A/N: After a really long hiatus, I'm finally able to submit the next chapter..! R & R please, and be nice.
They were both looking at each other, watching who would make the next move. The doctor was groaning in pain on the floor, he was still alive. As soon as Cagalli shifted her glance towards the doctor, Jeethra sprang into action. She wrestled the scalpel from the princess' hand, pushed her onto the bed and pointed a gun at her. Cagalli fell backwards onto the bed. She immediately sat up and stared at her captor defiantly.
"Don't move." Jeethra said coolly, her green eyes focused on Cagalli.
"Where am I?!" Cagalli demanded.
"The Indomitable, our mobile base, and you're my hostage."
They heard rushed footfalls outside the door. It slid open, and a handful of security personnel hurriedly entered.
"Lieutenant! We've been informed..." one of them inquired.
"I'm fine. Good response time boys, I'll tell the commander about your good performance."
Cagalli was seething. She clenched both her fists tight on the bed sheet.
"I demand to be freed at once!!" Cagalli shouted angrily.
"Shut your trap. We got you in our custody, so we can pretty much do what we like with you, so calm down. You are in no place to make demands." Jeethra smirked. Cagalli reddened with rage.
"What, you don't like it here?" Jeethra joked. She brushed aside stray strands of her snow white hair with her finger. She turned to the security guys.
"Alert any medical staff on break. The doc here has been stabbed."
The doctor was gasping with pain on the floor. He could barely talk. The security personnel helped him up and onto an unoccupied bed.
"So, you're pretty much screwed if you try anything again, princess." Jeethra put on her winning smile, she still pointed her pistol at the princess.
"Let's talk, just the two of us."
Cagalli stayed silent and just stared.
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Lacus stared out at the distant sky. Every time she wondered about Kira, her emotions would take over her and she would cry without ceasing. In the four years they have been together, she and Kira had grown to love each other deeply, marriage does indeed change people. Now, she couldn't bear to be separated from her one true love. She had become attached to him.
In the past, she wouldn't have behaved this way. She was a figure of power and stability, she had trained herself to hide her feelings completely. But then, she was only human, she could only go so far. When she had finally married Kira, it was like a huge burden had finally been lifted from her delicate shoulders. She could be herself without worrying. Kira had set her free, and for that she loved him deeply.
She was outside their house on the very table they had had tea. She was in light summer clothes. Apparently, ISIS-001 had weather which was very similar to Earth's. A cup of tea was in front of her, but she hadn't taken a sip, it was already cold. She reached for the teapot with trembling hands, she grasped the handle, but she could barely lift the pot. It fell and spilled hot tea all over the table. Lacus jumped back, knocking her chair over. She took a few clumsy steps back and tripped, she landed on her bum.
"..clumsy.." she muttered to herself.
She needed to be strong for him, she realized that. As she lingered on the grass, absentmindedly pulling blades of grass off their roots, she remembered the time when she had commandeered one of the Three Ships Alliance, The Eternal. She had been unshakeable. She recalled the countless battles she had fought alongside her comrades, the many times Kira and Athrun had deployed their mobile suits from the Eternal, and most importantly, Kira's victorious return from battle after battle. Perhaps living a life of seclusion had softened her. Her children demanded more of her time and energy these days. She had every right to acquire servants to help her in her daily routines, but Kira insisted they rough it with their new life together. At the moment, Lydrean and Kaele were having a blissful nap, Lacus envied her children's worriless slumber.
Maybe it was time to bring back the old Lacus, but then she had children to take care of now. Perhaps something could be arranged. She was in deep thought for a few moments, closing her eyes. And as she opened them, she knew what could be done.
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"Cagalli, I'm coming for you!"
She woke up with a start. She noticed that her bed was soaked in her sweat. After her treatment at the medlab, Cagalli was transferred to a cell. It was pretty cramped, but at least it was clean. She had dreamt about Athrun. In it, she was hanging precariously over a cliff, down below, she could see Jeethra and her comrades urging her to let go. Far away she could hear Athrun's voice, but it was faint, although she could tell he was screaming his lungs off. Her hands had gotten tired from supporting the weight of her entire body, eventually she couldn't hold on anymore and she fell. That was when she finally heard his voice clearly. As she sat up wide awake, she still felt the vertigo sensation of falling.
She was still sweating profusely. She wiped her brow with one hand, it came up soaked. She dried her hand and tidied up her hair. The moment she looked in the mirror, she could hardly recognize herself; she had dark rings under her eyes, they lacked the glow they used to have, and she looked fatigued. As a woman, she abhorred her current state, but there was hardly anything that could be done about the way she looked. She cleaned herself up as best she could, donned fresh clothes that were provided for
her and ate some food that was stored in the cell. She sat down on her bed and recalled what had happened the few hours before she ended up in a cell. It was a very awkward talk with Jeethra…
"Forget the fact that you're our prisoner for a moment princess. Let's just talk." Jeethra had said.
"…"
"Look, we're just two girls in a world of wars. Set aside all that hate and anger for a moment, please, I really just wanna talk." Jeethra smiled as pleasantly as she could.
"What you're asking me to do is impossible. You're out of your mind!" Cagalli was still seething.
"Okay. Fine. If that's the case, then I'll do the talking." Jeethra looked disappointed,
"You see princess, although I know you won't appreciate it, I admire people like you."
Cagalli was taken aback, her expression softened, but she remained irate.
"Strong women like you always inspire me to go beyond my limits." Jeethra continued.
"…and we are the same in many ways. You and I are born in a world of extreme conflict, and yet we prevailed because of our strength of character."
