Undisclosed Location, Benilde's deck, Pacific Ocean…
Stellar was staring off into the horizon and watched as dolphins jumped over the surface.
"That's a pretty strange fish…" Stellar commented, turning her head towards her guardian, the masked Colonel of Phantom Pain.
"It's not a fish, Stellar… That's a dolphin. They live in tight little families and spend their lives together. Not all of them survive, but what they do almost always benefits the group." Neo sighed after answering, knowing well what was put into the minds of these young individuals from their childhood. "That's right… You never knew about life… All you knew about was death…"
He was snapped from his reverie as he felt a slight bump into his shoulders. He turned his head and saw Stellar leaning on him. He smiled and looked out into the ocean, feeling two different pains at the same time: the pain of emptiness and the pain of helplessness. Emptiness since that's how he felt each time Stellar leaned on him, or any woman for that matter. It was like somebody else was supposed to be there instead. To make matters worse, he had to suffer the pain of helplessness at the same time, not because he couldn't find who it was he was supposed to be with, but because he knew that Stellar and the rest of the Extendeds would never come to know the value of life, even if the war ends, and he couldn't do anything about it. To him, it's the second greatest pain he could think of.
"Neo?" Stellar called his name, snapping him from his silence.
"What is it?" He absent-mindedly asked.
"You're too quiet."
"Oh… sorry." Neo smiled and tried to scratch his head, only to rediscover that he had a helmet on. This caused him to laugh a bit, though he did his best to contain it. As Neo Roanoke, it was one of those rare moments that he allowed himself to be lighthearted, a total contrast to the man he once was.
"Tell me… Why do you wear that thing?"
"This?" Neo asked, referring to his mask, helmet, or as he says, whatever it is. "Even I don't know why… It's been on me for as far as I remember… not that I remember much anyway."
He pushed his thoughts back to the rearest part of the rear of his head. He was aware that, at that moment, it wasn't Neo who was thinking. He knew it was still him, but a somewhat different him. Again, he drifted off, more today than he ever did in his entire time as a member of Phantom Pain.
"Neo!" Stellar pouted, having noticed that Neo wasn't really paying much attention to her.
"Sorry, Stellar… I just have a lot of things on my mind…" Neo smiled, a pretty pathetic attempt at that, but Stellar bought it. "You should get back in. Sting and Auel are already in there. Don't keep them waiting."
"Yes, sir!" Stellar saluted, rather awkwardly, imitating the other soldiers she saw when Neo ordered them. She turned around and ran towards the inside of the ship, where their capsules were waiting for them. Neo laughed inwardly at the sight. It was rare enough that he was lighthearted, but it was even rarer for those he personally identified as killing machines being lighthearted. He looked at her with pity as she disappeared behind a closing door.
"You were raised to be killing machines. Knowing what death is and how to deliver it, but never life and how to preserve it. You never learned, and you possibly never will."
- - - - - - - - - - -
30 kilometers North of Onogoro, Pacific Ocean…
The Legacy shot out of the water and elevated itself to a few meters above the surface, once getting out of the EAF Fleet's range. Everyone in the bridge let out a sigh of relief as they slowly headed for ORB.
"Can someone please tell me why we're heading for ORB?" Zeal complained, keeping only one hand on the ship's yoke.
"What are you complaining about? They're letting us in, aren't they?" Yohnes quickly responded.
"It's not that. I just noticed that for each one-of-a-kind vessel, a trip to ORB is somehow inevitable."
The Captain giggled at this comment. The rest of the crew were quick to laugh.
"What?!" Zeal's face turned red from embarrassment. He put both his hands on the yoke and pretended to fly the Legacy, when it was, in fact, on autopilot.
"It's just funny that what you said is true. On the previous war, the Archangel had to stop at ORB. Recently, ZAFT's Minerva did the same. If we're lucky, we may get to see it before it leaves…" Cheska trailed off.
"Well, I'm guessing it's about to leave ORB. After all, with what happened to the Equatorial Union, it's not a surprise if ORB become's the Alliance's next target." Nicholas butt into the conversation, turning his CIC seat around to face the Captain.
"Oh well… Whatever the case, it would be possible for us to stay in ORB a bit longer than the Minerva. We are part of the Equatorial Union. If ORB stays neutral, we get to stay in their territory, and the same could happen if they join the Alliance. After all, the EU's part of that now."
"Yeah, you're right." Yohnes sighed, "I guess if we do make it to ORB, they'll have three one-of-a-kind ships in their territory at the same time."
"Three? But only the Minerva's there. Add us and that's two. You seem to be forgetting basic mathematics." Zeal mocked, shrugging his shoulders. Yohnes glared at him for a while, then relaxed himself.
