Author's Foreword:
Patriot 112: Hey Everyone! Me and 117Jorn here with another Chapter for NOTI!
117Jorn: That's right! Sorry it took so long, we've sorta been focusing more on our Star Wars Related fics like Mandalorian Fox, and We Dared.
Patriot 112: Ya, but we're here now! And with a new chapter! So please Enjoy the show:
117Jorn: Hit it!
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PHASE 09
Departure
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Scandinavian Space Station Valhalla
Lagrange Point 3
January 27th, C.E. 71
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Jordan was lying on the bed in his quarters on the Archangel. Since the battle just a day ago, though Jordan had gotten over the whole 'killing' thing, it still disturbed him a bit.
He knew that he would have to do this eventually, ever since he decided to pilot that Vertigo. But he hoped it wouldn't happen so…soon.
'I'm not a Monster.' Jordan continued to think to himself. 'I killed those people to defend Valhalla and my friends…not like how those Triad bastards did.'
He growled a bit a the thought of the Mercenary Group. He hated groups like them and Blue Cosmos. They were disgraces to humanity, and complete idiots. But in truth he hated Triad more that Blue Cosmos actually. While Blue Cosmos says that editing genes is bad, as stupid as that idea is, Triad only fought for money. Nothing more, nothing less. And Jordan hated people and organizations like that.
There was a knock at the door which brought Jordan out of his thought. "Who is it?" He asked.
"It's Flay." Said Girls voice came through. "Can I come in?"
Jordan blinked a bit in surprise "Uh, sure! Come on it." He said, and the red-haired girl entered the room. "Do you need something Flay?"
"Actually…" Flay said, a bit nervously. "I…I wanted to thank you for saving me and the others when that Mobile Suit almost killed us. If you hadn't showed up I…" She left it hanging there.
Jordan smiled a bit "You don't need to thank me, Flay." He said. "You're my friend, as are Kira and the others. It's my personal code to keep any of my friends safe."
Flay blinked a bit at that "Y-You think of me as a friend?" She asked, surprise.
Jordan shrugged "I don't see why not," He said. "I mean, haven't we been friends all this time?"
"Y-Ya, but…" Flay said, "But…why would you want to be my friend? I-I wasn't very subtle about my views on…Coordinators."
Jordan blinked before he sighed, "Well, I can't force you to change your ideas on Coordinators like Me, and Kira." He said. "All I can tell you, is that we're not your enemies, Flay. I don't hate Naturals, and neither does Kira."
"I know that!" Flay said. "Its…I don't hate you because of that, its…well," she sighed a bit "Its just I don't like the whole idea of messing around with someone's genes…it seems…wrong."
Jordan shrugged a bit "True, many people think that." He admitted, suprising Flay "But on the other hand, have you ever asked youself: Did any Coordinator that you've ever seen or met choose to be a Coordinator?"
Flay's eyes widened a bit as he continued "I was made a Coordinator by the choice of my parents." Jordan said. "Don't get me wrong, I enjoy being a Coordinator, and I think I can offer something to Humanity one day. But I refuse to be just thrown away like yesterday's garbage the moment someone doeesn't need me anymore. I mean, did you ask to be born a Natural? It's the exact same thing."
"I…I guess your right…" She said, seeing the sense in what he was saying. "And…sorry."
Jordan blinked once again "For what?" he asked.
"For…everything I've ever said about Coordinators." She admitted, smiling a bit. "I mean…if you and Kira are really nice to me and the others, then there should be others like you who are just as kind, right?"
Jordan smiled a bit "True, there are many Coordinators like me who don't hate Naturals." He admitted. "Just remember, Flay. There are still those like Patrick Zala around, so you just need to be careful around them."
Flay nodded with a grateful smile on her face, "Thanks Jordan, I'll remember," she said and then a thought came to her.
"So, I heard your mom is an employee at Morgenroete?" she asked and Jordan nodded.
"Yep, she was a lead designer in some projects, but of the higher ups have seen her designs and are still impressed,"Jordan said and Flay's eyes widen at that.
"Wow, she must be very popular," she said and Jordan chuckled while shaking his head.
"Nah, she's just doing her job in order to make sure the world keeps turning," He said and Flay giggled at that.
"My, you sure know how to earn the ire of your mother," she said and Jordan laughed.
