This is a classified LSF operation. We will be in direct violation of the Liberty Code if we reveal any more than what was just spoken."
"Who are you trying to joke, soldier?" Mu was about to flare up any moment.
"Stop it, Mu," Walker tried to defuse the tense atmosphere.
"But Walker, how can they…"
"Calm down. You'll only worsen the situation!" Walker raised his voice to get his point across, "Let them take her for now. Whoever they are, the High Command is bounded by Liberty Code to uphold the law. There's nothing they can do if Juni is innocent of any wrongdoing."
"You don't get it, Walker. Juni has been trying to tell me something," Mu argued.
"We'll talk about that later. We will comply with them for now. Don't worry, I have my connections too. I'll make sure Juni is unharmed," Walker assured a worried Mu before making a transmission to Juni.
"Juni, just follow them for now. You'll be fine, I assure you."
"Got it," Juni wasn't so sure, but she turned back anyway. If Walker said she would be alright, she would be.
"Please follow us, Lieutenant Zane," Jack Thermon ordered as his wing turned back and headed for the jump gate to the New York System.
"Where are we going?" Juni asked.
"We'll going to Zone 21, Jun'ko Zane."
Liberty Navy Battleship USS Endymion, Sector 6E, California System
A loud rattling noise filled the pilots' changing room as Mu punched the metal door of the locker in frustration. Nearby, Walker watched in silence as Mu threatened to tear the whole place apart. It was a good thing that the interior of the ship was mostly metal - dull, but durable.
"Mu!" Hurried footsteps were heard as Tolle burst into the room, panting heavily by the time he got in. Cagalli followed shortly, similarly out of breath. Tolle walked up to Mu and grabbed him by his flight suit.
"Where's Kira? Where is he?"
"He's being taken along with Juni," Mu answered, downfallen.
"Just what did Kira do? Why was he taken? For what? For being attacked by an unknown maniac? What the heck is Liberty thinking?" Tolle pushed Mu back, resulting in a loud clash as Mu slammed into the lockers.
"Hey, Tolle!" Cagalli tried to intervene, but was promptly held back by Walker.
"Allow me," Walker walked up and pulled Tolle away from Mu, "Stop it, young man! It's no use making a fuss over something that has already happened."
"What do mean by that?" Tolle swiped Walker's hands away in anger, "Kira's my best friend, in case you are wondering!"
"And in case you are wondering, civilian, you're in a Liberty battleship! I would appreciate if you show some restraint here!" Walker lectured in a firm voice. Not knowing how to respond, Tolle backed off and calmed down a little. Mu, on the other hand, remained on the ground.
Walker waited for the tense situation to reside before giving out his instructions, "I'll like the three of you to tell me everything. If there is anything I can do to help Juni and the young man who was taken with her, I'll need as much information as possible. Mu, you will start first."
Mu picked himself up and settled himself on a couch. Making sure that nobody else was in the room, Mu began.
"There's a major stirrup in the LSF hierarchy, and it's far from pretty."
Walker's eyes narrowed as he listened. He had been hearing rumors of similar type for the past few days. What just came out of Mu's mouth only seemed to confirm those rumors, "Go on, Mu."
"Approximately two hours ago, Juni contacted me after completing a mission. Having confirmed that a mole was working from within the LSF, Juni wanted to make a report to our Commanding Officer. It was then she found out that he was actually placed under arrest for treason. She tried contacting her friends in the higher ups, but most of them were either arrested or missing. I happened to be the only one she was able to contact. It seems quite a number of important LSF officers have gone missing for no reason."
"How many?" Walker asked.
Mu nodded and continued, "After Juni told me about this, I did my own investigation. It turned out that almost the entire LSF command has been removed overnight. And here's the catch. Some of them had their records erased completely. It was like they never existed in the first place. People don't just go missing like this, Walker. In addition, the entire LSF Command has been replaced by people I have never heard of in my entire time in service. They just somehow appear out of nowhere and assume command of the LSF. Tell me, Walker. Does everything sound suspicious to you?"
"It can't be. How can such a thing happen?" Cagalli mumbled as Mu explained. Looks like there's not much time left.
"All these do not make sense. How can such a drastic change take place overnight?" Walker was getting an ominous feeling.
"That's why I refused to hand Juni over to those guys. I suspect there's a hidden hand working in Liberty, and I'm sure it's not confined to just the LSF. Juni might have been one of their targets all along, especially since she was the one who discovered the existence of that mole. Something is happening, Walker, and I don't like it," Mu added.
"What about Kira? He's not involved in any of these, right?" Tolle demanded.
