Strike Reborn

Me: (on phone) What do you MEAN, you didn't recover any of my computer's data?! I was told that the data files, particularly the open office ones, were being backed up! Why does my computer look like it's completely fresh of the market?! (gets no response) (screams in frustration)

Athrun: You, erm, kinda walked into that one. Why didn't you back your data up?

Me: (whines and puts head in hands) Go away. I'm busy being depressed. (whimpers) All that writing, totally gone...

Athrun: (awkwardly puts a hand on my shoulder) That doesn't really help...I would know.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed. The bloody movie would have been made by now if I did.

Chapter 10: Reinforcements

"What do you suppose the coffin pod was for? Why jettison it back there?"

"I figured she was a relative of his. He did it for a reason, and I doubt he wants to talk about it." A shrug. "Funny, they didn't look much alike. Eh, it happens sometimes – met a kid who was blonde despite having red haired parents."

Mu heard the banter from the engineers as he entered the hanger. It would have been midnight, if they had been on Earth in that very moment, but there were still people milling around, interacting with both the machines and each other. Insomnia wasn't that uncommon aboard military vessels; sometimes, the stress of waiting for an attack – or just knowing that one might come tomorrow – was enough to keep everyone from sleep until it was absolutely physically necessary. He was following a suspicion that was blooming after surreptitiously checking on the teenagers and discovering one of them was missing.

They're talking about that woman, he realized, recalling the body of the blue haired lady that Kira Yamato had brought back from Junius. He hadn't said anything about her except that 'she deserves to be buried at home'; even Natarle seemed to understand that interrogating him on the matter was pointless.

If he picked now to move her body, then he's leaving her for ZAFT to find. And didn't that raise all sorts of questions – more so than the boy already collected thus far.

Mu floated over to his Mobius Zero and looked up. Sure enough, the Strike's cockpit was open and he could hear the rattling of a keypad echoing in the quiet. Shaking his head, he pushed off towards it, catching onto the side of the Strike's head and moved down so he was standing on the open hatch.

Kira blinked twice and looked up at him. "Lieutenant la Flaga?" He asked, sounding perfectly alert with no signs of drowsiness. "You're up late."

"I was about to say the same thing. Ye gods, kid, don't you ever sleep?" Mu asked, examining the young man's face. He couldn't see shadows under his eyes, but coordinators had much better endurance than the average natural, so maybe it just wasn't visible.

"Couldn't relax my mind." Kira responded with a faint shrug. "Figured that if I couldn't go to sleep, I might as well do something constructive." He pointed at the computer. "I want to see if I can integrate all three weapons packs on the Strike at once."

Mu started, then put one hand under his chin. "Huh. That could be helpful, I suppose, but it would probably drain the battery in half the time."

Kira grimaced. "I've run a couple simulations so far and that's the biggest problem I'm facing; power needs to be redistributed – if each pack has its own battery, it wouldn't matter. Unfortunately, if we're going to do a major refit I'd have to rely on Mr Murdock to get everything perfect. Athrun was the hardware expert, not me – I major in programming."

"Athrun?" Mu repeated. There was a name he hadn't heard before – at least, not from Kira or the other Heliopolis kids. However, it did sound familiar somehow...

More interesting was Kira's reaction when he heard the question. He visibly balked, looking mortified, before quickly rearranging his expression into something more neutral. "Oh. Athrun was my first friend, from when I lived on the moon. He's a coordinator like me; back then we were inseparable. Even when we were little, he was incredible with machines." He smiled and indicated the robotic bird that was almost always perched on his shoulder. "He made Birdy for me, actually – gave it to me right before he moved to the PLANTs."

"Impressive. He had to be, what, seven or eight when he made that?" Even by general coordinator standards, that was a pretty intricate piece of machinery.

"Yeah." Kira let out a sigh that was warm, unmistakably fond, and wistful all at once. Then he went back to typing. "I miss him."

Somehow, Mu got the sense that comment was loaded. There was something about Athrun that Kira didn't want him to know...

