117Jorn: So, your saying that you never really liked your title as the 'Magic Bullet of Dusk?'
*Orlo is continuously saying 'Hey Miguel'*
Miguel: Ya, well, the reason I don't is because of this one Christmas Morning when this Raccoon…Dammit Orlo, what the hell do you want!
Orlo: Guess what?
Miguel: What?
Orlo: WE'RE IN SPACE!
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 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 and Sebastian in their depressed states 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 me and Matthew finally showed him the strange glowing power sorce of the Katana and Shadow Scythe. "Ya." I 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." I said. "What?" Ryu asked. "Well," Matthew said. "When we got the Katana and Shadow Scythe, it was in a separate room from the other Gundams were in, it was in the same room as the Akuma." I 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." I said. "Meaning there is more than a good chance that the Akuma is also equipped by one of these A.R.C's." I leaned on his back against the Katana.
"Who knows what Zaft will do if they get that tech." Matthew said. "All we can hope is that its nothing Stupid." Ryu said. I nodded as I closed the engine on the Katana. 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, Katana, Shadow Scythe, the other G-Weapons, and their newest addition the TMSF-081RWG Patriot Zero 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 Dragon. He took a deep breath, "YOU STUPID ASS MORONIC RUSTED HUNK OF JUNK!" he shouted giving the Dragon 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 me, and Jordan raised my 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, Slash and Zephyr received hard-points to mount weapons from the striker packs and some additional weapons, the Raven now has a missile armament, the Zephyr has a pair of Gatling Cannons, and the Slash has a pair of Rail guns on it's hips." Ducking under a stray piece of equipment Ryu started making his way to the Katana and Shadow Scythe 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 Katana and Shadow Scythe as per Matthew and Jordan's Request." Ryu continued. "First off, the Shadow Scythe has been given two Chest concealed 78mm Beam Gatling cannons, and it's Scythe has been modified to project not one, but two beams." He then moved towards the Katana where Jordan sat on it's foot grinning.
"Lastly is a new Katana pack Jordan requested." Ryu said. "He wanted to emphasize the meaning of the Katana, so what we did is take two of the spare Boomerages from the Sword Striker, and mount them onto the Katana's shoulders. And also, We took two Schwerz Grewhder swords, and completely remodeled them into two weapons of Jordan's design." He then gestured to Jordan who hopped off the Katana's foot and then he pointed to a pair of large swords lying next to the Katana. "May I present the MMI-600 'Dauntless' Anti-Ship Swords." He said. "What make's them different from the Schwerz Grewher sword on the Strike is that they have three new features. One: they, like the swords on the Katana, can combine to form a duel-bladed sword. Two: they can also combine to form one single sword that can cut clean through a Nazca if I wanted It two. And finally, three: They can function underwater."
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. Anyways, I've named the new pack: The Katana Knight Pack."
"Katana knight pack?" Kira repeated, raising an eyebrow. Jordan just shrugged. "It sounds cool to me." He said.
Ryu then made his way back to the Dragon and Predator. "As per Sebastian's request, we gave his Predator a spare Katana sword like the one we mounted on the Strike." Ryu said. "As For the Dragon 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 Dragon 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 Dragon "Are you ready to cooperate now?" he asked the suit and could of swore 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 Cruset.
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 friends names. Liz nodded. "Good to see your 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 Sarah?" 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 Sarah with all his heart. But he's too scared about how Sarah 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. "Sarah 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. "Its 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 Sarah 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 Sarah's best friend. Anything she thinks about she tells me. 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?"
Bridge
"Do you want the bad news or the worse news first?" Sebastian said to Murrue.
"How about good news?" Murrue replied.
"If I had any good news, I would have told you, Lieutenant. Things are pretty bleak. Ship's provisions are running dangerously low."
"We can stretch the food supply for a while with smaller rations, but it's the water I'm worried about. Without it, we're pretty much done for" Mu said grimly.
"It didn't help that we were prevented from resupplying at Artemis," Natarle said.
"Thank the Le Creuset team for that one, they're like a pit bull, once they latch on, they don't let go" Sebastian said, "However, with all the confusion, we've got some breathing room, but not for long. They will catch up to us sooner or later."