"He was involved in the mission, remember?" Mu replied, "The enemy probably wants to get rid of all evidences."
Tolle slumped back in despair as the possibility of losing his best friend grew larger. He then remembered something, "I think there might be another reason behind all these."
"Another reason?" Mu widened his eyes in surprise.
"That's why we actually came to meet Juni."
"Quick, what is it about?" Mu asked anxiously. But before Tolle could go on, one of Walker's subordinates requested for him.
"What is it," Walker asked the soldier.
"Captain. Navy Command has ordered the USS Endymion to head back to New York for a system check. They said some irregularities have been found in our ship records," the soldier answered.
Walker nodded his head in acknowledgement, "You may leave now." The soldier saluted and left.
"What's wrong?" Mu noticed that Walker looked puzzled.
"We just had a complete check just a few weeks ago," Walker replied, "Why would we be called back for checks so quickly? I don't remember having any problems during these few weeks. Something is very wrong here."
"I don't like the sound of it, Walker," Mu said.
Walker seemed to agree, "I feel the same way, Mu. However, orders are orders. I must follow them as a soldier."
"You can't be serious!" Cagalli spoke up suddenly, "You'll get killed if you return! Isn't it obvious now? That someone is pulling the strings from behind regarding all that has happened so far?"
Walker was surprised at Cagalli's outburst, but he chose to ignore it. There were better things to worry about, "Whatever it is, I have to obey orders. I'll just take one step at a time. Mu, I'll have you and your two friends disembark straight away. I want the three of you to stay low in California Minor for the time being. Try not to do anything spectacular and wait for me to contact you, okay?"
"No, I'm going with you. There's no telling what will happen if you go alone. I can at least help you if I tag along," Mu refused.
Walker, however, was not giving way, "I won't allow that. The three of you will disembark now. This is an order. Do not make a move unless I give the go ahead, understand?"
Mu saw that it was no use trying to argue with Walker, "Understood. C'mon, we've got to get out of here."
Walker turned to Tolle and Cagalli, "I normally don't do such things, but given the grave situation we're in, I have decided to loan a pair of fighters to the both of you. They're no the best, but I believe these Patriot Light Fighters should be enough for now."
"That'll do, Mr. Walker," Tolle promptly expressed his gratitude, "We'll definitely return them in one piece."
"I hold your word for that, Tolle," Walker stretched his arm and offered a handshake which Tolle accepted.
"C'mon, we've got little time to waste!" Mu shouted as he put on his helmet and rushed to his Moebius Zero.
Juneau Shipyard, Sector 4C, Alaska System, Liberty
"Where are we, Juni?"
"Juneau Shipyard, Alaska System."
Kira got up and scanned the surroundings. Along with Juni, he was being locked up in a cell with sides of equal length. The hard and cold metallic floor was grayish in color, whilst the walls were painted white. Lighting up the tiny cell were six fluorescent lamps - two in the middle and one at each corner of the ceiling; a bit too excessive in Kira's opinion. Tiny, half-sphere shaped devices were located at each corner of the room as well. It was pretty obvious they were surveillance cameras. Once again, they seemed too excessive for Kira's liking. No one would feel comfortable under such tight surveillance.
"Strange, I've never heard of an Alaska System before," Kira rubbed his throbbing head as he leaned against one of the four corners. Juni sat at the opposite corner.
"Same goes for me. Until today, that is. Apparently, it can only be accessed by a hidden jump gate located in Zone 21," Juni rested her head against the wall and covered her eyes with her hands. The glare of the six fluorescent lamps was too much for her weary eyes.
"What's Zone 21?" Kira asked.
"It's a restricted area owned by the Liberty Navy. Access to Zone 21 is purely by a case-by-case basis. Trespassers will be shot on sight."
"What happened back then? Where did that mobile suit go?" Kira asked again.
"After I tractor in your life pod, Walker and his ship arrived. That mobile suit retreated soon after. Then just as I though we were safe, three Liberty fighters arrived and had me arrested for treason. You, by the way, are a prime suspect in the destruction of Freeport 7."
As Juni expected, Kira got a big shock of his life when he heard that he was considered a prime suspect, "I almost died out there! How can I be responsible for such a mindless act of destruction?"
Juni somehow managed to squeeze out a chuckle, "And I'm arrested for treason. After all my years of service, this is what I get."
Kira ruffled his hair in frustration, "Remember our conversation before that attack?"
Juni opened her eyes are looked at him, "What about it?"
Kira let out a deep sigh, "Given our situation, it's probably of no use to tell you now. But I'll say anyway. Do you remember when we first met? I told you about this friend of mine who is in medical, right?"
