Opening Theme: 'Life Goes on Type 2'
Link: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=_EM4wyfwMrE
"Reconfirming status," announced Dalida. "No enemies within a five thousand kilometer radius. It appears they've lost sight of us." Murrue sighed in relief. She really wasn't up to more fighting, after the events of the past two days.
"All that pandemonium at Artemis must've covered our escape," said Mu from the copilot's seat. He turned the chair to face Murrue. "So we should be thankful to them, if only for that."
"However…" started Natarle.
"Yes," said Murrue in agreement. "I share your concern. We're fortunate that the Laurasia-class is no longer able to track us. But we had so many problems before, and not one of them has been resolved."
The others on the bridge all heaved a unanimous sigh. Murrue was speaking the truth, after all. Supplies were short… especially water.
Meanwhile
Archangel, Hallway
Flay sighed to herself as she walked through the halls of the Archangel reflecting on the recent events that had happened in the last few days, first they had been attacked at Heliopolis by ZAFT, then chased for days by said ZAFT forces and when they had finally had a chance to catch their breath at Artemis base they were double crossed by the base commander, had Chris not dragged her into the cockpit of the Raven with him who knows what would of happened.
She had gained a bit more respect for the pilots of the Archangel after experiencing the dogfight that had erupted during the escape, she had never been so scared, but somehow knowing that Chris was behind the controls reassured her that she would be fine. Also after seeing Kira in her depressed state opened her eyes to how alike Coordinators were to Naturals, unlike what the propaganda said Coordinators were not unfeeling monsters but could be kind and caring people. Artemis had also opened her eyes to the evil that Naturals carry as well.
She stopped at the door to Ryu and Kira's room and hesitated for a minute before knocking on the door "Just a minute!" She heard Kira's voice float through before the door opened a couple of seconds later with Kira standing there dressed in shorts and a slightly large T-shirt "Oh, Flay what is it?"
"I-uh, I just wanted to say thank you for all you've done," Flay stuttered out "You all have done a lot for us and yesterday made me realize that coordinators aren't as bad as the media makes them out to be."
Kira blinked at Flay with the classic 'deer caught in the headlights' look "Uhh, thank you Flay," she began hesitantly before she gave a soft smile "That means a lot, thanks for telling me that Flay. How are you feeling by the way?" Kira asked as she stepped back and made a 'come in' gesture inviting Flay into the room "I mean with everything that has been going on."
Flay smiled as she entered the room and sat down on Kira's bed as Kira moved around getting dressed "I've been doing fine, still a little shocked though at all that has happened."
"Tell me about it," Kira said empathetically "I never thought that I would end up playing tag with against ZAFT elites in an advanced prototype warship piloting a mobile suit, although I do have one thing to be thankful about all this though." She admitted with a bright smile.
"What's that?" Flay asked curiously.
Kira grinned at the redhead "I'm with Ryu now," she stated "I've had a crush on him since the day he started working with Professor Kato, and well since then I've grown to admire him, he is content with who he is, he admits his flaws and uses his strengths to their fullest." She gave a small giggle "Not to mention he knows when to relax and when to be serious, it doesn't hurt that he's pretty cute too."
Flay sighed "I hope that I can someone like that." She admitted.
"What about Sai?"
Flay shook her head "Don't get me wrong, Sai is a very nice guy, it's just, I don't feel that connection." She said slightly depressed.
Kira sat down beside Flay and rubbed her back and smiled reassuringly "Don't worry, just have some faith," she advised "I'm sure you'll find the right person for yourself."'Besides he might be closer than you think.' She added to herself "C'mon, I need some coffee and Ryu asked me to help him oversee the upgrades to the mobile suits, wanna come?"
Flay smiled and nodded as the two of them stood up and left the room heading to the cafeteria.
OoOoOo
Archangel Hanger:
"A.R.C?" Ryu asked as Jordan and Matthew finally showed him the strange glowing power source of the Hero and Warrior. "Ya," Jordan said. "That's what the Initials spell out. Advance, Reactor, Core. I asked Murdock about it, and he was just as clueless." Matthew nodded.
"But there's something bugging us." Jordan said. "What?" Ryu asked. "Well," Matthew said. "When we got the Hero and Warrior, they were in a separate room from the other Gundams were in, it was in the same room as the Monster." Jordan turned my head to face him.
"So I asked Matthew, Why were these three Gundam's alone separate from the others?" That's when it dawned on Ryu as his eyes widened. "Unless all three machines had one of these things," He finished. "Right," Jordan said. "Meaning there is more than a good chance that the Monster is also equipped by one of these A.R.C's." Jordan leaned on his back against the Hero.
"Who knows what Zaft will do if they get that tech." Matthew said. "All we can hope is that it's nothing stupid." Ryu said. Jordan nodded as he closed the engine on the Hero. We then got back to working on the Mobile suits.
Ryu sighed as he eyed the current problem in front of him in the form of a stubborn mobile suit that refused to cooperate, he had been up all night working on the Strike, Hero, Warrior, the other G-Weapons, and their newest addition the CAT-XG Hyperion G7, upgrading them and running general maintenance on them with the maintenance crews watching in some kind of reverent awe, now he was working on his personal mobile sit the Dynasty. He took a deep breath, "YOU STUPID ASS MORONIC RUSTED HUNK OF JUNK!" he shouted giving the Dynasty a swift kick "HERE I AM TRYING TO UPGRADE YOU AND MAKE YOU EVEN BETTER WHILE YOU ARE REFUSING TO COOPERATE WITH ME! DON'T YOU WANT TO BE THE EPITOME OF BADASSNESS?"
"Jeez, Calm down Ryu!" Jordan yelled back. "Even I don't get that frustrated." Ryu glared back at him, and Jordan raised his hands in defeat. "Fine, yell all ya want." Jordan said.
"Does he usually get that Crazy?" Matthew asked.
Jordan shrugged. "Only on day's he's really tired."
That was the scene that Kira and Flay walked into when they entered the hanger with the regular crews cowering in fear as Ryu began to hit the mobile suit with a wrench with a sadistic smile on his face, Matthew looking wide-eye in disbelief, and Jordan just shaking his head. Flay gave Kira a worried glace as Kira sighed and rolled her eyes "Every single time he pulls an all-nighter," she mutter before shouting "RYU! COFFEE!"
