Successfully, we had delivered the cargo without even another ship being remotely close to us. I was really enjoying our time on the Sargon. The crew were exceptionally friendly and welcoming. Even if they had suspicions of me being a Coordinator nobody acted strangely around me or brought it up. Cara also had commented numerous times on the Sargon and how she enjoyed it. I considered extending my time with the ship after this mission was completed. For once, I felt –– stabilized. My life wasn't a wayward ship lost at stormy sea with no anchor. I didn't feel like I was rushing to catch up or being cascaded by the troubles of my life. Here, my former life couldn't find me. I was stationary, not in that flux of time, that fast-flowing river that swept everything I held dear to me far downstream. I was on dry land, on the luscious riverbanks basking in the strong sunlight creeping through the branches of the trees. What I thought may have seemed like a huge paradox as I was a Coordinator, in the midst of Naturals.

In our spare time, I ran simulations with the pilots on the Sargon and testing out the modifications that Daref had made to my machine. Cara joined me on all of our expeditions. She learned to use a spare mobile armour that had been set aside for her. I was impressed with how quickly she picked it up but yet, I didn't expect anything less.

And then, it happened. My life was thrown into turmoil once more.

Cara and I sat down our trays in the mess hall beside Daref and a few other young people.

"Good morning." I announced gently as we both sat down.

Daref looked over at the two of us. "Good morning Array, Cara."

Cara smiled. "Morning."

Daref swallowed his food. "Well, today is the day. We should arrive at Ptolemaeus. I hear the base sent out a few ships to escort us back once we get a little closer."

I nodded.

"So are you two going to stay with us?"

"I am not sure, I think Cara and I are considering it but–"

Suddenly, the intercom went off. "Commander Fletching, please report to the bridge immediately."

I set down my spoon slowly. That is strange. I got up from my spot. "Cara, can you take care of my tray, please?"

"Sure!" She replied happily.

The closer I got to the bridge, the more I got an eerie feeling. Soon, I found myself sprinting towards the bridge until I reached the door.

Once I stepped inside, I could tell something was off. Captain Gideon was hunched over the holographic table positioned in the back, staring at it intensely. When he heard me come in he glanced up. I saluted him and started to walk towards him.

"You wished you see me, Captain?"

"Yes, please come here."

I walked over to the screen.

Captain Gideon pointed towards a corner in the screen. "Those three dots, were not there before. They are three unidentified ships, and from what our radar is telling us, they are rather large. These are not just random ships passing through though. They are following us or maybe a better word to use would be... pursuing us."

"Are you sure?"

The Captain nodded his head. "We changed our course slightly to see what they would do, and as expected, they recalibrated theirs as well. What really scares me though is that they are catching up on us. Within the last two hour they have halved the distance between us."

I frowned at the screen in front of me intently. "How far are we from the escort?"

"They are probably still five hours away."

"Contact them immediately so we are certain of their location. Captain, I would state at this point that they are an enemy ship. In this section of space, I cannot see why three unidentified objects would be this close to us, unless it is with intention. I would also advise putting the ship–"

"Captain." One of the crew of the bridge interjected. "Another ship has just appeared, except it is coming from starboard side. It seems to be a lower class ship than the other ones."

The two of us made eye contact. "Captain, put the Sargon on level 4 alert. We cannot be certain but I would say that a battle is imminent for the Sargon."

An hour had passed by, and anxiously I stood by in the bridge, constantly checking the status and data of all information coming in. The Sargon was now at maximum speed, heading straight for the base trying to meet the escort fleet. The enemy ships were gaining on us fast. It was my worst fear, they had been identified as ZAFT ships. I once again paced towards the simulation table looking at the ships on the screen gaining distance on us with every second. I had already ran through a hundred scenarios and strategies in my head but so far, none were in our favour. Except one…

"How far till we reach the escort fleet?" I asked openly to anyone on the bridge who could answer.