Juni nodded her head.
"That friend is Yuna Roma Seiran, the same guy who was supposed to be the infamous leader of The Order. I met him on Freeport 7 and was supposed to sign a million credit deal with him when the station was attacked. We subsequently ended up in Manhattan for some reason and he was taken to medical due to a head injury. I stayed in Manhattan hoping that he would recover and pay us the million credits."
"And? Did you get your million credits?" Juni asked.
Kira grimaced at Juni's question as the thought of the million credits slipping out of his hands was too much to bear, "I never got it in the end." He went on to explain everything to Juni, recounting every bit of when Yuna shockingly appeared to Kira on Manhattan. All of the words that came out of Yuna's mouth were relayed to Juni; not one detail was missed. Juni listened intently as Kira spoke.
"It can't be," Juni exclaimed after Kira told her everything, "Why would Liberty want to hunt down all Freeport 7 survivors? It can't be possible; there's no reason to do such a thing."
"That's why I wanted to confirm with you, Juni. I did not want to believe that Yuna was speaking the truth. They sounded too absurd to me as well, until that news, that is," Kira added.
"You mean the want about him being the leader of The Order, right?" Juni asked.
Kira looked away in disgust, "And he was killed by your people straight away. As you said, whoever he was, he's dead. The dead can't speak, right?"
Juni felt a little guilty at what she had said back then, "Hey, I'm sorry about that, okay? I did not expect things to turn out this way. Anyway, after listening to your story, I'm certain there is something malicious going on in Liberty. The arrest of the both of us is proof of that."
Kira agreed on that, but he frowned immediately after that, "Juni, just who the heck attacked us back then? And that mobile suit, it's certainly not a GINN. That thing looks way more advanced."
"I'm not sure if Rheinland is directly involved in that attack or not," Juni replied, "But one thing is for sure, that pilot is a Rheinlander. His accent was a dead give away."
"But what has Rheinland got to do with all these? They aren't at war with Liberty, are they?" Kira asked.
Juni shook her head, "Nope. Besides, we can't be sure if that mobile suit belonged to Rheinland. Sure, the pilot was almost certainly a Rheinlander, but Rheinlanders aren't just confined to serving the Rheinland Military. They can always flock to other Houses or join one of the many radical groups that unfortunately exist in the Sirius Sector."
The room remained silent for another minute before Kira spoke again, "Mind if I ask one more question, Juni?"
"Go ahead."
Kia fidgeted for a second, "Have you ever had some sort of adrenaline rush in a fight? Like when faced with lots of enemies, you suddenly get excited and do things you never thought was possible?"
Juni was puzzled by Kira's question, "What are you talking about, Kira? Of course I do. You can't expect me to stay relaxed during a fight, do you?"
"No, that's not what I mean," Kira sat up and looked straight into Juni's eyes, "How should I say it? It's like… do you…?" For a moment, Kira looked like he was about to suffer a mental breakdown any time soon. Juni even thought she saw tears forming in his eyes, but she told herself it was her own imagination.
"Whoa… slow down, Kira. You not acting yourself," Juni tried to calm him down.
"Ever since the Freeport 7 incident, I have felt it three times."
Juni was getting more confused, "What did you feel? When was the 'three times' you mentioned?"
Kira took a few minutes of calm himself down, making sure his breathing got back to normal, "The first time was the mission I had with Mu. The second was when I first met Cagalli. The third was when we were attacked by that unknown mobile suit. I felt like a totally different person in all those occasions."
"How different was it?"
"I did things I never excelled at. I was able to fight against the rogues like a seasoned pilot. I was able to move the ship like it was an extension of my own body. And I was able to handle Cagalli like a pro back then. All those actions were things I had never dreamed of doing all my life!" Kira replied.
Handle Cagalli? Just what did you do to her, Kira?
The brunet continued, "Worst of all, I actually felt an inrush of memories during all three of those incidents, like I had a second life or some kind of a split personality of some sort. In fact, I felt like I was enjoying myself when I was fighting against the Rogues during the mission with Mu. How are such things possible? I have never dared to physically confront anybody in my entire life. Even when we were in the Border Worlds, Tolle was always the one taking charge if the situations turned ugly. I have always been the 'weaker' one; Athrun and Tolle would always be the ones protecting me."
"Athrun?" it could be called a habit due to the nature of her job, but Juni was definitely quick to spot the unfamiliar name that came out from Kira's last statement, "Who is Athrun? Another of your friends back at Leeds?"