Ryu froze and stared at Kira with a borderline worshipping look before he broke the world record for the 50 meter dash grabbing the coffee "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" He kept repeating hugging Kira whole rolled her eyes again and lightly smacked his head with a grin.
"You're welcome, now please stop scaring everyone." She requested with a giggle as he separated himself from Kira with a grin and motioned for them to follow.
Picking their way through the spare parts and equipment the littered the hanger Ryu led them over to where the Strike was docked "Now as you can see we have permanently mounted the Trikeros unit to the Strike, as per your request we kept the color the same, we have also added a katana for close combat and when your suit is out of power, it's coated with an Anti-Beam Alloy so don't worry about clashing with beam weapons with it." He explained before leading them over to the Striker packs bay "I've also managed to create some new striker packs with the equipment we have on board, the Sniper Striker has a Mirage Colloid and enhanced radar with it, while the Aqua Strike has enhanced sonar and several torpedo launchers for underwater combat and last but certainly not least is the Gunbarrel Striker pack, it comes equipped with Beam Gunbarrels and me and Mu will give you a crash course later when we have a chance."
Kira blinked as she looked over all of the striker packs "Wow, you did this in one night with limited resources?" She asked amazed.
Ryu chuckled "Not really no, Johanna already had some of the base work laid out; I just put it together and gave them a few tweaks." He admitted. "The Raven, Thunder and Raptor received hard-points to mount weapons from the striker packs and some additional weapons, the Raven now has a missile armament, the Raptor has a pair of Gatling Cannons, and the Thunder has a pair of 90mm Gatling guns hidden in its wrists."
Ducking under a stray piece of equipment Ryu started making his way to the Hero and Warrior where Matthew and Jordan met them, with Jordan talking to Matthew.
"…And that's how I knew the DNA evidence was tampered with." He said.
"Jordan, what does that have to do with Mobile suits?" Matthew asked. He shrugged as Ryu walked towards them.
"Also, we've made a few requested Upgrades to the Hero and Warrior as per Matthew and Jordan's Request." Ryu continued. "First off, the Shadow Scythe has been given two Chests concealed 78mm Beam Gatling cannons, a pair of shoulder-mounted Machine Cannons and its Scythe has been modified to project not one, but two beams. Also, now mounted on its left arm is a modified Anchor from the Strike's sword pack, and used a spare shield from the Thunder, put them together and we created the 'Buster shield.' Pretty much the shield can emit a beam that can launch out like an Anchor should, and the two pincers on the shield can crush enemy suits." He then moved towards the Hero where Jordan sat on its foot grinning.
"Lastly are the upgrades Jordan requested." Ryu said. "He wanted to emphasize the meaning of the Hero, so what we did is take two of the spare Boomerangs from the Sword Striker, and mount them onto the Katana's shoulders. And also, we remodified one of the Exia Kai III sword rifles so that he can use two of them at once, one in each hand. He also created two new swords that replace his Katana swords."
He then gestured to Jordan who hopped off the Hero's foot and then he pointed to a pair of large swords lying next to the Hero. "May I present the 'Dauntless' Anti-Ship Swords." He said. "I used the 9.5m Anti-ship swords from the IWSP strike pack, and remodified them. What makes them different from the Schwerz Gewehr sword on the Strike, and even the old Long/Short swords on the Hero, is that they are both the same size, and they can form into a duel-bladed katana sword. Also, I've made upgrades to all of the Beam weapons on the Gundams so that they can function underwater now."
Kira blinked at this fact. "Underwater?" she repeated. "But I thought it was impossible for beams to function underwater!"
Jordan chuckled. "As Mu would say, I've found a way to make the Impossible possible." He said as Jordan gave Ryu a high-five. "It really wasn't that hard to figure out how." Jordan said. "It's all in the energy output really. Unfortunately, it only works for melee beam weapons like the sabers, Daggers, Knifes, and Scythes. I can get it to work for some of the heavier duty beam weapons, but beam rifles are out of the question for now."
Ryu then made his way back to the Dynasty. "As For the Dynasty I'm only doing some basic stuff like upgrading the wiring and tweaking the reactor a bit to increase the power, mostly experimental stuff that I want to test before using it with your guy's mobile suit."
Stepping up to the open panel of the Dynasty that he was working at earlier he downed the last of the coffee "And that pretty much sums up the upgrades, be sure to go over your OS and make sure that it's up to speed with the upgrade," he gave Kira a quick peck on the cheek "Thanks for the coffee."
Kira gave him a sunny smile before walking away with Flay whose head was spinning at all the information that she just received. Ryu sighed and turned back to the Dynasty "Are you ready to cooperate now?" he asked the suit and could have sworn that it somehow smirked at him, or was the lack of sleep affecting him?
Later
Matthew walked down the Corridors of the Archangel. Since they lost Zaft for the moment, he could finally get a chance to think things out. A lot of things have happen in the last few days. He thought as he reached the observation deck.
As he looked out into space, his first thoughts were his Brother. One of his hopes was that, by Joining Zaft, he could somehow keep his Brother out of all of the fighting. Because he saw that if the Plant's win the war, there would be peace.
Look where that got us. He thought. Jordan's fighting now, our Parents…or at least the Parents we knew are dead on Kane's hands…
Kane.
The very name of that Psychopath clenched his fists. He didn't even hesitate to kill their Parents. He always had bad vibes from Kane ever since he met him, the same Vibes he got off of Rau Le Crueset.
He was relieved that he acted when he did. If he hadn't intervened…he didn't even want to think about it.
The next thing on his mind was what Garcia had told him and Jordan. Could we of had a Father we never knew about? He thought. It could have just been Garcia pleading for his life…But he didn't seem to be lying.
Matthew pushed that thought away, because it wasn't worth thinking about at the moment.
"Hey Matthew," A voice said, and Matthew turned to see Elizabeth Dante walk in.
"You…Liz, right?" Matthew said, still getting use to saying Jordan's friend's names. Liz nodded. "Good to see you're getting our names down." She said as she stood next to him.
"Say, can I ask you something?" Liz asked.
"Shoot."