"And you seem to be forgetting that the Archangel wasn't defeated in battle. Sure, it was heavily damaged, but it wasn't abandoned. This would also be a likely place to hide it. It would be easily spotted if hidden in one of ORB's space colonies, and it could serve a better purpose by staying within ORB's main land."
"What's your point?" Cheska asked the pilot, who stared at her then answered.
"The Archangel's the perfect escape pod. It's got unbelievable speed, massive fire power and a freakish Mobile Suit guardian."
"Freakish Mobile Suit guardian? You mean the Freedom? Wasn't it destroyed in battle? Let's not forget that anything in the military with the word 'nuclear' is banned by a treaty." Zeal replied, hoping to catch Yohnes off-guard. Unfortunately for him, Yohnes was too smart for that.
"Do you honestly think that ZAFT and EAF would wholeheartedly follow that? For all I know, they might have one or two nuke-powered Mobile Suits hidden somewhere. By restoring the Freedom, ORB has a degree of security against those threats."
Zeal was silenced. Yohnes did have a point. The only way that a Mobile Suit could be defeated is by taking it down by force or exhausting its energy until it crashes by itself. In this case, nuclear powered units could not have their energy exhausted, given their current weaponry. Taking them down would also be a hassle that's close to impossible since these units are almost always piloted by aces. Aces in battery powered units would stand a chance, but they wouldn't be able to fight long enough to cause any significant damage. The only way for ORB to defend itself against such possible threats was to arm itself with at least one nuclear powered Mobile Suit and piloted by an ace or one with such abilities, in this case, the Ultimate Coordinator.
A moment of silence followed. They weren't able to think of any follow-up questions since Yohnes pretty much answered those that they could think of. They just returned to their jobs and remained silent, until a transmission interrupted their little moment.
"THIS IS ORB'S NAVAL FLEET. UNIDENTIFIED VESSEL, STATE YOUR IDENTITY AND PURPOSE FOR APPROACHING ORB."
"What should we do? We can't exactly identify ourselves as Equatorial Union. That would arouse suspicions on the officers back home if EAF takes over ORB." Nicholas asked. Cheska then remembered the item given to her by her father. She opened the black box and found an MD inside. Thinking of no other answer, she put it in the slot on her arm rest and it loaded. A video screen appeared on the main monitor, and the President's face was seen.
"By the time you watch this, I'm guessing you're somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. The specific orders for you are contained in data format. It's been encrypted and the decryption keys are the same as those for the STRIDE Flyers. With its programmer with you, you shouldn't have a hard time opening it. But for now, you'll have to get to safety. Your most likely destination would be the ORB Union. I'm well aware that you cannot identify yourselves, so please transmit the attached message, with an encryption code different from the main attachment. Once it has transmitted, you can sit back, relax and enjoy the ride." the President grinned, one that they seem to be familiar with but could not pinpoint.
"Ma'am, I have a confirmation window. Should I transmit?"
"Yes, transmit." Cheska answered, hoping that the President's plan would work. Minutes passed and ORB's Naval Fleet returned to dock, which surprised them, but there was still no response. Another few minutes later, a video transmission appeared on the main screen through the ship's most secure line.
"THIS IS CAGALLI YULA ATTHA, CHIEF REPRESENTATIVE OF ORB. YOUR TRANSMISSION HAS BEEN RECEIVED AND WE HAVE VERIFIED ITS AUTHENTICITY. I HAVE ORDERED THE FLEET TO STAND DOWN AND YOU ARE FREE TO ENTER ORB. I'M SURE YOU KNOW THE CONSEQUENCES OF ENTERING A FOREIGN LAND. THAT ASIDE, PLEASE SUBMERGE TO 500 METERS AND GO TO THE GIVEN COORDINATES. THE UNDERWATER DOCK IS WAITING FOR YOU. I'LL ATTEND TO YOU PERSONALLY ONCE YOU'RE THERE. EQUATORIAL UNION'S LEGACY, WELCOME TO ORB."
This left the entire bridge crew in a very deep moment of silence, with a shocked expression painted on each of their faces. They had nothing to say and found no words to express what they felt. They were just plain shocked at the sudden turn of events.
"What… did she… just say?" the usually uncaring Yohnes sounded unusually alive.
"That was too easy…" Zeal fell back on his seat, "I didn't expect that to happen."
"I guess the President must've thought ahead…" Cheska cupped her chin, then stood up, "Yohnes, take us to the given coordinates. You're in charge."
She stood up and left the bridge.
"Yes ma'am." Yohnes answered and put the Legacy on a dive. Zeal gave him a good stare before turning his attention to his job.
"Why does it have to be you?" Zeal sneered.