"You should try to sleep again," The Hawk said after a moment of thought. If Kira wasn't comfortable talking about someone, that was his business. He didn't think that it would be threatening to the ship, given everything that Yamato had done to prove himself already. Once Kira felt comfortable talking about it, he would talk about it – he was a very honest kid at heart. "The Advanced Fleet is close."

Kira seemed to wince slightly. "I remember. I'll be alright, Lieutenant."

"Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should," Mu chided. "Maybe coordinators have super non-insomnia powers, but I'd rather you didn't fall asleep at your controls the next time you have to fight three Gundams simultaneously."

The kid managed a laugh at that. "Well, I suppose that wouldn't end well, would it?" Finally yielding to logic, he shut down the Strike's computer systems and stepped out of the machine.

"All three packs, huh?" Mu mused, turning to give the Strike a final look before floating after the young man. "That would be one mean fighting machine." Then he launched himself back toward the door, following Kira into the hallways.

"Can I ask you something, kid?" Kira hummed in acceptance. "Who was that woman you brought back from Junius?"

His shoulders tensed again. "The mother of a friend," He responded after a couple of seconds of thought. "It...I couldn't just leave her there."

Hmm...all of a sudden, one puzzle piece that forged the enigma of Kira Yamato clicked into place. "Was she Athrun's mother, by any chance?" Mu guessed.

The young coordinator flinched, then nodded slowly. "Yes."

"I see." This must be difficult for you; working on an Atlantic Federation ship with that kind of baggage. But I have a sneaking suspicion that even if you are tired and afraid, you're not going to let me know – are you? "Get some rest, Kira."

"Yes sir." Kira disappeared down the hallway.

**~Aboard the Vesalius~**

Lacus stepped out off the bridge, letting out a relieved sigh. Her father was glad to see her, and she had secured protection for the refugees just like Kira had asked. Her lips tugged into a sad smile as she recalled the feelings of utter bewilderment among the ship's bridge as she described the compassionate and accommodating way she had been treated by the ship's crew and the refugees, especially Miss Allster. Had the two nation alliances grown so far apart they could no longer perceive each other as possessing any gentler qualities? Could that rift no longer be mended? She shook her head. She refused to believe that; it would only feed extremists and sow tragedy. No matter what happened, everyone had to believe that there were better solutions than solely dealing death.

With that in mind, she should probably find Athrun. However bitter and hard lined Patrick Zala had become, Lacus knew her fiance didn't share his father's sentiments. It was no wonder he and Kira were such good friends.

Mister Pink floated ahead of her, chirping as she traveled the halls.

Athrun sat alone in his quarters, his attention fully on the computer screen across from him. A data stick had been plugged into it a few hours ago, though he hadn't watched every video provided yet. Kira had said that he hoped it would help him understand.

It helped. A little. Somewhat.

"Why hasn't his fever gone down?" The brunette girl on the screen asked, gently squeezing the bedridden Kira's wrist. She, another brunette boy, a blue haired boy, and a blonde were standing in a circle around the bed, while Caridad Yamato sat in a chair opposite the girl holding her son's hand. "I thought..."

"For a Coordinator to have a fever this intense, he had to have come down with something fierce. So it would take a while for him to recover." The doctor responded. "The good news is that I can't find any serious damage inside him that might be causing this, which means it should go away on its own – no need for surgery or particular medicine. Unfortunately, that means all we can really do at the moment is make him as comfortable as possible."

Kira murmured something incoherent, turning his head to the side.

"He keeps talking to himself," The brunette boy – Tolle, Caridad had said his name when he entered the hospital – noted with concern. "Are you sure he isn't hurt somehow?"

"I assure you, I've given him a thorough diagnosis and he isn't in any danger. He may be mumbling just because he doesn't have the energy to speak normally. With plenty of water and rest, he'll be back to normal."