"What can you tell me about Jordan's…feelings about Amy?" Liz asked, looking at Matthew.
Matthew raised an eyebrow at this. "Why do you want to know?" he asked. Liz raised her hands. "No no no, nothing like that." She said. "Just…curious is all."
Matthew stared at Liz for a few seconds. "He'll probably kill me for telling you but…" Matthew said, as Liz leaned forward. "Jordan…simply loves Amy with all his heart, but he's too scared about how Amy would react if he just confessed his feelings about her to her."
Liz stared at Matthew in disbelief for a few moments before howling in laughter. "This…this is…This is too Perfect!" Liz said while laughing. "What are you talking about?" Matthew asked.
Liz managed to calm herself down, but she was still grinning like a mad woman. "The thing is," she said. "Amy feels that exact same way! But like Jordan's she's too afraid to tell him that she loves him!"
Matthew just stared at Liz for a few moments before he started laughing.
Once he calmed himself down, he wiped away the tears from when he was laughing away. "It's like…something out of a bad Soap Opera." He said.
"I know, right?" Liz said. "Now that that's up, I need your help."
"You want me to help Jordan and Amy get together?" Matthew asked, and Liz nodded.
"You are Jordan's Older Brother." She continued. "You know more about him than anyone else on the Archangel at this point. And I am Amy's best friend. Anything she thinks about she tells me. On top of this, I've already recruited Hikari to the cause. I say, that with our combined knowledge, we find a sure-fire way for one or the other too admit their feeling to the other. It doesn't even have to be both! If we just get one or the other too pop, it's a victory!"
Matthew started grinning. "Alright," he said. "Where do we start?"
Meanwhile
"Is this our best option?" asked Natarle, looking over their current course to the moon. They didn't have the supplies to really make it on that route. They wouldn't be able to ration for long before the refugees went crazy. "Can't we look for a better route somewhere?"
"Afraid not," said Arnold. "If we chart a course too close to Earth, we'll have to cross the Debris Belt, despite that route taking us less time to reach Lunar orbit."
"Suppose we navigate through it?" asked Murrue suddenly.
"Through the Debris Belt?" exclaimed Arnold. "There's no way that's possible! If we attempt to pass through it at this speed, we'll end up becoming part of the debris!"
"The junk heap that humanity made ever since they began exploring space," said Mu. "It's true; we don't wanna be a part of that." He paused suddenly, a thoughtful look on his face.
"Wait a minute…" said Mu slowly "Yes, the Debris Belt."
"Hm?" murmured Murrue, catching Mu's attention.
"Am I a person who can make the impossible… possible?" asked Mu.
Meanwhile
Jordan typed furiously on the Hero's keypad. In the last few minutes, he had finally made a breakthrough in the mystery behind the ARC reactor.
Apparently, Orb has been trying to create a new energy source that replaces Nuclear power, and the ultracompact energy batteries in mobile suits. There answer was proposed by someone.
However, the Data in the Hero didn't show who made the ARC Reactors. Just what the ARC was, and what it was basically meant for. The Hero, Warrior, and Monster were three of the first four ARC reactors ever created.
That really grabbed his attention. There was the Hero, the Warrior, and Monster. Who could have the last ARC reactor? Was it at Heliopolis? Or somewhere else?
"Hey! Jordan! You in there?" a voice called out. Jordan took the time away from the Hero's systems, and glanced out of the cockpit to see Darknal waving at him.
"Darknal!" he called out. "What are you doing here?"
"I asked if I could help you guys out in some way." He said as he approached the Hero. "They said their bridge crew positions were full, but I could help you guys in fixing your suits." Jordan smiled. "Thanks Dark!" he said. "Any help would be appreciated."
"All pilots to the bridge, I repeat: all pilots to the bridge." The Comm's went off. Jordan sighed. "Alright, best see what they want now." He said.
Bridge
Later
A short while later, the civilian volunteers—who actually made up about a third of the crew proper, outside the mechanics—plus Flay and Darknal, were assembled on the bridge as well, to hear Mu's plan.
"Supplies?" asked Tolle.
"We can get some?" questioned Sai. "From where?"
"Get supplies, that's correct," said Mu. His amusement was obvious to them all. "Or to be more precise, we intend to take them."
"We're presently on a course that will put us in the vicinity of the Debris Belt," said Murrue, continuing for the lieutenant.
"The Debris Belt?" asked Tolle.
"I see." Ryu said. "We're salvaging from the belt?"
"Now hold on!" said Sai. "Wait just a minute. You're not saying…"
"The Debris Belt consists of a wide assortment of junked items, drifting around the Earth's orbit," said Murrue. "Of course, this also means it has a fair number of abandoned vessels that have been destroyed in battle."
"You're not suggesting that we get our supplies from there?" said Tolle.
"There's not much choice," said Mu. "If we don't do it, we're not gonna last for very long."
"Besides, it's not like we're the first to do it." Ryu said. "Pirates, Mercenaries, even the Junk Guild go through destroyed ships to collect supplies."
"Once the Archangel arrives, we'd like for you people to use the Mistrals and help with the work outside the ship," explained Murrue. The students frowned.
"We're not too happy about this either," said Natarle. "But it's the only choice we have. Our very survival depends on it."
"We will not scavenge around for things that belong to others," reassured Murrue. "We're not taking that much. Only what we're in immediate need of. Just the basic necessities, that's all." She looked down, a sad expression on her face. "In order to survive."
Meanwhile
PLANT colonies
"I believe you can understand from the course of events you just saw that our actions were not intended as an attack on Heliopolis itself but the result of collateral damage and that the Earth Forces were at fault for the collapse. That concludes my report. Thank you for your attention," said Rau, saluting the Supreme Council before taking his seat again.
"So Orb was working with the Earth Forces all along," said Orson White, the chairman of the Administrative Committee. "They're the ones who violated the treaty."
"Aren't you being a little premature," said Jason Kojima, the Legislative Committee Chairman. "Orb is more than able to design and build mobile suits and warships."
"But not to design and build mobile suits with the Earth Forces," said Ezalia Joule, a major supporter of Zala, and a member of the National Defense Committee.