"For one, I'm a lot level-headed compared to you." Yohnes replied, steering the ship to the coordinates given to them.
"Geeez… Why can't anyone trust me a bit more?" Zeal complained, resting on his elbows and leaving the navigation to Yohnes.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Morgenroete Inc., Onogoro Island, ORB Union…
ORB's Chief Representative went to the underwater dock herself and waited for the Legacy's arrival. Leaving behind her escorts, she rushed to the dock's viewing area and watched the "giant empty fish tank" in front of her. While she was staring, the memory of a few minutes earlier crossed her mind.
FLASHBACK
Cagalli was sitting at her desk and browsing through something that she dreaded much more than paperwork itself; the EAF's proposal. Though filled with sugar-coating, it was also overflowing with 'threatening' content. She groaned as she practically threw the cluster of paper on her desk. Her secretary flinched, and sensing this, Cagalli glared at her and asked, "Is there something you want to say?"
The secretary nervously shook her head. She knew that if Cagalli was going to vent her anger at her, she had some degree of protection, in legal terms. However, she also knew that with Cagalli's temper, she'd have no legal protection when she 'disappears' after being launched from ORB's Mass Driver. Just as Cagalli was about to launch a barrage of flames towards her 'unlucky' secretary, the phone rang. Furiously, she grabbed the phone and tried to speak as calmly as possible.
"What the hell do you want?" Cagalli's voice escalated to phenomenal levels. To others, she may seem to be having a little problem with PMS, but to those close to her, they know that she's on the verge of a psychological collapse. However, the voice on the other side was that of a somewhat mature but not necessarily old man.
"Please calm down, Lady Cagalli…" the voice on the other side of the line said.
"Oh…" Cagalli calmed down after hearing the man's voice, "…Captain Todaka, it's you…"
"Yes, obviously…" Captain Todaka cleared his throat, "…Lady Cagalli, we've received a transmission from an unidentified vessel in our waters."
"Then why don't you sink it? If it's unidentified and it's in our waters, then it should be identified by now!"
"About that… They're transmitting an encoded video message to us. They've also established a secure communications link with our Naval Fleet."
"An encoded message? The decoding was quite fast, if that's the case. How did you do it?"
"They claimed to be from the Equatorial Union… And sure enough, they encoded it using an encryption code shared by the military forces of neutral nations... Surprisingly, only the leaders of each neutral nation have knowledge of its existence. Them and their most trusted subordinates."
"Have you established any other form of contact with them?"
"Not yet, but I suggest you take a look at their encoded message."
"Very well, send it here." Cagalli sighed and flipped up a panel on her desk, which was actually a folded LCD screen. A loading screen briefly appeared and the encoded message played automatically. On the screen was the flag of both the ORB and Equatorial Unions. On the left was her late father, Uzumi Nara Attha, and on the right was the Equatorial Union's current President who goes by the name Cupre Armana.
"SIGNED ON THIS DAY IS THE MARTIAL HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED EMIRATES OF ORB AND THE EQUATORIAL UNION. UNDER THIS AGREEMENT, ANY VESSEL BELONGING TO EITHER PARTIES, WHEN IN DISTRESS, WILL BE GIVEN IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE AND SHELTERED WITHIN TERRITORIAL WATERS. OTHER CONDITIONS AND SPECIFICS ARE WRITTEN ON THE SIGNED DOCUMENTS, COPIES OF WHICH ARE HELD BOTH BY ME, UZUMI NARA ATTHA, AND CUPRE ARMANA."
"BY VIRTUE OF THIS ISSUE, ANY PERSON FROM EITHER COUNTRY CAN FREELY ENTER THE OTHER AS REFUGEES IN TIME OF NEED. THE SAME CONDITIONS SHALL APPLY FOR THE MILITARY FORCES, UNDER THE CONDITION THAT THE VISITING FORCES ARE PLACED UNDER DIRECT COMMAND OF THE HOST COUNTRY'S LEADER."
"What's this supposed to mean?" Cagalli stood up from her desk in utter surprise. She hurriedly pressed a button and, soon enough, someone was speaking on the other side of the line.
"Ma'am?" the man on the other side replied.
"Mobilize the Naval Defense Fleet. Escort the unknown vessel to Morgenroete, Send reconnaissance units out on patrol. We don't want anyone interfering with what we're doing."
"Yes, ma'am."
Cagalli put down the phone and turned her attention towards her secretary.
"Get the car… NOW!"