"This will not do," said Murrue, "We need options, and we need them now."
"What's our current course?" Sebastian asked Neumann.
"This sir, it takes us pretty close to the Debris Belt, but we'll avoid most of it." Neumann said.
"Mr. Neumann, prepare to change course, bearing 315 mark 210 we're going in", Sebastian said, his voice determined.
"Are you out of your mind!" Natarle snapped, "Certainly you of all people know how dangerous the Debris Belt is!"
"I'm fully aware of how dangerous the belt is!" Sebastian snapped back, "But it's also our best chance for survival! Lieutenant, you asked for options. I'm giving you one, and right now, it's all we have. If anyone has any other ideas, I'm wide open."
"Commander Connor is right, this is our only option" said Mu, "With all the destroyed starships, there's bound to be water on a few of them, I seriously doubt the crews will mind."
"Actually Lieutenant La Flaga, the place I have in mind for us to salvage is very specific, we'll find enough water to last us to the moon, and then some."
"Mr. Neumann, follow the course," Murrue said finally.
"Yes, ma'am" the helmsman said.
"Once arrive at our destination, we best hurry, get what we need, and get out. We may have lost the Le Creuset team at Artemis, but I wouldn't be surprised if other ZAFT forces were nearby" Sebastian said.
Debris Belt
Sebastian would have laughed at his earlier statement if had known that ZAFT vessels were in fact at the very location where the Archangel was headed, One of these vessel he would have immediately recognized. The Nazca-class battleship, Dark Tooth, painted in a dark brownish-gray, with mottled spots, hovered idly near the shattered remains of Junius Seven, escorted by a Lurassia class Frigate. They had been on an inspection tour as a prelude to the memorial ceremony to commemorate the one year anniversary of the disaster.
Captain Harrison Macleod, 48, stood on the darkened bridge of his ship, his standard issue black uniform melding with the shadows. While he was master of the ship, standing next to him was his superior officer, an 18 year old man wearing ZAFT commander's white , with sandy brown hair, and a sadistic gleam in his emerald green eyes. Both men were looking at the recent dispatch from ZAFT Headquarters, and the man in red gave off a scoffing laugh.
"So, the Storm Wolf of Jachin Due has hitched a ride on the Earth Forces' new ship and is flying one of their new mobile suits? My, my, my, how low we have sunk", the commander said, "And any ZAFT forces who encounter him are ordered to kill him? No problem for me, I would have done anyway. This just makes it easier. Remind me to thank Councilor Zala for the present."
Kyle Evans, the Grimaldi Hyena, commander of the Hyenas team, and self-proclaimed rival to Sebastian, sneered, "I've always known that Connor was weak, now he's proven it by joining our very enemies, I suppose it makes sense for the Natural lover to join the Naturals!"
The animosity between the Storm Wolf of Jachin Due and the Grimaldi Hyena had extended to their respective teams as well. Even though they had been on the same side, it was a given that if they had all been left in a room together, there would have been 28 dead bodies when it was all said and done, because they would have gone out of their way to kill each other.
"The Le Creuset team has been tracking them since they left Heliopolis, but they lost track of them after Artemis" Macleod noted.
"Le Creuset's loss is our gain, besides if anyone's going to kill Sebastian Connor, it's going to be me!" Kyle said, "Captain Macleod, prepare to move out, we're going hunting!"
"You might want to hold off on that sir! I don't think we'll have to look far!" the radar officer called, "an unidentified vessel has entered the region, it matches the description given of the vessel the Le Creuset team was pursuing. It's got to be them!"
A sinister grin crossed Kyle's face, "Someone must really like me! Have they detected us?"
"Negative sir, the debris is wreaking havoc on our radar. It was by chance I saw them. I don't know how good their radar is, but if they had detected us, they would have done something by now, and it's just cruising along."
"Move us into the Debris Belt and power down. Let's see what the Storm Wolf and his Natural friends are up to. We'll wait until they pass by, and then we blow them out of the sky! Game over, Storm Wolf!"