"Well, she can be a hothead, but she loved me and my older brother very much," he said and Flay blinked at that, "Your brother?" she asked, "I didn't know you had a Brother."
Jordan sighed a bit, but smiled "Ya, I had an Older Brother." He said. "He was the best kind of Brother I could have asked for. While Mom taught me a lot about tech-related stuff, my Brother taught me the Important things in life." He then looked up to the ceiling "The most important thing he ever taught me, was that a man should fight for three reasons: For Family, For Friends, and For Honor. That's why I fight now, because it's what My Brother taught me to do."
"Your brother sound very wise." Flay said, and Jordan nodded "Ya, he was." he said, a hint of saddnes in his voice, but Flay caught it, and what he said. "Was?" she asked. "What happened to him?"
For a while, Jordan remained silent "He died." Jordan said, and Flay gasped a bit. "Bloody Valentine...he was visiting his Fiance who was pregnant with their kid at the time...I actually spoke with him online just 6 hours before the Nuke went off..."
"I...I'm sorry, I...I didn't mean to-" Flay started, but Jordan raised a hand "It's alright Flay, you didn't know, and it wasn't your fault." He said, smiling a bit "Besides, it feel good to talk about it every once in a while." He then decided to change the topic "So, enough about me, what about you?" he asked, suprising her. "What's it like being the daughter of George Allster?"
Flay smiled a bit "Well, he's very nice, and he always put me as his Priority to take care of before anything else." She said. "When the war Started, he sent me here because he didn't want to put me in danger of terrorism from ZAFT supporters on Earth."
Jordan nodded a bit "Ya, I heard he really does care about his family," he said. "But, if you don't mind me asking, what about your Mother? the Media never really covers that."
Flay looked a bit sad "Dad said...she died due to complications during my birth..." she said saddly. "That's why he always takes care of me...I'm the only family he has."
"Oh, I'm sorry." Jordan said, but Flay just smiled and shook her head "No, its alright." she said. "Like you, you would have found out eventually."
Jordan smiled a bit at that,"Yeah, ain't that the truth?"
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Meanwhile,
At the Governor's Office
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Trisha was in the office because the Governor said her superiors wanted to talk to her. Knowing it was about her decision to launch the Cavaliers, she knew they would throw a bit of fit, but let her off with a warning. She was talking to her Superior officer, Admiral Daniel Parker, Commandore Admiral of the ISAF Fleet.
"Listen, Trisha, personally, I 100% Agree with what you did." Daniel said. "But Higher ups are throwing a fit about this whole thing, saying this could have triggered a war with Zaft."
"Zaft attacked an Orb Colony, sir." She replied. "The ISAF is well within its right to protect a colony of one of their member nations, just like here at Valhalla."
The Admiral sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, "I know that. But the Council, and the president say that you need to read the situation more carefully next time," he said and Trisha could only sigh as Admiral Parker continued, "They also decided to assign a overseer to your ship,"
That got Trisha's mood to drop even more, but what Parker said next suprised her.
"They are assigning Commander Monica Kruscewski, the Green Knight as an observor to your ship," Trisha's eyes widen at that.
"Monica? But, she's already assigned as a test pilot for the Mirage Colloid Patriot! And a Tactics and Reconissance Expert!" She said, clearly suprised.
The Admiral grinned a bit "She is, and she'll continue doing so while on your ship." He said. "Though Publicly they disagree with you, secretly the President and most of the council actually agree with what you did. Consider this a very light slap on the wrist."
Trisha blinked in surprise before smiling "Thank you sir," she said. "Anything else?"
The Admiral fixed his glasses a bit, "Yes, there is," he said with a serious tone, "They want to escort the Archangel back to Admiral Halburton's 8th Fleet," he said, yet again suprising Trisha, but also hapy that she could possibly see her mentor again. She continued to listen to Parker as he explained the situation.
"The reason we're assigning you this mission was because something was off about the attack," Making Trisha blink in wonder.
"What do you mean, Admiral?" she asked, and Parker took off his visor cap.
"We analyzed the combat footage from the news report as well as the Colony's securty cameras. Apparently, Triad was specifically after the Morningstar and the Archangel," this revelation suprised Trisha even more.