"Ah… But Orb didn't design those machines. Morgenroete did," said Jason. "And last time I checked, Morgenroete was a company, not a country. As such, they could do what they please."
"But Morgenroete is a corporation of Orb," argued Ezalia.
"Yes. But Morgenroete is an independent company and is not the Orb government. And we have a treaty with the Orb government, not Morgenroete."
"This only further illustrates that those living on Earth cannot be trusted," said Herman Gould.
"Trusted? How arrogant is it to believe that we are the only trustworthy ones," said Kojima.
"However, Commander Le Creuset, are these prototype mobile suits worth all of the sacrifices that have been made by our forces?" asked Patrick Zala, interrupting their argument.
Rau Le Creuset stood up again. "To explain the new mobile suits and their capabilities to you, I have one of our pilots with me, who has not only piloted one of the new machines, but fought against three of the machines that have remained with the enemy: Athrun Zala. He will give you the report on these new mobile suits, with your permission of course."
"I will allow Athrun Zala to present his report," said Siegel Clyne.
Athrun saluted and approached the council. The display screens in the council's tables came to life, showing the first of the new machines, the Aegis.
"First, I would like to present this machine is known as the Aegis. One major characteristic is its transformation system. GAT-X303; its structural frame is fundamentally different from at least seven of the other models. This allows the machine to transform into a mobile armor. While in this configuration, its main weapon is the Scylla, five hundred eighty millimeter multi-phase energy cannon. As with the other machines, it incorporates a system known as Phase Shift Armor, which we have yet to test properly in actual combat. At present, we are reprogramming the OS to maximize its potential, and judging from its specs, this machine we believe is superior in both mobility and power to ZAFT's main weapon, the GINN."
The Duel appeared, one of its beam sabers drawn.
"GAT-X102, the Duel, this machine was developed with close-range combat in mind and has a wide range of uses. It's believed to the basis of the development of the other nine models. Like the others, it is equipped with the anti-air Vulcan system Igelstellung. The machine carries a beam saber and an anti-beam shield.
Next, the Buster appeared, firing its powerful cannon.
"GAT-X103, the Buster, this machine was designed to be capable of long-range artillery attacks. It is believed that its main purpose was to provide covering fire from the rear, and to perform sniper attacks. It is not equipped with a shield; however, it has a three hundred and fifty millimeter gun-launcher, and a high-energy focused beam rifle. By attaching these weapons in different combinations, one can form a hyper impulse long-range sniper rifle, or an anti-armor shotgun."
Then the Blitz appeared. It raised its arm and fired off its missiles.
"GAT-X207, the Blitz, this one has a feature called Mirage Colloid, whereby gas particles are released over the armors surface. In the eyes of the enemy, this machine becomes virtually invisible. These makes it effective for search and destroy missions, however one of the drawbacks is that the Phase Shift armor cannot be used while the system is activated. It's believed that this model was developed for blitzkrieg warfare. It is also equipped with its own weapons, Trikeros and Gleipnir."
The images on the screens changed to images of the Lightning racing into battle.
"The GAT-X220 Lightning is a high speed attack mobile suit that uses a prototype thruster system to massively increase its speed, its armaments is minimal because of this though, for it only has Two 'Igelstellung' 75mm multi-barrel CIWS, two beam sabers stored on the hips, a beam Rifle or a Bazooka, and a shield mounted on the left arm."
The Grizzly showed up on the screen as it fired off its long range beam cannons "GAT-X130 is a transformable heavy assault ground based mobile suit meant for storming bases, as you can see it comes equipped with heavy beam weapons that can rival a battleship and has extremely dense armor that is hard to penetrate, it does sacrifice its speed for this though. It is armed with two 'Schlag' 125mm high-energy long-range beam cannons, a 'Kaefer Zwei' 115mm dual ram cannon, two beam claws, and can use a Beam Rifle or Hyper Bazooka."
Images of the Shadow as it sniped mobile armors from Artimis came next. "The GAT-X290 Shadow, it is similar to the Blitz for it also uses Mirage Colloid, however the Shadow was built for long range sniping operations, and is lightly armed with only two beam sabers, and its Beam Sniper rifle."
The Ghost appeared firing its beam pistol. "The GAT-X130 Ghost, the sister unit of the Shadow, it specializes in close-quarter combat, and Electronic Warfare. It is also lightly armed with a Beam Pistol, two Beam Sabers, and can carry a beam rifle or Bazooka. It is also armed with Mirage Colloid."
Images of the Monster as it clashed with the Warrior appeared next. "GAT-X003 Monster, it is one of the units that were not on the Intel. It seems to be designed to hunt down and destroy its enemies with ease. Also, the Monster is equipped with an unknown energy scores that surpasses Ultracompact energy batteries, and even Nuclear Power. We believe it to be called an 'ARC' Reactor. The Monster is equipped with two palm-mounted beam cannons, four Beam sabers; two of which are fixed on the wrists, and two Heat Sabers."
The screens now displayed the Raven, firing off the twin barrels of its railgun.
"Now, the ones that got away, first of these is the GAT-X302 Raven. Like the Aegis, this machine is able to transform into a fighter-like mobile armor. Its mobile armor form also appears to be able to double as a flight platform for other machines. Its primary weapon is the dual 52mm hyper velocity railgun with a shield attachment. Its main weapons in its mobile armor mode are a pair of 76mm machineguns and the beam blade weapons mounted in the feet of the mobile armor. We suspect this machine was designed primarily for atmospheric and space combat."
The screens switched back to the battle between the Monster, Warrior, and Hero, only this time focusing on the winged mobile suit.
"This is the first Unknown; however thanks to Radio chatter, and data from the Monster, it is confirmed to be the GAT-X001 Hero. This machine is the close combat specialist, armed with two anti-armor swords, two beam sabers; two beam Daggers, and an Exia Kai III Sword/Rifle. This machine possesses a superb level of agility, well beyond any of our captured mobile suits. We also believe this machine to be equipped with a similar ARC reactor the Monster has."