Archangel, Bridge
The Archangel traveled through the Debris Belt for three hours, and the whole time Sebastian never left his spot on the bridge, next to the primary view port silently staring out into space among the junked heaps, when finally."We've arrived!" Sebastian called, drawing Murrue from her chair to the Storm Wolf's side, "You wanted water, THERE'S all the water we'll need!" Murrue could hear the rising emotion in his voice.
"Excuse me for stating the obvious, but that looks like the remains of a PLANT-class colony out there" Mu said.
"You're right Lieutenant La Flaga, that's exactly what it is" Sebastian said, tears in his eyes and a lump in his throat.
"Where did you bring us, Commander?" Murrue said gently. Sebastian's reply was one choked out word, "Home."
"Home?" Natarle said, "What do you mean by home?"
"It drifted out here after the events of last year, carrying with it the 243,721 souls that went down with it, including the 107 members of my family", Sebastian said.
"Junius Seven", Murrue said, suddenly realizing.
"Exactly right, Lieutenant" Sebastian said, not bothering to hide his emotions, "This is the shattered remains of Junius Seven. All those who died are still over there I bet." Sebastian gazed at the shattered remains of the colony, and wiped the tears away, "That place has copious amounts of water, no doubt frozen due to exposure to space. What we need for ourselves won't even put a dent in its supply."
"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.
Sebastian 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?"
"Seb'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."
"Lieutenant, as long as we're here, we should have some kind of memorial service. It would be right to pay our respects" Natarle said, even as by the book as she was, Natarle wasn't cold.
"I think that's exactly what we should do", Sebastian said, and Ryu nodded. "Now that I think of it, the official ZAFT memorial ceremony will be in another twelve days, because that will be exactly one year since the Bloody Valentine."
Murrue nodded reluctantly in agreement "That is true, Are the mobile suits ready to be launched?" she 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 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, Sebastian and Mu both saluted and coursed "Yes ma'am." Turning they 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 Guys?" Mu asked cautiously "You can sit this out if you need to."
Ryu and Sebastian both shook their heads "No it's alright." Ryu answered "It'll be a bit troublesome but I can deal with it."
"And I've already seen it." Sebastian said. "Nothing new. I should know."
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."
"Damn straight." Sebastian said as he patted his back.
Ryu smirked at the two 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, Kira and Sarah where sitting on the comfy chairs gossiping with each other, Matthew was talking to Liz, both of them grinning making Ryu suspicions, but he ignored it, while Jordan was just looking at the Music Player trying to find a good song to play.
"Pilots listen up!" Ryu called out getting the six 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.
"Are you sure, you guys? That's a gravesite, it would be wrong," Sarah said.
"Sarah, as a son of Junius Seven, I know for a fact that this is what they would want. All we're taking is enough water for us to survive. If my family was alive and we had told them about our situation, they wouldn't have just given us water, they would have insisted on feeding us as well. Grammy always had to be sure I was eating right" Sebastian grinned.
"Liz, Chris, Jordan, Matthew I can understand if you wish to sit this one out." Ryu said.
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."
Jordan glanced at Matthew, who nodded. "We'll go out too." He said. "We're fine."
"Though, sir." Matthew said. "When we launch…their something I need to do."
Ryu nodded in acceptance "Very well, Matthew, you can. Just be sure to take Jordan or one of the others with you. 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."
The six nodded and Mu, Sebastian, Liz, Chris, Sarah, Jordan and Matthew 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."
Dark Tooth, Bridge
"Status of the legged ship?" Kyle asked.
"It's come to a full and complete stop near the colony," The radar officer reported, "they're launching shuttles and they're heading down to the colony."
"What are they up to?" Macleod said.
"Harrison, you're guess is as good as mine. Not that I really care at all" Kyle said.
"Sir wasn't Commander Connor from Junius Seven?" the communications officer asked.
"Yeah, what about it?" Kyle asked.
"The reason we're here is to inspect the colony remains in preparation for the memorial in two weeks. It could be just as simple as Commander Connor wanting to pay his respects to his home."
"Likely, but there's got to be something more to it than just that. They wouldn't have come specifically here without a reason" Kyle said.