"Triad?" Trisha asked, shocked. "Why would they attack Valhalla?"
"We had several theories," he said. "But we finally figured it out when we intercepted this transmitted message between their forces." He then press a button, and the audio only clip played.
"All Forces, proceed as planned." a voice said. "Primary Targets are the ISAF's New Warship and its Mobile Suits, Secondary Objective is the Archangel and the Strike. Command says Civilians are expendable."
Trisha's hands formed into fists as she shook in rage as Admiral Parker continued.
"We also have photographic evidence that proves they were behind this attack," he said and showed the recon photos, that Monica took, of the Triad Fleet, the markings and colors recognizable to anyone who encountered them before.
"The President as well as the ISAF Security Council have also given the following order as of half an hour ago: All ISAF ships are to eliminate any Triad Mercenary Forces on sight, as they are now permenantly marked as terrorists," Parker informed, "Also, the Terminal Mercenary Group has also declared their support to our decision, and will also hunt down any and All Triad Forces and Supporters they find."
Trisha nodded, knowing that it had to be done, and the world would probably be better off without them. But then something occurred to her "Wait, why would Triad be trying too sink the Morningstar and the Archangel?" She asked. "And on top of that, destroy the Strike?"
"We believe that Blue Cosmos maybe have hired them, and wanted them too destroy them because they may not like the idea of Coordinators fighting for the E.A with their Prototype Mobile Weapons." Parker said. "So they wanted to take out the evidence. They must also not like the idea of us Copying their tech to make our own ship and suits. But, we have no hard core proof as of yet, so we can't do anything about that. All we can do now is fight Triad, which that itself is gonna be difficult since no one knows where their based. However we have discovered they have a strong presence in South America."
Trisha quirked an eyebrow, "South America?" she said quizzically and then came up with a realization of what can be in that area,"You think they plan on attacking the Falklands?" she asked and the Admiral nodded.
"It's a possibility, but we don't know for sure. It could be they were hired by Blue Cosmos to launch an attack and capture the Mass Driver and space port," the Admiral said, and sighed, "That, and they are also waging a Guerilla War with the remnants of the USSA military,"
"The SALF?" Trisha clarified, and Parker nodded, "Yes, and the E.A has been supporting them for a while now in taking them out." He said. "However, Terminal has recently been hired by the USSA Remnant Forces to assist them in liberating their homeland from the E.A and Triad forces. But there is one more thing about the attack at Valhalla that has us worried."
He then pressed a few buttons, and then video images of the strange mobile suit appeared, surprising Trisha. "This Mobile Suit was also spotted in the battle." He said. "One of the Heliopolis Militia forces engaged it, but the Machine seemed to have abilities on par, if not superior to that of the G-Weapons. For now, we are giving it the Codename: X."
"You mean Triad is beginning development of their own Mobile Suits?" She asked, and Parker nodded.
"I'm afraid so, and I just given out the order to every Base Commandant on Earth, as well as every Admiral in the Fleet to be on the lookout for this kind of Mobile suit, but they are orderes strictly not to engage," Parker said seriously, "I don't want an entire fleet or base massacred just because a few cocky rookiees thought they could be heroes,"
Trisha nodded at that, knowing it was true. Admiral then took another breath, what he was about to tell her next would make her week more hellish.
"Also...we have news concerning the ZAFT as well." He began. "A few days ago...Lacus Clyne, daughter of Chairman Siegal Clyne...has gone missing."
"What!" Trisha shouted, her eyes about to pop right out of her skull.
"Yes, she's missing." Parker said. "Lacus set out for Junius 7 in the Silverwind 48 Hours ago with a joint ZAFT/ISAF Escort fleet, but we have not heard word of them since. Since the Debris Belt is on your way to the Fleet, I'm asking you to take the Morningstar to attempt to look for her. And if you can convince them, get the Archangel to go with you as well."
Trisha nodded in the affirmative, "Yes sir, and don't worry. The current captain of that ship is a close friend of mine, I'm sure she'll help," she said confidently and Parker grinned.
"That's good to hear, I'll try to send you some reinforcements if I can, but, no promises,' the bispecatled Admiral said and Trisha could only nod in understanding.
"I understand, sir," She said, and Parker nodded. "Good, you are dismissed Captain." He said, Trisha nodded, and after a quick salute, left the office.