The Data now showed the Warrior, as it clashed with the Monster. "The Second unknown, also confirmed to be the GAT-X002 Warrior. It is a Close-mid-range combat mobile suit that also has Mirage Colloid like the Blitz, Shadow, and Ghost. We also believe this to have an ARC reactor as well. The Warrior is armed with two beam Sabers, a pair of Armor Schneider combat knives, two 'Kotetsumaru' Katana's, a 'Senkoumaru' Naginata, a Beam Scythe, a Trikeros Shield with the same armaments as the Blitz, and a 57mm 'Shoryumaru' Beam Rifle."
The Raptor appeared as it fired a volley of missiles before transforming back into mobile suit mode "GAT-X310 Raptor, an interceptor type mobile suit that was not in our report, all we know is that it has minimal weapons including missiles, beam sabers and rifle."
Next the Thunder appeared as it sliced the Monster's arm off. "GAT-X317 Thunder, a unit similar to the Lightning in speed, and the Raptor in armaments and transforming capabilities. In addition to having similar armaments to the Raptor, it has a 'Heat Shield' that can cleanly cut through any metal even through P.S armor with enough force."
The screens changed to the Strike, launching from the legged ship.
"The GAT-X105 Strike, judging from our encounters with it, we know it to be a machine capable of various types of combat. This model's design allows for it to switch its equipment with modules identified as Launcher, Sword, Aile, and possibly more. We can determine from the image that the Launcher holds three hundred and twenty millimeter hyper impulse cannon. Our assumption is also that it has a one hundred and twenty millimeter anti-ship Vulcan cannon, as well as two three hundred and fifty millimeter gun-launchers. The Sword module equips it with a fifteen-meter long anti-ship blade, along with a beam boomerang. In addition, the machine itself carries two knives in its hip section. It's likely this model has extremely high combat potential."
It switch to the Dynasty as it fought against Jacques and Naleen switching from melee mode to sniper "Finally we have what we believe might be the precursor to the G-weapons and one of the most dangerous of all of them, the GAT-X100 Dynasty, it's an all-purpose type suit like the Strike, and it can use different types of equipment such as a missile shield and a Scylla cannon shield, it also comes equipped with a Exia Kai III Sword Rifle like the Hero's, a prototype high density beam sniper rifle that is used in junction with its high powered camera hidden in the forehead, two beam Sabers, a Beam Rifle, and finally it comes equipped with two energy transfer cables that can steal the battery power of a mobile suit or replenish its allies, We have confirmed its pilot to be the Dragon of Endymion Ryu Hisanaga."
Chaos erupted in the room as the councilors began to shout out in disbelief as Siegel Clyne tried to restore order when Rau le Crueset stood up and called attention to himself "Councilmen please calm yourselves!" he called out and surprisingly it actually worked "While it is true Mr. Hisanaga is piloting the G-weapon Dynasty he was forced into it when we mistakenly attacked Heliopolis. He had spoke to me during our brief engagement and told me that his only wish was to defend his home and friends, I believe that if the legged ship rendezvous with the 8th fleet he may leave and return to ORB, although I am not certain on this matter as the Naturals may try and change his mind on this matter."
Mutterings could be heard throughout the chamber as this new information settled into their minds "How do we know this to be the truth though, he is a well known member of the EA?" Ezalia Joule questioned angrily.
"Have you forgotten what he did during the Bloody Valentine incident?" Siegel asked "If he didn't do what he did than we would have lost more than Junius Seven."
The council broke into mutterings again as Patrick stood up "Exactly, if it were not for him and our faithful soldiers than the Bloody Valentine would have been the end of the coordinators," he shouted angrily "Now that they are able to not only pilot mobile suits, but build these monstrosities! We must step up our efforts and eradicate this plight that has set itself upon us!"
The council began to shout their agreements and despite the best efforts of Siegel they would not calm down and continued to give their support to Patrick 'If this continues, the world will spiral into hell.' He thought to himself as he sat down in defeat.
"Though, one thing worries me though." Kojima said. "These 'ARC' reactors on the Warrior, Monster, and Hero, how were they made?"
"We don't know, sir." Athrun said. "We are still trying to gain access to the Monster's ARC, but so far even our best techs cannot access it. It is as if something is fighting them back from gaining the Data they need."
"Could it be an A.I?"
"No." Athrun said. "We did not detect any Artificial Intelligences in the Monster. We are as clueless as anyone."
"They've actually manufactured these abominations!" said Jeremy Maxwell, the disgust evident in his voice. "Those disgusting Naturals."
"But they're only in the trail stages. You can hardly consider ten mobile suits a threat," said Eileen Canaver.
"But if they've come this far, the next step would be to mass-produce," said Ezalia.
Jason Kojima started to laugh, causing everyone to stare at him. "I'm sorry. But this is just so ridiculous," he said. "You call those mobile suits abominations, but the Earth Forces are simply doing what must be done in war. If your enemy builds a superior weapon, than you must create better weapon to counter that one. Frankly, I'm surprised that it took them this long to create their own mobile suits."
"How can you say that?" asked Gould. "This is a clear indication of the Naturals intentions. They crave war, a desire to violence and havoc."
Jason laughed again. "Few people, whether Natural or Coordinator, ever truly crave war, next you're going to say that all Coordinators care only about peace and all Naturals are Blue Cosmos members," he said. "Your thinking is just like that of Blue Cosmos, narrow-minded and bigoted."
His comment sparked a massive shouting contest among many of the Council members, while Clyne vainly tried to reestablish order among the Council, when Patrick Zala spoke.
"There is no one who prefers to fight. Who among us actually wants to head out to a battlefield? We want to live peacefully, gracefully, and happily. That has always been our only wish." Zala stood up, his voice becoming louder. "But who so ruthlessly shattered that wish? Who took our freedom away for their own selfish ambitions? Who pushes us aside to better themselves? Who exploits the Coordinators?"
"Who will never let us forget the Bloody Valentine Tragedy? The nightmarish destruction of Junius Seven! Two hundred forty three thousand seven hundred and twenty-one people. It has been one year since that abominable incident claimed so many of our fellow citizens. Yet we've pondered endlessly to try to end this war quickly. Our demands have been minor. However, the Naturals have put our efforts to waste, time and time again!"
"We fight because it's the only way to protect ourselves. If we must fight to protect ourselves, then we have no choice but to fight!" said Patrick Zala, bringing his speech to an end.
Almost the entire Council was quiet. None could really argue with him. Save one.