"Shall we move to intercept?" asked Captain Macleod.
"No, let's see what Connor and his little Natural friends are up to first" said Kyle.
Archangel, Bridge
The salvage operation had gone off without any problems, but the tense feeling still remained. The salvage crews had returned to the Archangel, and were now all present on the bridge, in readiness for a small memorial to the people of Junius Seven.
Sebastian, Mu, and surprisingly, Flay of all people, were now in a shuttle hovering fifty meters ahead of the Archangel's bow. Flay held in her arms a collection of paper flowers that the crew and refugees made, she let them go and they spread out through space.
"May we remember all those who died on February 14th, C.E. 70" Sebastian said in a solemn voice, "They will never be forgotten, NEVER!" and with that, Sebastian drew his gun, and fired a single shot. He then drew his blade and saluted with it, "Love you, mom and dad" Sebastian added quietly. Flay turned her helmeted head to the Storm Wolf and offered a sympathetic gaze, and put her hand on Sebastian's shoulder.
"Lieutenant Ramius, I know I said that I wanted to get in and out, but it occurred to me that I left some personal effects at my old house, seeing how that I'm here, I'd like to request permission to go and retrieve them. I won't take long."
"Very well, Commander Connor, but be quick" said Ramius.
"Flay, we'll take you back to the ship, although I will need Lieutenant La Flaga to come with me" Sebastian said.
"Wait," Flay said, "I'd really like to come along. I-I want to see where you lived."
"Your call" Mu said, Sebastian considered this for a moment, before finally giving a brief nod."
"Fair enough, Flay. You can come" said Sebastian, "Although there isn't really much left to my home. Archangel, we'll be back in ten." And the shuttle raced off towards the colony debris.
With Jordan And Matthew
The Katana and Shadow Scythe flew across the repaints of Junius seven. I almost couldn't stand it. Everywhere I looked…I saw bodies floating around…men…women…Children…
The children alone made me want to hurl. Ever since that day the Colony was first destroyed, I thought…how could people do this? How can humanity hate each other so much too commit such an act of hate. Just because our genes were different. Just the thought of it made me sick.
"Jordan, you alright?" Matthew asked on the Comm. "You look alittle pale."
I smiled grimly back at him. "I'm…fine Matt." I said. "Just…I just cant…"
"You don't have to say it." Matthew said. "If you want…you can-"
"Matt, I'm fine." I said, cutting him off. "I can do this."
Matthew nodded. "So, exactly what are we doing here?" I asked.
"Hang on, we're almost there." Matthew said, not really answering my question.
The Shadow Scythe suddenly landed in front of one of the numerous houses. Oddly, there wasn't as many floating bodies around here. A thing I was happy for.
I landed the Katana next to the Shadow Scythe just as Matthew exited the cockpit, carrying one of the Paper flowers that were made.
When I exited the Cockpit, I stood next to Matthew as he stared at the house we landed in front of.
"I'm back." Matthew said suddenly. I 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, I could see tears forming in his eyes, as they floated within his helmet.
That was when it hit me, and my 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…" I tried to say something, anything to help my Older brother…but honestly, what could I have said?
"This Is why you need to tell her how you feel, Jordan." Matthew said as he headed towards the Shadow Scythe. "Because if you don't…you may never get the chance."
Matthew boarded the Shadow Scythe, and took off, while I simply stood there, thinking about what had just happened.
Junius Seven Remains.
The shuttle flew on just above the streets of the shattered colony. The three passengers were silent during the trip. Mu was piloting, and Sebastian was leaning back in his chair, eyes closed, this scene is far from new to him. Flay could only look out the window and see the debris floating in zero gravity. She saw a body, and then another, and another, soon they were all over the place. With each deceased body, each extinguished life, Flay's anti-Coordinator sentiments dissolved further.
This is wrong, Flay thought, Coordinator or not, no one here deserved this fate. She began to cry softly, cry for those that had needlessly lost their lives due to fear and prejudice.
"Is it sinking in?" a steady voice said, Flay noticed one of Sebastian's eyes was open, a small, sad smile on his face.