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Later
At the Archangel Bridge
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"What did you say?" Murrue asked, shocked as were the rest of the bridge crew of the Archangel as Trisha just informed them of what Parker told her.
"That's right, Command want me and the Morningstar to escort you to the 8th Fleet." She said on the Comm. "They want to find out more about the attack here and the Triad Involvement, and they believe Halberton may be able to help."
Murrue was suprised but thankful for that, as a relieved smile plastered on her face, as well as the rest of the crew.
"That's good to hear," she said, but then became concerned, "Though I bet many EA officers who are Blue Cosmos wouldn't like it," she swore she could hear Trisha scoff at that.
"Well, they're just gonna deal with it," she said, "Also Murrue, I need to speak to you alone about this development after we're on our way. It's important."
Murrue nodded. "I understand," She said. Not long after that, the Morningstar and Archangel, both fully supplied and prepared, launched from Valhalla, and began their Journey to the 8th Fleet.
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PLANT Suprime Council Chamber
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Back in the PLANT Colonies of ZAFT, the ZAFT Council were gathered around as Rau Le Cruset gave his Report on the Heliopolis Attack with Athrun.
"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.
"While I understand the motive in attacking a colony being used by the Earth Alliance to build new Mobile weapons is justifiable," said Yuri Amalfi, " But, was it really necessary to slaughter two thirds of the Local Militia who were just defending their home?"
"It was a battlefield, people die in the battlefield." Tad Elsman said. "That's something all soldiers should know."
"They were not soldiers! They were just citizens protecting Heliopolis!" Ezalia Joule shouted. Tad just shot a glare towards her "And what would you have Rau's men do? Just let them shoot at them?" He demanded.
"I'm not saying that! What I'm saying is that he and his men should have tried harder to not kill the milita members!" She shouted back, "Especially if the pilots were inexperienced rookies!,"
Before any argument could break out, Siegel decided to quell it before it could get out of control.
"Enough!" he shouted getting everyone's attention, "We'll have time for that later, right now we have other matters to deal with, remember?"
The other council members sighed but nodded. However Patrick Zala had one question "However, Commander Le Creuset, are these prototype mobile suits worth all of the sacrifices that have been made by our forces?"
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."
And when Athrun was finished, the images then showed the three Mobile Suits, now piloted by his three friends.
"And now. The three that got away," Athrun said as he first began with the Rogue. "The GAT-X109 Rogue is the first ISAF Unit, it seems to be heavily inspired by the Duel in design, only with a fixed flight pack. It also has two 65mm CIWS's mounted within its forearms. It also has two beam sabers within the hardwired flight pack, which oddly enough uses blue blades instead of lightish red ones. We also have reason to believe that it is capable of using weapons from other mobile suits as well."
Then the image switched to the Vigilante as it switched from Mobile Armor mode to Mobile Suit Mode.
"The GAT-X306 Vigilante, the second ISAF suit. It has transformation capabilities similar to those of the Aegis, only its M.A Form looks more like a bird. It is only armed with one beam saber for Close Combat, and 75mm CIWS which are usable in both modes. However it also uses a duel-barreled 57mm beam rifle, which while combined have drastically increased firepower."
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."
Finally, the screen switched to the backdraft as it fougth against a GiNN.
"This is the Unknown unit, we know little about it since we've only had one engagment with it. We have confirmed it is armed with two beam sabers, a Katana Sword, a 57mm Beam Rifle, and can also use weapons from the Strike. We also have reason to believe it uses different armor than the armor used by the other G-Weapons, and its armor is more resistant against Beam Weapons."
The council members were shocked at this, Herman Gould of the National Defense Committee, was the first to speak about the images he just seen. "You have to give the E.A and ISAF Credit, they've made some amazing Mobile Suits."
"Theirs more," Athrun said as images of the Morningstar and the Cavaliers appeared on the screen. "During the battle, the ISAF arrived with a Prototype Assault Carrier which seems to be based off of the Legged Ship, as well as multiple new mobile suits which resemble ISAF Patriots, only capable of using Beam Weapons and Striker Pack Equipment, and appear to use the same armor the Unknown unit has, with two additional Beam Sabers that have the ability to combine and form a Beam Trident."