"The earliest is two hours, ma'am." A woman replied.

"We need more time–" I started to mutter under my breath. "Captain Gideon, I know what they are trying to do."

"You do?" He looked at me slightly surprised.

"The ship coming in our starboard side is meant to just delay us, to intersect meeting up with the escort fleet. We know we can engage in combat with them and maybe win. But the only purpose of that ship is to delay us till the other ships can catch up. If the other ships catch up though, we have no chance of winning and they are still far enough out that the escort fleet would not reach us in time and by then they could make their getaway. Sadly, we have no other option that to engage in combat with that starboard ship, they will be on us within the hour, and the other ships will not be far behind."

"Do you have a plan, Array?"

I smiled a little to myself. I always went with the wildest options. "I think in this case, our defense will be our offense." I muttered to myself as I assessed the situation.

Captain Gideon overheard me. "What do you mean by that Array?"

"Well..." I looked at the map in front of me. "Our best defense for this ship would be to keep those mobile suits, and their ships away from the Sargon. We need to make their number one concern to be protecting their own ships and not being destroyed rather than destroying and pursuing us."

"So what does that mean for us?"

"Instead of defending our ship, we are going to do what they wouldn't expect, attack them. Full on. We will charge their ships, or at least the one ship until the others arrive."

'That seems absurd, but you might have the right idea, Array. Go on."

"My suggestion Captain would be to launch all of our mobile weapons at once, only holding two back in the hangar for... defensive purposes. I would want the armors to be more of a distraction, to make fly-by attacks on that ship, nothing too daring. While I would actually go in and cause the real damage. It is only a provisional plan, but hopefully it would buy enough time for the Sargon to slip away. or at least get to the rendezvous point with the escort fleet. It is about time that I put into action what a teacher of mine once said, 'the best defense is a good offense'," I smiled a little, glancing over at the Captain, "I am hoping that it is true."

"Well," the Captain looked up at me, "we don't have too many options, and yours seems like the most viable." The Captain pondered it for a moment. "We will do it. Array, I want you to debrief all of the pilots as you guys head out as we have limited time."

"Got it." I nodded my head, and started to walk away to make my way to the hangar. "Oh Captain..."

"Yes?" He turned around quickly.

"If you follow my plan I can promise you the safety of this ship but you need to be willing to carry out everything I say. The Sargon will dock safely in Alliance territory once again. But I can only fulfill my promise if you in return, promise to trust me."

"I have complete confidence in you, Array."

"Thank you Captain Gideon." I paged Daref in the hangar. "Daref."

"Yes?"

"Can you load me with everything you can put on my machine? And put on that battery pack booster also."

"Array, that won't be very effective for a quick getaway if you are bogged down with all that equipment."

"Trust me. Copy?"

"Copy."

I paused for a moment before I started walking out the door. "Captain, are you familiar with swans in Greek lore?"

"No, I am not. Why?"

"No reason." I smiled and saluted him, dashing off the bridge to the hangar.

I debriefed the pilots on the plan and we soon found ourselves waiting in our mobile weapons. Waiting for that moment when we would soar.

"Captain Gideon."

"Yes?"

"I need us to seem as defenceless as possible. We must not even fight back at first. We must look like our only goal is to keep pushing on, trying to escape. I would even suggest maybe shutting off a thruster or two once they start firing to make them think that they have injured us. The only way we can make it out of this is to let them think that they have the upper hand until the final moment, when we attack. Is it possible to project onto my screen a live shot of what is happening outside?"

"I think so, I will have Jessica do that for you."

"Thank you. I will tell you when to open fire and open the hangar."

"Our lives are in your hands, Array." He ended before cutting out.

I know that Captain Gideon, and I won't let this ship down.

I know I am sounding like the needy author already but I would love to hear your thoughts on this story so far. Encouragement and constructive criticism are both appreciated. Also if you are enjoying it, please become a follower!