"It's so wrong," Flay said, "all these people, dead just like that."
"Imagine how I feel. I was here when the nuke went off. The worst part is that I could have prevented this from happening." This got both Flay and Mu's attention.
"You really mean that?" Mu said, turning around in his seat.
"Yes I do, Lieutenant La Flaga. I had the mobile armor carrying the nuke in my sights. I fired two seconds too late. The mobile armor was destroyed, but it was a moot point. The missile was already underway. I tried to catch it, but I was intercepted by other mobile armors. All I could do was watch as the nuke slammed into the colony…" Sebastian then saw a street sign he knew very well, IVY LANE, "We're close! This is my street!" Sebastian glued himself to the window. Silently thanking God for giving the distraction before his memories of the day overwhelmed them, "Here! Right here!"
Mu set down the shuttle in front of a gray stone ranch house. The three explorers stepped out and slowly approached as if it were a holy place.
"So this is where you lived?" Flay asked.
"1212 Ivy Lane. Home sweet home" Sebastian said bittersweet.
"I hate to do this, but we did promise the ship we'd hurry" Mu said, eager to just get out of there.
"What I need is in my room, you can remain here Lieutenant, keep the engines warm. Flay, you can stay here if you want or you can come with me, it's up to you."
"I'll go, I want to," Flay said, true courage in her voice. Sebastian simply extended his arm in a "let's go" gesture. The two of them walked to the cheerfully painted kelly green front door. Sebastian mustered up his strength and pushed open the door. The then stepped inside, the first sight that greeted them was the dead body of a middle aged man in his early fifties, with thinning dark brown hair that was in the middle of turning gray, Lifeless blue eyes matching Sebastian's own.
"Let me guess, your father?" Flay said, to which the Storm Wolf said nothing. He merely reached out and closed his father's eyes.
"Come on, Flay. What we need is in my room. It's at the end of the hall. Let's get what we need and get out of here."
Sebastian and Flay entered and Sebastian's room, A bookshelf lined with DVDs and old battered paperback novels sat in one corner of the room, A twin bed with tan and green bedclothes in another, dirty clothes and video game strategy guides littered the floor, a rather typical scene for any teenager.
"This is it?" Flay said, an almost disappointed tone to her voice.
"What were you expecting?" Sebastian said.
"It just seems so…normal. I was expecting something a little grander."
"Sorry to disappoint you, now there are four things I need. First, the red afghan hanging on the edge of the bed, if you may?" and Flay promptly removed it.
"This is pretty, did someone make it?" Flay asked.
"My great-grandmother, she made it by hand for me when I was six. Many a night was spent burrowed underneath it. The next thing I'm looking for is here," Sebastian opened his nightstand drawer and pulled out a small, weathered, black leather covered book, "My great-grandfather's bible. When my great-grandmother died, my grandfather passed it on to me." He then gave it to Flay, she opened it.
"It's in German", Flay said.
"I have German ancestry going back quite a bit. My great-grandfather, grandfather, and my dad all had that strong German work ethic, and it passed onto me, a good legacy to have overall. There's one more thing, and it's hovering right next to you." Flay gasped as she found herself face to face with a stuffed toy wolf floating around. Sebastian merely reached out and grabbed it from the air.
"Hey Barger, have you been a good boy?" Sebastian said to the wolf.
"You named it Barger?" Flay said incredulously, "You're talking to a stuffed animal."
"Oh come on, Flay! You probably had a ton of dolls when you were a little girl, and I bet you talked to them all to the time, am I right?" Flay's cheeks flushed slightly at Sebastian's cheeky grin, "Barger, this is Flay, say hello."
Sebastian held Barger to his face plate and moved his mouth, while saying in a falsetto voice, "rello Frey."
"Very funny," Flay said, "Is there anything else we need?"
"One more thing," Sebastian headed to a window, "That!", and pointed outside to a ZGMF-515 CGUE standing in the backyard.
"A CGUE!" Flay cried out, ready to run, but Sebastian stopped her.
"Hold on and look closer, Flay. It should be clear why a mobile suit would be here in the first place."