With that the video showed different Cavaliers fighting an enemy and the Council could see the pilots going for non-lethal blows, such as removing the head and limbs of the GiNNs, and destroying their weapons. The video then froze on the Morningstar and zoomed on one of the legs.
"No doubt the ISAF used the Earth Forces presence at Heliopolis to their advantage and copied data from the program to update their own Mobile Suit Forces," Orson White commented, and soon as he said that, the zoomed in part of the ship was de-blurred and the Council members could see the name of the ship.
"Morningstar...," Eileen Canaver said for the rest of the room to hear, "An interesting name...if only we could get the name of the Earth Force's battleship now."
"We have no information on that, so for now we're just calling it the legged ship. That is all." Athrun said before saluting and then returning to his seat.
"Now that that's taken care of," The Supreme Chariman said, "We now must discuss what happened at Valhalla yesterday," he said and everyone nodded, although Rau and Athrun quirked an eyebrow at that, though no one could see the masked Commander's.
"What happened at Valhalla, sir?" Athrun said. This came as a bit of surprise to some of the council members.
"You mean you haven't heard?" Ezalia asked. "It was all over the news a short while ago."
"They were on a shuttle at the time, Ezalia, so it would make sence that they wouldn't know yet." Siegel said before sighing and looking at the two. "Not to long ago, while you and Commander Cruset were making your way here, the Scandinavian Space Colony Valhalla was attacked."
Athrun's face became one of shock while Rau's eyes squinted behind his mask.
"Attacked? Was it the Earth Forces?" Athrun asked in shock, but to his suprise, his father spoke, but in a more calmer tone than usual.
"Actually Athrun, it was not the Earth Forces," he said, "In fact, it was they, including the Legged Ship, and our Forces who were on shore leave there, actually helped the ISAF Scandinavian Defense Forces, along with the Morningstar, in pushing the attackers back,"
Athrun was shocked by this, as well as Rau, though he didn't show it. Siegel then used a remote that showed the black ships of the Triad Fleet.
"This image was taken by a ISAF prototype Stealth Mobile Suit," he said and the image zoomed in, showing the Triad insignia, "As you can see on the Texas-class carriers, the insignia clearly shows that it was Triad, not the Earth Forces who've attacked Valhalla," he finished, and if anyone saw, they could've sworn Rau was clenching his fists, and the glare that his mask hid.
"T-Triad?" Athrun asked, shocked. "The Mercenary Group? Why would they attack Valhalla?" It was Seigel who spoke up "The ISAF has given us, in addition to this footage, this intercepted message from Triad." He said as he pressed a button.
"All Forces, proceed as planned." a voice said. "Primary Targets are the ISAF's New Warship and its Mobile Suits, Secondary Objective is the Archangel and the Strike. Command says Civilians are expendable."
Everyone was either clenching a fist, growling, or trying to remain composed as they heard that. Louise Lietner heard the name of the second ship, and also one of the G-Weapons, and spoke for the rest of them.
"So the Legged-Ship's name is Archangel. Hm, a powerful name for the E.A.'s new toy," she said, and everyone nodded in agreement, but then became confused when they heard Triad's being the ship and the Strike.
"Wait, why would they target the Archangel and the Strike?" Tad asked. "Triad ususally only works for Blue Cosmos, why would they want their prototype units destroyed?"
"That is another thing with the message." Siegel said sighing. "You best brace yourselves everyone, because according to the information we were given...the pilot of the Strike, is a Coordinator."
Everyone in the room, with the exception of Athrun and Rau, with the former wincing a bit, and Rau remaining emotionless, all had looks of shock.
"A Coordinator!" Ezalia said in shock.
"What's a Coordinator doing with the Earth Forces?" Orson said, said wondering the same way as anyone else.
"According to the report," Seigle said "He's a Civilian from Heliopolis, and was caught in the crossfire of the attack. He was forced to pilot the Strike in order to protect himself and his friends in the colony. He's not with the Earth Forces, he's just working with them to keep his friends who were forced to evacuate into the Archangel safe. Blue Cosmos probably didn't like the idea of a Coordinator working with the E.A and piloting thier new toy, so they wanted to cover it up before anyone found out."
This once again shocked the whole council. A Coordinator, a civilian at that, was piloting one of the E.A's Newist Mobile Suit?