"As always, you have a flare for the dramatic Zala. But using the victims of Junius Seven as rallying cry for war is despicable and an insult to their memory," said Jason with a mock applause.
Zala's face could barely conceal his rage. "How dare you say," said Zala, barely stopping himself from yelling. "My wife was killed at Junius Seven."
"Which is why someone like you should not be a member of this Council during this war," replied Jason. "Leaders, both political and military, should never have a personal reason for fighting a war. They must lead with a clear mind. Free of anger, hatred, and desire for revenge against the opposing force. They must be willing to hear any call for peace and even if there is only a slight chance, they must be willing to take it. I do not believe that you are able to, Zala. And frankly, I fear the day you come into power."
"My fellow Council members, as you know, I come from a long line of soldiers. I served in ZAFT's military before becoming a member of this Council. My children are both fighting this war. I know how wars must be fought. We must fight this war with calm and rational minds. Not minds consumed by hatred and vengeance. It must be fought for peace and peaceful coexistence with the Naturals and the Earth. Not for retribution. Seeking retribution and vengeance will only lead to more death, more pain and suffering, more hatred."
"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. I urge you, all of you, don't let this war become personal. Don't let this war become about vengeance for those lost at Junius Seven. Don't let this war become consumed by hatred. Nothing good will come of it. We must be better than those who destroyed Junius Seven. This war cannot end the way it started. If it does, then nothing changes and the next war will just be a continuation of this one. It is our responsibility to ensure that our children, their children and all the children yet to be do not suffer from our mistakes."
Patrick growled. 'Damn that man!' He cursed in his mind. 'That stubborn fool just can't see what needs to be done! He'll ruin everything! There has to be a way to remove him.'
Meanwhile
Debris Belt
Jordan moved through the debris field, eyes darting about almost constantly. A haunting feeling filled the pit of his stomach. He almost felt as though he were being watched from the dark by some horrendous creature that could only exist in nightmares—to horrible to even make it into fairytales. God I played Dead space to damn much. He thought. And then I had to play Dead space 2, and 3. I swear though, If I see a Space zombie I am GTFO.
"Jordan? You okay?" came Matthew's voice. Jordan looked up, realizing that he had frozen. The Warrior's hand was now resting on the Hero's shoulder.
"I… I think so," Jordan said, moving forward again to look around the other side of the piece of debris in front of them. "This place just scares the shit out of me."
"I heard that!" Ryu said as the Dynasty appeared from a destroyed ship. "You play Dead space too?"
"Yup," Jordan said. "Talk about bad timing."
"Sorry, I've never played it." Liz said as she drifted by. "But from how spooked you guys are, I think I'll stick with Gears of war and Halo."
"Doesn't Halo have space zombies too?" Amy asked as the Thunder observed a destroyed ship. "Ya, but Dead Space takes the cake in the fear factor." Jordan said. "As much as I love halo and the Flood, those dead space Zombies are scary as shit. What were they called?"
"Necromorphs," Kira said. We all just stared at her. "What?" she asked. "Cant a girl play a Video game every now and then?"
"…Ryu, you have the Perfect girlfriend." Matthew said. "Thank you!" Ryu said, and Kira giggled.
"Chris, have you found anything yet?" asked Flay. The redhead was now regularly manning the comm. station.
"Nah, there's nothing really here," came the reply as the Raven began to move around the debris to look in the same area Jordan, Matthew and Liz were about too. "This is starting to look like a—"
Chris suddenly stopped speaking, and Matthew felt his stomach plummet.
"Chris? What is it? Chris? Brother, are you there? What do you see?" asked Liz. "What do you see? Chris? Are you there? Please respond."
"Home…" replied Chris, his voice quiet and faint. Jordan and the others passed the debris, and saw what Chris did. Ryu's stomach clenched even tighter, twisting painfully. "Liz… It's home…"
Liz's face instantly became pale and like her brother, she was paralyzed from shock.
"What is he talking about?" asked Captain Ramius. "What has he found?"
"The largest memorial in the history of mankind," said Ryu softly. "He's found the Bloody Valentine… the remains of Junius Seven."
"Our home, before the war began," said Liz.
Later
"WHAT!" nearly half the bridge shouted in disbelief while the other half simply stared at him. "Is that wise sir, we'd be desecrating the grave of millions." Natarle blurted out in shock.
Mu sighed "Yes I know it would be, but we need that water if we are to make it the rendezvous with Halberton alive." He stated "Do you know where else we can find Gallons of water for free?"
"Mu's got a point." Ryu stated as he walked into the bridge with a coffee in his hand "We are in a life or death situation, as much as I dislike having to do it, it is necessary right now for our survival."
Ryu turned to Matthew. "Well, what do you think?"
"What? You want to know what I think?" asked Matthew.
"Well, this was your home. So we should hear your thoughts on this," said Ryu.
"Well… Truth be told, I don't like the idea of stealing from the grave of so many of my friends. But we don't have any other choice. We need the supplies and as long as we take only what is needed and nothing else, then we should do it," answered Matthew, somewhat hesitantly.
"Though I do request that I…" Matthew sighed. "There's something I need to do out there…something I should have done a while ago."
"I understand, and permission granted." Ryu said. "Just take Jordan with you things get out of hand." The brothers nodded as they left the bridge.
"Are the mobile suits ready to be launched?" Murrue asked.
Ryu gave a sharp nod and passed her a clipboard "They are, this is a list of all the upgrades that were made," he answered "The pilots have been given copies and have reviewed them; all they need is some testing."
"Very well," she sighed "Inform the other pilots to get ready to launch, your objective is to protect the Mistrals as they gather the necessary amount of ice that we need."
Ryu and Mu both saluted and coursed "Yes ma'am." Turning they both exited the bridge and started making their way to the rec room that the pilots spend their spare time at.
"Are you sure your okay with doing this Ryu?" Mu asked cautiously "You can sit this out if you need to."
Ryu shook his head "No it's alright." He answered "It'll be a bit troublesome but I can deal with it."
Mu nodded in acceptance before he grinned "So how are things going with the little lady?" he asked suddenly making Ryu blink before smiling softly.