Flay looked closer at the machine. The CGUE was a pale gray, almost white, with a massive katana in one hand, and a large particle cannon in the other. On the left shoulder was a white wolf howling at the sky on a dark blue background, a dark cloud overhead with a lightning bolt stabbing downward behind the wolf, the unit symbol of the Storm Wolves.
"Oh my, oh Sebastian" Flay said, realization sinking in, "Of course, where else would a son of Junius Seven leave his personal machine?"
"For obvious reasons I couldn't bring it with me to Heliopolis. After I fled the PLANTS with help from the Junk Guild, they told me that they had found Junius Seven's remains, so I hid it here, a lone wolf who had lost his pack, standing guard over the shattered remains of its den."
"Commander Connor please respond!" Natarle's voice broke in the com link.
"What is it Ensign?" Sebastian said.
"We're under attack by ZAFT forces!" Natarle said, "A Nazca-class cruiser with a Lurasia-class were hiding in the debris, it was waiting for us."
"Flay, once again I'll ask you take care of my personal effects for me, get back to the shuttle, and tell Lieutenant La Flaga to take off. I'll follow in my CGUE."
"Be safe", Flay said, taking the afghan, bible, and Barger in her arms and running out the door.
Sebastian instinctively snapped into commander mode, "Ensign, how many mobile suits?"
"10, Nine GINNs, and a CGUE, The others are already engaging. Predator and the Zero are all set to launch but you and Lieutenant La Flaga need to get back here now!"
"Lieutenant La Flaga and Miss Allster are on their way back as we speak. As for me needing Predator, don't worry about it! I've already got a mobile suit! You'll see a grayish-white CGUE inbound in a few moments, tag it as friendly."
"Understood, but I'll want some answers when you get back."
"You'll get them, Storm Wolf of Jachin Due out." Sebastian ran outside to see the shuttle bearing Mu and Flay already burning a path back to the Archangel. He then took off for his old machine. After climbing into the cockpit, Sebastian noticed the ancient looking katana, the long thin case and two ZAFT style flight suits, one red, the other white-gray, plus their corresponding helmets resting on the seat.
"Okay, old friend, time to party!" Sebastian brought the CGUE online and took off into the stars, a wolf ready for the hunt.
Debris Belt, above J7 remains.
After watching the Archangel take on water, Kyle finally initiated an attack. Kyle, his three other surviving Hyenas, and 6 other suits from their escort ship launched. Like the Storm Wolves, the Evans team had taken heavy losses at Endymion, after which Kyle reorganized his team as a smaller unit, deciding it would less of a hassle that way. Right now, his spotted brown CGUE was engaged with the Strike as three similarly colored GINNS took on the Archangel itself. The remaining GINN's were fighting the other G-Weapons.
"This pilot is good…for a Natural" Kyle remarked, "A shame that it has to end so soon! Patterson! Brisco! Arthur! Finish that ship off and let's get out of here. This may get me that promotion I've been waiting for."
"Don't bet it on it!" Mu said, having made it back to the ship, and his Mobieus Zero's wired gunbarrels blasting away at the three GINNs.
"Nice try, Mu La Flaga, but too little too late! Finish them, Arthur!"
Arthur's GINN hovered at the Bridge, ready to blast it to pieces, Murrue, Natarle and the others prepared for their fate, and then, "AURRLOOO!" The piercing cry of the sovereign of the snowy north, the gray timber wolf, rang out across space. The GINN had a massive katana sticking out of its chest. Sebastian's CGUE hurled the mobile suit out into space, where it promptly exploded.
"Sorry for the close call, Archangel. Don't worry, I'll take care of it from here."
"Sure as hell took ya long enough!" Ryu shouted as he cut another GINN in half.
"It's Connor!" Brisco roared, "You'll pay for what you did to Arthur!"
"Die, Storm Wolf of Jachin Due!" Patterson added, and both GINNS charged in.
Sebastian said nothing, spinning to avoid Patterson's GINN, and then slicing it in half with the katana, and then shooting his particle cannon point-blank range at Brisco's mobile suit.