"What is his name?" Orson asked, and Siegel looked at the report. "It says here his name, is Kira Yamato." When Patrick heard this, he rose an eyebrow and glanced at his son, who was trying hard not to flinch.
"Athrun? Isn't that one of the friends from Copernicus you told me about?" he asked his son who nodded stiffly.
"Yes. And the pilots for the Rogue and Vigilante are my two other friends, Kyle Matsutani, and Arleen Bettany," he said and the Council was suprised to hear that.
"Admiral Matsutani's son, and Council Governor Bettany's daughter?" Eileen said, clearly suprised as she knew the two men, through their wives, and their children in the past.
Siegel was the one to respond,"Yes, Kyle seems to have studied in Aeronautical Engineering and history, while Arleen has a major in political science and history, just like their parents." He said.
"Hmm, an odd coincidence if you ask me." Tad said. "But what else do we know about Kira?"
"Other than he's a prodigy in the computer field according to the reports, and he's a First Generation Coordinator, not much." Siegel said, "And according to one report, he re-wrote the entire O.S. on the Mobile Suit in less than 2 minutes while engaging a GiNN,"
The council members were shocked by that, knowing that their best computer hackers weren't that fast!
"T-Two Minutes while fighting a GiNN?" Ezalia asked, shocked. "That's Impossible!"
"Look at it yourself, Ezalia, the proof is right here." Tad said. Yuri meanwhile looked at Athrun and said "Well, it seems your Friend Kira is extremely well skilled in Computers Athrun." He said. Athrun nodded at that.
"Yes he was, he was top of the class back on Copernicus, it was no suprise he would enter Morgenroete with his skills," he answered honestly.
Meanwhile, Rau was thinking about said Strike pilot, and came up with a theory.
'Kira Yamato...could it really be one of the children from Mendel? I know Dr. Hibiki was killed in the fire, and that the rest of the staff were all killed by Blue Cosmos,' he thought as he remembered that day very well, although the officila report said that Dr. Ulen Hibiki and almost all of his research staff were massacred by Blue Cosmos, he was the one who started the fire that killed the geneticist.
Although Ulen's wife, Via, managed to escape, since her body was nowhere to be found. Rau allowed himself a small smile, that went unoticed by the others 'What luck.' He thought. 'I never thought I would gain a chance to elliminate Ulen's legacy from this world...Kira Yamato.'
Back to the Council, Athrun asked the question that he knew he had to ask. "Sirs, I must know." he said. "But...how many people were killed in the Valhalla attack?"
The Council were a little uneasy about answering that question. But the Chairman of the PLANTs just gave a tired sigh.
"According to estimates, Pilot Athrun, there are 800 people killed along with 120 military personell," he said and the reaction from Athrun was instant as he turned as white as a ghost, "The number of injured is 1,500 people and the military wounded numbers 260," he finished and Athrun couldn't take it as he sat on the chair in the room.
Memories from what happened at Junius 7 crossed through his mind, and more recently the attack on Heliopolis.
The Words Kira said to him in that battle ran through his head, "How many more people need to die until you and your Father are satisfied?"
He placed a hand on his head as Kira's as well as Kyle's and Arleen's words reverberated in his skull.
'Kira. Kyle. Arleen. What should I do?' where his thoughts as Siegel continued.
"Also, I have recieved word from the President of Antarctica herself that the ISAF Security Council, with permission from the respective governments, has voted that Triad has become a threat to public safety, and must be eradicated," he said, "I for one believe that we should do the same, and issue orders to all ZAFT Forces that Triad are to be treated as enemies to the PLANT's."
The other councilmembers nodded their heads "I agree." Patrick said. "I for one believe Triad could easily be worse than the E.A or Blue Cosmos, since they only fight for money, and as Valhalla proved, they care little for who gets caught in the crossfire."
Siegel nodded and then pressed a few button on the table, "Also, we should inform our forces to be on the lookout for this Mobile Suit," he said and the Council Members saw a strange Mobile Suit that was fighting a Patriot.
"What in God's name is that thing?" Ezalia said in fright at seeing the machine. Siegel could only shake his head.
"We have no idea. This was taken by one of our pilots in Valhalla's Commercial District," he said, "The ISAF High Command has given it the Codname: X, due to the red X on it's chest. They have ordered their troops to be on the look-out for it, but not to engage until further orders," he said and everyone agreed at that.