END OF FLASHBACK
"An Equatorial Union vessel…" Cagalli murmured to herself, "I guess the reason why the Archangel wasn't able to make it to the Equatorial Union during the previous war was because it has been assimilated by the Earth Forces. And now that it happened again, their ship came running towards ORB… I just don't know how long they'd be able to stay here…"
Her little moment with herself was abruptly interrupted by the sudden vibrations on the floor caused by the opening of the large gates. She turned her head to see the large vessel, all-gray without its Phase Shift, but with an engraved eight-rayed sun on its side. Slowly being pulled in by cables, it appeared that the vessel entering the dock backwards. Within a few seconds, the entire ship was inside the dock and the large gates closed. Restraining arms reached up from both sides of the dock and attached themselves to the ship and the water was slowly being drained. Finally, for Cagalli, it was time to meet the crew of the mysterious vessel.
Minutes have passed and the water has finally been completely been drained from the dock. A loading tube stretched out from the walls into one of the ship's doors on the side. Cagalli, followed by at least 20 heavily armed bodyguards, marched through the tube and into the doors. Just before they arrived, the door opened and the ship's Captain appeared, escorted by First Lieutenant Almana and Nicholas Amalfi. All three saluted at the sight of Cagalli.
"I'm Colonel Cheska Benthal of the Equatorial Union. Behind me is my subordinate and Mobile Suit pilot, First Lieutenant Silve Almana. The other one is Doctor Nicholas Amalfi, a Red Cross Doctor assigned at Palawan. I would like to apologize for our sudden entry into your territory. On behalf of my nation and of my crew, I would also like to extend my gratitude for taking us in."
Cagalli signaled for the three soldiers to ease up, then signaled her bodyguards to stand down.
"I'm ORB's Chief Representative, Cagalli Yula Attha." she responded, trying her best to avoid being casual, "You do know what happens when you enter our domain, right?" "Amalfi? Is he somehow related to the PLANT Council's Yuri Amalfi?"
"Yes. We are put under, and must abide, the rules of the land and the laws that govern it." Cheska responded, "…but other than that, I'm hoping my crew and I can move around freely."
"Yes, you may." Cagalli answered and called for one of her bodyguards. "Begin any necessary repairs and resupply them. I want them ready to go in 3 days. Go and inform the management of Morgenroete."
The bodyguard said nothing. He saluted and hurried on his way.
"Forgive me for the rush, but you have to be ready to leave as soon as repairs are done. We are being pressured by the Alliance to side with them. It's completely against our policies, but more than half of the representatives are against me. I hope you understand."
"It's okay, ma'am." Cheska smiled,
"Thank you for understanding." Cagalli let out a sigh of relief. "These guys seems to be more laid back than those guys at the Minerva… If I didn't know any better, I'd say they give me the same feeling as the crew of the Archangel."
"You're welcome, ma'am." Cheska replied with a smile, before turning to Silve, "First Lieutenant Almana, inform the bridge that we're going to stay here for a while. I'm pretty sure they know what to do. I'll shoot them myself if they mess up."
"Yes, Captain." Silve answered, turning around snappily and began his walk towards the bridge.
"I'll have to leave for now. I have some pressing matters that I have to attend to… and personally, I'd love to not attend to them at all." Cagalli sighed, "This woman reminds me of the Archangel's Vice Captain."
"I understand. We'll be willing to help in any way we can."
"Thanks." Cagalli smiled, before turning around and walking off back to her office, and her dreaded paperwork. As soon as Cagalli was out of sight, Nicholas spoke up.
"It's a wonder that they let us in so easily." he chuckled.
"Oh well… Whatever the President put in that file, it definitely worked." Cheska shrugged her shoulders and walked off to her quarters.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Earth's Upper Atmosphere above Australia…
"Coordinates for Carpentaria, checked. All systems are functioning normally. I shouldn't have a problem getting to Carpen-!"
A sudden beam fire from nowhere hit the Legacy's left wing. Though not causing any significant damage, the little hole and the small explosion caused the Legacy to swirl out of control on its reentry in the atmosphere. Shannon, however, remained calm and assessed the situation.
"Left wing's electrical systems have been damaged. Right wing's operating normally." he murmured to himself as he checked his unit, "I should be able to regain control after re-entry. Theoretically, this should be able to withstand atmospheric forces during re-entry. I should survive somehow."
He tried his best to at least stabilize his fall, but with his left wing acting as a drag chute, it was close to impossible. For a split second, he saw a black Mobile Suit flying closer to him. He checked the radar for any signs, but there was none.
"How the heck did that get there? What unit is it?"
As questions lingered through his head, he finally succeeded in bringing the Legacy to a manageable spin, in contrast to its tumbling state a few moments earlier.
"I'm way off-course… But I guess it's better than crashing."
- - - - - - - - - - -
A/N: Finally! An update! I have summer classes and it's on a daily basis, so it's pretty hard to get updates done… After this chapter, I'll work with my other story. Read and Review! See ya guys… uhh… whenever!