"Now for the head Hyena!" Sebastian said, he rocketed toward the fight between the spotted CGUE and the Strike, he began firing a spray of shots from the cannon.
"What the?" Kyle said, and he saw the white CGUE approach and he knew who it was and he snarled, "CONNOR!"
"EVANS!" Sebastian roared, "KIRA GET CLEAR, THIS IS BETWEEN ME AND HIM! NOW!"
"Yes sir!" Kira said, smartly deciding not to see how pissed the ace could really get. And so the stage was set, the Storm Wolf of Jachin Due, vs. the Grimaldi Hyena, CGUE vs. CGUE.
"So Evans, we meet again. Last I heard, after Endymion, you and the other Hyenas were sent to Earth. Did you just get back?" said Sebastian in his most biting tone.
"Yeah, imagine my surprise when I heard that you had gone missing in October. They said you had died, but I had a feeling that wasn't the case. The only one that's going to kill you is me!"
"Oh please, you couldn't beat me then, you won't beat me now."
"Then let's put it to the test!" Kyle roared, and the two CGUEs locked blades like two medieval knights. The two swords silently crashed in the cold of space, neither machine getting any headway.
"You're an asshole, Evans. Always has been, always will be!" Sebastian said, "You may be a great pilot, but I'm still better!" and with that, Sebastian sliced off the arms of Kyle's CGUE in one shot.
"The rest of your team is dead, I'd love to do the same to you, but I've got other problems to deal with. So bug off, you cockbiting fucktard!"
"This isn't over Connor! Not by a long shot!" and the armless CGUE, along with the only surviving GINN flew away.
"Wow, that guy really hates you," Mu remarked as the Zero, Slash, Dragon, Katana, Shadow Scythe, Raven, Zephyr and the Strike, clutching an escape pod, met up with Sebastian's CGUE.
"Gentleman, that was Kyle Evans, the Grimaldi Hyena, he's the only man I hate more than Rau Le Creuset. He's the one whom I developed the insult 'cockbiting fucktard' for. He's incredibly arrogant and bigoted to the extreme against Naturals. He just missed getting redcoat status. Despite that, he's still pretty good"
"I had my own little engagement with him once." Ryu said with a chuckle at the end. "Killed a good part of his squad at the time."
"So you're the one that killed those guys." Sebastian said. "No wonder Kyle was so pissed."
"Let's get back to the ship, I'm beat" Mu said.
"That goes double for me," Sebastian said, "By the way, Kira. Where did that escape pod come from?"
"I found it on my way back to the ship, I didn't want to leave it behind. Even if Ensign Badgiruel disagrees" Kira said with a small laugh. And the pilots returned to the Archangel.
Archangel, Hanger
Sebastian, and the others had changed back into their uniforms, and were with the rest of the crew now gathered around the escape pod that the Strike had been brought in.
"You certainly have a talent for retrieving things others have left behind" Natarle said in an amused tone.
"Okay, I'm opening the hatch" Murdoch said, the security detail raised their rifles, and Sebastian had a hand at his blade, ready for anything, or so they thought.
The hatch opened and out floated a small pink orb the size of a baseball, flaps on his side going a mile minute and chattering constantly, "Haro, Haro, Haro, Lacus, Haro!"
Everyone was completely baffled at this, they all looked to Sebastian for an answer, but he was no help, he just stood there, the color had drained from his face, as if he had seen a ghost, when his eyes fell on the strange pink ball.
"Thank you! Your assistance is very much appreciated!" a sweet, melodic voice came.
"Son of a bitch!" Commander Sebastian Connor, along with Ryu Hisanaga both said simultaneously, and everyone turned to see a pink-haired teenage girl emerge.
"Oh my, thank you" she said, as her trip through mid air was halted by Kira. She then gasped in surprise as crystal blue eyes met cobalt blue ones. Her hands went to her face in shock and surprise, "It can't be! They said you died!"
"Hello angel," Sebastian said, "I know this is cliché, but the reports of my death were greatly exaggerated."
"Commander Connor, do you know who this is?" Natarle asked.
"Yes I do, Ensign. This is Lacus Clyne, my fiancé."