"It's going good." He said in a soft voice before stopping and looking out of a view port leaning against a railing "It's funny; I feel more of a connection to her than I ever did to Yuna." He turned and looked at Mu "Loosing Yuna was hard Mu, But if I lose Kira..." he trailed off unable to finish the sentence.
Mu nodded gravely and placed a hand on Ryu's shoulder "You won't lose her kid," he reassured with a grin "Especially if you're the one protecting her."
Ryu smirked at Mu and they both started making their way to the rec room. Upon entering they saw Chris in the workout area running through a martial art kata, probably trying to keep his mind off of the debris belt, Kira and Liz where sitting on the comfy chairs gossiping with each other, with Amy and Hikari doing the same thing, and Jordan passing through the Radio looking for some good music.
"Pilots listen up!" Ryu called out getting the rookie pilots attention "We will be launching soon to collect resources from the debris belt, most notably water, the only thing is we have to collect the water from the remains of Junius Seven." He paused at the gasps from the pilots "Liz, Chris, I can understand if you wish to sit this one out."
Chris shook his head "No, We are low on pilots already and if we sit this one out and we're attacked than we won't be as prepared." He said with Liz nodding in agreement.
"Besides I think we need closure," Liz agreed "So we'll be launching as well."
Ryu nodded in acceptance "Very well, we'll be acting as scouts and guards for the mission making sure that we aren't surprised if pirates or ZAFT, if you do see signs of them DO NOT engage, report back and keep hidden while we determine if they are a threat or not, if they are making hostile actions towards our area or if they spot us than you have permission to engage."
They nodded and Mu, Liz, Chris, Amy, Hikari, and Jordan left leaving Ryu and Kira alone. "Are you okay?" Kira asked quietly as she wrapped her arms around his waist as he wrapped his around her shoulders "You seem tense and worried."
Ryu sighed deeply "I'm worried," he admitted honestly touching his forehead to Kira's "I don't know what would happen to me if I lost you as well."
Kira smiled reassuringly at him and place a hand on his cheek "You won't lose me Ryu," she stated "because I don't want to lose you either." Kira pulled away slightly to look at him better "So long as we watch each other's backs we'll be just fine."
Ryu smiled gratefully at her "Yeah, yeah I guess you're right." He admitted before he lent in and kissed her "What would I ever do without you?"
Kira giggled "You'd probably become a crotchy old war vet with a chip on his shoulder." She retorted making him laugh "C'mon, we better go get ready."
Later
Darknal was, quite frankly, astounded. The crew and refugees had been told where they were getting water from, and a request had been made to make paper flowers as a type of 'memorial sending'. It was entirely volunteer work.
Not only had no one been particularly happy about where they were getting water, but they were all more than eager to pay their respects to the dead anyway they could. Everyone had volunteered to help, including Flay who, though he had heard her privately admitting that she didn't particularly like Coordinators, was equally horrified by the events of the Bloody Valentine.
When they were finished, Miriallia cast them into space over the ruins.
A short while later, the crew went to work.
"Hey is that…?" whispered Darknal as he spotted something on the Mistral's sensors. He was working with Jackie on this one. Darknal glanced over at Jackie. "I think there's an intact Laurasia-class pod over there," he said. "Aren't those where the frigates keep their hangars?"
"Yeah, that's right," said Jackie. "Let's go take a look, probably some ammunition and spare parts in there that we could take advantage of."
"Yeah," said Darknal. His reservations regarding the little scavenging trip had all but disappeared. "Damn, the hatch is closed."
"Hey, Guys?" said Jackie over the radio. "Could you help us over here? We'd like to take a look inside, but we need one of you to cut this thing open."
"Not a problem," said Chris.
"I got it." Kira said. "The Strike's sabers are better for that sort of precision cutting."
"Roger that." Ryu said. "Report what you find."
Jackie sighed. "Those guys… I've got to admit, it's a little weird working with Coordinators and civilians," he said. "For a lot of people I've met, including many of the lost crewmen of the Archangel, this war is about Naturals and Coordinators. It's so stupid…"
"Yeah, I know what you mean," said Darknal in agreement. Kira arrived and quickly cut open the hangar.
"Thanks," said Jackie as the two flew the Mistral inside and activated the spotlights. "Whoa…" muttered Jackie.
"Well, that's a surprise," said Darknal. "Plenty of spare parts there…" Although…
Within the hangar was a group of five smashed apart mobile suits, mostly GINNs and CGUE's, but a pair of shields indicated two of them were once a CGUE and a GuAIZ, and single nearly intact GINN as well.
"Huh…" said Darknal "Um, mister Tonomura? Could I go out there and see if that GINN's operational?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Jackie.
"Uh, it's uh… well," sputtered Darknal. Finally, he sighed. "Well… I'm a Coordinator as well," he finally said. Jackie dropped his face in his palms as best he could while wearing the space suit.
"How many Coordinators did we bring onto this ship?" asked Jackie.
"I've been talking with Kira and the other pilots lately," continued Darknal. "I've been thinking 'if they're fighting for their friends and the refugees aboard, why not me?' Of course, there's the issue of no extra mobile suits or armors, and I'm not stupid enough to fly out in a Mistral, and the bridge is mostly covered. Maybe I won't fight at all—that depends on the captain—but why not see if I can at least use the GINN to help gather supplies?"
"Alright, I'll approve it," said Jackie. "It makes sense. Just be ready to get chewed out over this."
They closed the visors on their spacesuits, and Darknal exited the Mistral. He made his way over to the GINN, using the wreckage to help get himself over there. He entered the cockpit and looked around.
"Now then, where is that activation switch…? Aha!" said Darknal. He pressed the switch… and the GINN came to life around him, and outside its Red Omni-eye activated. "Let's see… control review… okay… okay… got it. Oh I am so in business!" He activated the radio. "Mister Tonomura? I think I can move this. I'm calling the Archangel now."
"Got it," said Jackie.
Bridge
"Next thing I know, the doctor will call and tell me that he's a Coordinator as well," said Murrue. "Alright Darknal, you have my approval. Go ahead and start with the equipment in that hangar. I'll send Liz and Chris over to help out. We'll see about Murdoch repairing the GINN when the other suits don't need it, and if you get some practice before hand, I'll go ahead and let you fly it."