"If Triad could build something like this, then that could mean...," Orson began which was finished by Patrick.
"Then their next step will be to Mass Produce them, yes." He said as he glared at the image of the X. "I believe we should issue out similar orders to our troops...This Triad Mobile Suit should be on the same threat level as the E.A's G Weapons."
"I agree with Patrick on this one," Tad said with a nod. "But what I would really like to know is how Triad built something like this without anyone knowing about it."
Everyone seemed to nod at that as they had many theories about the concealment of the X.
"It could be they had people on the inside of each of the three factions, and paid them to keep us in the dark," Louise growled out.
"That could be one possibility, Louise," Yuri said, "But don't forget they are mostly hired by Blue Cosmos, so they must have had a hand in this, they probably used some data from the G-Weapons to build this machine."
"True," Tad said before he switched the subject. "So what about Artemis? I heard that Zar and Kati's foces managed to successfully capture the station."
Seigle nodded "Yes, Zar sent me the Report." he said. "But in addition to its capture, they also managed to capture several Eurasian-Built Mobile Suits, ones similar to the E.A's G-Weapons." everyone became concerned at that as Siegel again pressed a button, and the images of the Eurasian Federation G-Weapons.
"According to the pilots who defected to our side, they are called Hyperions" the Chairman said, "Another was destroyed, while the last one had Maintenance problems. They are salvaginn what they can of the destroyed unit as we speak, but overal it appears these units have the ability to use the same Lightwave Barrier tech that Artemis used, allowing them to project shields around them which can last a whole 8 minutes before needing to recharge the energy battery. In the battle, we managed to successfully capture not only the three prototypes, but a few of the Mass Production types called Hyperion G's."
"What are we going to do with them?" Rau asked, curious.
"Well, we will of course keep some of the units for ourselves." Patrick said. "But some of them will also be given to the ISAF, along with the tech behind Artemis's shield. After what happened at Heliopolis, we hope that this will ease tensions between ZAFT and the ISAF."
Everyone nodded in agreement at that.
"Yes, it's probably for the best. Furthermore, before this meeting is adjourned, I wish to inform you that it is discovered, not only by our best doctors, but the ISAF's as well, that over half of the Third Generation of Coordinators will be sterile," he said much to the shock of everyone in the room, "In response to this, the ISAF has requested that a team of the best doctors and geneticists from our respective sides be formed to deal with this crisis," he said and then pressed the intercom button near him, "Send her in please,"
Everyone was curious of who it was that Siegel called in.
"The one who will be in charge of the team is an Enhanced geneticist from the Antarctic L2 Colonies," Siegel answered the unasked question. "She's very fluent in the field, and is one of Antarctica's best geneticist. Her name is Viridia Fenette."
The door to the council chamber opened, and the occupants turned to see who it was. In stepped a woman who looked in her 30's or 40's with shoulder-length reddish brown hair, blue eyes and wearing the usual Doctors attire with black wire frame glasses.
Everyone's attention was so drawn to the woman, than none of them notice Rau flinch as his eyes behind his mask widened as he instantly recognized the woman before them. Even though her hair was dyed, and wearing blue contact lenses, he instantly recoginzed her.
'Via Hibiki!' he screamed in his mind as the woman stopped in front of the meeting table and spoke.
"Greetings honourable Council Members. As Chairman Clyne has told you, I'm Doctor Viridia Fenette, it's a pleasure to meet you all,"
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Patriot-112: And cliffhanger! Didn't expect that did ya?
117Jorn: Well I know I didn't, and I'm helping him write it!
Patriot-112: That's right!
Kira: My real Mom's...alive?
Patriot 112: Ya, we thought it would be a good idea.
117Jorn: Yup! So anyways Patriot, what's gonna happen next chapter?
Patriot-112: Well, the Archangel and the Morningstar will be searching for Lacus in the Debris Field, while back at the PLANTs Rau confronts Viridia Fenette, AKA, Via.
117Jorn: Excellent!
Patriot-112: Yep! So, see you next time!
Kira: Wait!
Patriot-112: *Blinks* What?
Kira: When will I see my mother?
Patriot-112: That would be telling, now would it? Until then, see you all later!