Cagalli looked sternly at Jeethra. "What are you getting at?!"
"Well… you could say I want to be friends with you. I couldn't really say it in any other way. Women like us are pretty rare, and as they say, 'Birds of a feather, flock together.'"
"You expect me to be friends with my enemy?! You're insane!"
"Cagalli, you don't get it, do you? I'm not you're enemy, I never was."
"I don't believe you." Cagalli's expression softened even more, but she would not let her guard down.
"At your current situation, I expect you not to. But know this, when we were ordered to lure out Athrun, we had been specifically told to eliminate any obstacles, even you, instead, I saw opportunity and saved you by taking you hostage. The commander has little use for you, save as bait for Athrun. He's letting you live solely for that purpose."
"You're tricking me. I know these tactics, you're trying to get to my good side and befriend me, only to stab me in the back when I'm not looking! It won't work, you witch!"
Jeethra looked hurt. Cagalli immediately regretted what she said.
"…I.." Jeethra swallowed, then she turned around and left the cell.
Cagalli swore she could hear Jeethra sobbing as she left in a hurry.
'Perhaps it was wrong to hurt her feelings like that.' Cagalli mused as she lay down on her bed. And yet, the fact remains that she was a prisoner, she couldn't possibly bend to whatever they were trying to do to her. She was comforted by the thought that Athrun was coming for her. She always knew that he would come to her rescue whenever she was in trouble. She just wished he would hurry.
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Commander Apstone was sitting behind his desk in the office near the ship's bridge. He was pleased that his 'daughter', Jeethra, had somehow managed to capture the ORB princess in one piece. This would fit with his plan to lure out Athrun seamlessly. A bait was definitely very enticing, especially if it was a bait of great importance, Athrun would no doubt try to rescue her, and most likely at the soonest possible time. Good, the commander knew that he didn't have much time left.
The commander's health was degrading fast. A few days ago, he had been able to walk from the bridge of his ship up to the tail end, but now, all he could manage was to take the bridge elevator, and even just that got him winded. It wouldn't surprise him if he would walk around with a cane. His face was almost unrecognizable, only his eyes remained sharp. The bags under his eyes were very dark, despite his best efforts to have enough sleep, his body would refuse to rejuvenate. It was obvious that his time is almost up. He half expected to pilot the Enduring Legacy even inside a mobile ICU unit, if it ever came to that. He would get what he wanted, even if it killed him.
Ultimately, he wanted ORB to be his, even for a few fleeting days, at least he would be remembered as one of the few who could conquer without fail. Besides wanting ORB, he also wanted to test himself against one of the greatest pilots who helped win the bloody valentine wars, Athrun Zala. If Kira would show himself, then all the better. He would take care of them both, then he would claim the title of greatest mobile suit pilot ever, he would be remembered for generations to come, and only then would he be able to die in peace without regrets.
There was a chime on the comlink, "Commander. The demonstration is ready, sir. Commencing on your command." An officer said.
"Proceed."
He stood up and faced the window of his office, it was made of reinforced 'steel glass', able to withstand the immense vacuum of space. Outside, a multitude of test robotic drones and a few mobile suits controlled by the operators in the bridge, took positions around a single jet black suit, it was the Enduring Legacy.
Time seemed to slow down as the Legacy began to move. Its eyes glowed a menacing red, its advanced phase shift armor activated. Compartments opened on both its arms, revealing a new type of beam weapon. The arms were now effectively melee weapons. Its turbines kicked in, and in a split second, it was able to reach one of the targets. It easily made scrap metal out of the first mobile suit as it flew towards its next target. Within less than thirty seconds, the space outside the Indomitable were full of exploding targets.
The comlink on the desk chimed for a second time.
"Phase one test, 'melee capability' complete. Beginning phase two."
As the explosions subsided, phase two began. The Legacy's arm concealed its arm beam blades, and reconfigured to reveal two cannons. More robotic drones and mobile suits were again positioned around the Legacy. It took the targeting system of the Legacy less than two seconds to lock in, then both cannons fired shells simultaneously. The shells break apart in mid-launch and scatter highly explosive, high speed munitions that tracked locked in targets, and attached themselves as they got within range. The simultaneous explosions were deafening. Not even scraps were left behind, as the targets were reduced to tiny bits.
"Phase two, 'ranged capability' complete. Beginning last phase."
The Legacy again concealed its weaponry. This time, it stood still in the icy vacuum of space. A few mobile suits launched from the Indomitable armed with heavy artillery. This time, they were piloted by human beings.
"Commence artillery barrage in three…two…one."
The mobile suits opened fire at the Legacy, but as the missiles and the beams reached the suit, a force orb formed around it and refracted the beams, as well as causing the missiles to bounce off and explode off target.
"Commence melee attack."
The mobile suits took out their beam sabers and charged. As they try to hit the Legacy, their strikes would simply bounce or slide off the force orb. Commander Apstone was impressed.
"Well done boys. Okay let's wrap this up.."
The comlink cut in. "There's more sir."
"Okay. Show me."
"Activate defensive shockwave."
Compartments opened on the chest, legs, and back of the Legacy. A shockwave blasted from the suit, rendering the mobile suits surrounding it useless. It was an EMP shockwave emitted at an incredibly high frequency. The commander was speechless.
"We're still developing one more weapon sir. It wouldn't take long for the R & D guys to finally fit the last components in."
"Excellent work, simply excellent! Keep me informed of the progress."
"Yes sir."
Commander Apstone would have his cake, oh yes he would, and he'd eat it too. It was only a matter of time.