"Thank you ma'am," said Darknal. "There also seems to be a few Guuls in here… that doesn't make any sense…"
Meanwhile
With Jordan And Matthew
The Hero and Warrior flew across the repaints of Junius seven. Jordan almost couldn't stand it. Everywhere he looked…he saw bodies floating around…men…women…Children…
The children alone made him want to hurl. Ever since that day the Colony was first destroyed, he thought…how could people do this? How can humanity hate each other so much to commit such an act of hate, just because our genes were different. Just the thought of it made him sick.
"Jordan, you alright?" Matthew asked on the Comm. "You look a little pale."
He smiled grimly back at him. "I'm…fine Matt." Jordan said. "Just…I just can't…"
"You don't have to say it." Matthew said. "If you want…you can-"
"Matt, I'm fine." Jordan said, cutting him off. "I can do this."
Matthew nodded. "So, exactly what are we doing here?" He asked.
"Hang on, we're almost there." Matthew said, not really answering his question.
The Warrior suddenly landed in front of one of the numerous houses. Oddly, there weren't as many floating bodies around here. A thing Jordan was happy for.
Jordan landed the Hero next to the Warrior just as Matthew exited the cockpit, carrying one of the Paper flowers that were made.
When he exited the Cockpit, Jordan stood next to Matthew as he stared at the house we landed in front of.
"I'm back." Matthew said suddenly. Jordan looked at him, wondering what he meant.
"I know that…I'm a little late Kelsey…" He said, his grip tightening on the flower. "And…I couldn't tell you how I…" At that point, Jordan could see tears forming in his eyes, as they floated within his helmet.
That was when it hit him, and his eyes widened.
"Kelsey I just…I know that nothing will add up to how I failed." Matthew continued. "I failed to save you, your Family, and every other citizen of Junius 7…I just…I hope you can forgive me…please."
Matthew then walked up towards the house, and placed the Flower on the porch of the house. "Kelsey…I love you." He said, and he walked away and faced me.
"Matt…I…" Jordan tried to say something, anything to help his older brother…but honestly, what could he have said?
"This is why you need to tell her how you feel, Jordan." Matthew said as he headed towards the Warrior. "Because if you don't…you may never get the chance."
Matthew boarded the Warrior, and took off, while Jordan simply stood there, thinking about what had just happened.
Meanwhile
Kira sighed as she guided the sniper equipped Strike around another piece of debris as she continued her patrol route around the perimeter of the destroyed PLANT, she surveyed the area sadly looking at the destroyed homes in the area, Chris and Liz had taken hard seeing their home again and Ryu had given them permission to go and pay their respects to their family as he, Mu and herself did the patrols. Matthew and Jordan also went away, and they returned just a few minutes ago.
Mu was taking this opportunity to test out the new OS that Kira helped Ryu develop for Natural use while Kira was using this chance to test the Strike Sniper Pack. Looking over to the right she smiled gently at the sight of hundreds of paper flowers that Liz, Flay and the civilian children made for paying their respects to the the fallen innocents of Junius Seven. A sudden beeping caught her attention "What, a distress signal..." she wondered out loud before switching to the radio "Ryu I picked up a distress signal at point 045A, requesting permission to inspect."
"Granted," Ryu affirmed "Use your Mirage Colloid in case of a trap."
"Understood," Kira replied before switching the radio to standby and activated the stealth system and headed towards the signal. When she was about two klicks (Military term for Kilometers) away she stopped and brought up the sniper rifle and activated the high power camera to scan the area. Almost immediately she spotted a totaled civilian ship with a reconnaissance GINN inspecting the wreckage. Kira locked onto the cockpit and raised the rifle as she continued to monitor the GINN when one of the Minstrels suddenly flew by Kira catching the attention of the GINN. Cursing Kira fired her shot right before the GINN could react piercing the cockpit destroying it. Deactivating the Mirage Colloid she radioed Ryu "One Reconnaissance GINN was destroyed, it had spotted one of the Minstrels and was preparing to attack, found the source of the distress signal though, a downed civilian ship, to recent to be a part of the wreckage from the debris belt, should I search for survivors?" she questioned.
"Yeah, see if you can find any life signs aboard the ship or any life pods." Ryu answered crisply "Do you need any assistance?"
"No I'll be fine." Kira replied before cutting the link and moving to inspect the wreckage 'No life signs on the ship...' she thought to herself before switching to long-range scanners 'Hold on...'"I got something Ryu, it's a life pod."
"Understood, bring it to the Archangel, our operation is wrapping up now." Ryu ordered as Kira grabbed the pod and boosted back to the Archangel.
"Yes sir, see you there." Kira answered with a grin and a mock salute that made Ryu chuckle before breaking the link.
Later
"You have a knack for bringing in things that other people left behind," commented Natarle, to which Kira was silent. Jordan, however, was not.
"Well, the way I see it, there's a descent chance we just blew up the rescue for whomever or whatever's in there," he said. "It's perfectly possible those GINNs were searching for this lifepod, I mean, why else would they be out here?"
Natarle shrugged. "You're probably right, but that just concerns me more."
"Alright, I'm opening the hatch now," said Murdoch. A trio of armed soldiers was present, just in case they'd pulled in someone hostile.
The hatch of the lifepod opened and…
A bright pink ball flew out.
"Haro, Haro," said the ball, rouge flaps on its side flapping wildly. "Haro, Lacus, Haro." The ball flew straight at Chris's face and he caught it.
"Haro! Hello there! Haro!" the ball shouted, startling him.
"What? What is this?" he said, staring at the pink machine. However Matthew was staring at the ball with wide eyes. 'No way…' he thought.
"That's Haro," Came a soft voice from the lifepod. "And thank you. I appreciate your assistance."
Everyone looked back at the lifepod to see a beautiful teenager, the same age as Kira, Chris, and Jordan, float out of the pod. Her joyful expression and the light in her bright blue eyes especially entranced Matthew.
"Well doesn't this make things more complicated?" Ryu groaned as he palmed his face and looked at their newest passenger.
Lacus Clyne has arrived at the Archangel.
Ending theme: Hoshi no Tobira
Link: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=RvZNKvu0RLU