Kira looked at Juni as if she just said something out of the world, "What are you saying, Juni? Who is Athrun? Someone you know?"
Juni blinked her eyes in surprise, "Kira, you were the one who said that Athrun and Tolle were always protecting you. You are the one who know who Athrun is, not me."
"No I didn't. I don't even know who Athrun is."
"Yes you did," Juni was scowling at him, "Don't try to deny it. Spit it out. Who's Athrun? Don't hide anything from me. Every little bit of information might help, even if the situation seems hopeless for now."
"I'm telling the truth! I really don't know who this Athrun Zala is!" Kira leapt up in defense.
"So that guy's surname is Zala?" Juni's veins were about to pop out in total exasperation, "Here you are saying out his surname and you dare say that you don't know who this Athrun is?"
Kira frozed, "You're right. I really did say his name," Kira slumped back against the wall as he felt weak all of a sudden, "I don't know, Juni. I really don't know who he is. Why do I even know the name of someone I have never met before? Just who is this Athrun Zala? Why do I feel like I know him?"
Kira's words were not coherent at all, and Juni was starting to worry for him, "Kira, are you alright? Why are you able to remember the name of someone you don't even know? It doesn't make any sense; for you to not know somebody and yet recite his name."
"That's what I want to know as well," Kira was in a complete daze, "Just what am I saying?"
"Kira…" Juni had no idea on what to do until something clicked in her mind, "Kira, did you just say Athrun Zala? Isn't the current Defense Committee Chairman of Rheinland someone by the name of Patrick Zala? Could it be possible that…" a dull thud interrupted Juni, "… hey, Kira! What's wrong with you?"
"Argh! My head! It hurts!" Before Juni knew it, Kira was on the ground holding his head in pain. He was in so much pain that his entire body was curled up, and his fingers were clutching his head so tightly that it was starting to bleed.
"Kira! What's wrong with you? Don't scare me! Guards! Somebody help!"
Liberty Navy Battleship USS Endymion, Sector 6E, California System
"Tolle, did something happen to you?" Cagalli was halfway up the ladder into her ship's cockpit when Tolle fell off his.
Mu stuck his head out as he heard a loud crash, "Whoa, be careful out there, kid! Hey, are you hurt?"
"Hey, old man! He's not looking very good," Cagalli's voice was shaking as she tried to calm a trembling Tolle down. Mu jumped out of the cockpit straight away.
"Hey, kid! Did you break your leg or something? Where are you hurting?" Mu initially thought Tolle had hurt himself after falling down, "Did you hit your head?" he asked when Tolle grabbed his temples.
"He doesn't look good, old man," Cagalli said as Tolle seemed to be suffering from more than a hurt head.
"I can see that!" Mu replied, "And stop calling me an old man!"
"Hurts… it hurts… my head…" Tolle stammered as he wriggled in pain.
"Damn! Cagalli, inform the infirmary! Tell them we've got a serious case here!" Mu ordered as he lifted Tolle up and made a dash out of the hanger, "Why must this happen now? Hang in there, Tolle!"
Planet California Minor, Sector 6E, California System
"Smoking is bad for health, you know."
"Hmm…"
"What's wrong? Did you sense something?"
"The implants are probably losing their effect by now. I'm pretty sure the two of them are under immense pressure due to that. Poor things"
"Really? Looks like they can't escape their fate after all. By the way, I'm impressed that you can actually sense both of them from here."
"Nope, I can only sense one of them, and only if he's near me. The implants they were given weren't perfect; their effects would go away in approximately two years time. I just estimated that the effects will wear off around this time. And since they received the implants at the same time, I'm predicting that they will feel it at the same time. They might be hugging each other in pain, for all you know."
"Sheesh… so you were just guessing? Idiot…"
"Hmm… that Tobias will definitely shoot himself in the head for not listening to me back then."
"I think he will shoot you first."
"Really? Oh well…"
End of Chapter 04
In case you're wondering, below are the OCs I've created. If you see an unfamiliar name that isn't on the list below, chances are, they come from Freelancer.
OC List: Roman Schnetzler, Joel Valentine
Just what is happening to Kira and Tolle? Why are they in such tremendous pain at the same time? Also, is Athrun Zala actually related to Kira? How can Kira know his name despite claiming not to know him?
Well, this chapter is mostly talk. I did, however, reveal a couple of things. I do hope I have written this chapter well. Do let me know about it, okay? If all goes according to plan, Kira should get his hands on the Strike by the next chapter. I'll probably try to reveal the five G-weapons by the next chapter as well (Strike, Aegis, Duel, Buster & Blitz if you're wondering).
Thanks for reading!