The brunette girl – Mir (that was probably short for something), Kira had said her name when she arrived and held his hand – sighed and looked down at Kira. "I'm holding you to that," she said. "I'm not used to going to school and finding your seat empty." Was she his girlfriend? Athrun had trouble picturing Kira with a girlfriend; not because he thought Kira didn't deserve one or anything silly like that; it was just...hard to imagine? For some reason? His mind briefly skittered back to Kira's cut off comment at their last meeting and quickly shook his head.

"He'll be fine, Mir," Tolle said optimistically, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Kira's tougher than we give him credit for sometimes."

"Is there anything we can do for you, Mrs Yamato?" The blonde asked Caridad. She smiled weakly and shook her head, saying 'thank you Sai'. "Alright, but if something does come up, let us know – we'll do what we can."

That video ended. Athrun leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes momentarily. So Kira hadn't been alone. Kira had people who cared about him and were looking out for him. There was a tug of jealously in his heart, which he quickly dismissed as ridiculous and irrational; Kira was perfectly capable of having other friends; he was such a kindhearted person that it made sense that people were drawn to him. If anything, he was glad that Kira had come out of the shell he'd been surrounded by when he was a child to be comfortable hanging out with other people. He hadn't replaced Athrun, their encounters so far across space had proven that.

The return of his mother had proven that.

Athrun immediately buried his face in his hands, having made the mistake of letting his mind turn to his mother's corpse now resting in a sealed-off room in preparation for being returned to the PLANTs. She'd been found in a damaged escape pod with the file numbers removed; away from the ruins of Junius. Athrun knew immediately who had arranged this. He thought he'd been prepared for the shock. But seeing her in her makeshift coffin – she was almost perfectly preserved, exactly as he remembered her – put paid to that. He hadn't expected to ever be able to bury her, had thought she'd float forever in the cold vacuum of space.

He had touched her hand and burst into tears; the other officers had promptly vacated the room and allowed him to weep until he'd purged some of his grief.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose and taking deep breaths to steady himself, Athrun returned his attention to the videos and clicked on of the few he hadn't seen yet. This one took place aboard the Archangel; it seemed to have been pulled from surveillance cameras.

Kira was floating down the hallway when the four showed up again, this time in Earth Alliance uniforms. Looking slightly surprised, he came to a stop and said, "Guys?"

"Hey Kira," Sai said. "I know you're in a hurry, but we thought we'd let you know we've got your back."

Kira eyed their uniforms, biting his lip in the typical way of nervousness. "You volunteered? Guys...I wouldn't have asked-"

"We know you wouldn't," Miriallia interrupted, a light smile on her face. "So we did it anyway. The ship's undermanned, and you're already doing your part. So we figured we should do the same." she reached out and grabbed Kira's wrist, looking for all the world like a big sister. "You're not alone out there, Kira."

"Yeah, but don't you think the ZAFT uniforms are cooler?" Tolle asked innocently. "They get green and red and white, while Mir is stuck with pink. These seem kinda lame in comparison."

"Alright, wise guy," The officer behind him snapped, annoyed. Tolle blinked and ducked his head sheepishly, while Miriallia giggled at him and Kuzzy Buzzkirk looked nervous but somewhat resolute.

Kira blinked twice, smiled at Tolle's antics, then bowed his head in gratitude. "Thank you."

Lacus, standing in the doorway, decided this was as good a time as any to present herself. "That about sums those five up," She remarked. Athrun started in his chair and stood up, surprise and relief in his face. It was only her. "I ate most of my meals with them and Kira while I was on board."

Athrun cast a hesitant look at the screen, his mind going back to what Kira said. I hope this will explain, a little. He supposed that it did – Kira did have good friends aboard the Archangel; the Captain and the Lieutenant showed no signs of using them as hostages and actually offered them significant autonomy, up to and including helping manage the ship. The Orb refugees Kira had rescued and brought aboard were also being well treated; there had been a video of Lacus singing for them. Once Athrun had gotten over the rush of nausea that had come with realizing he had attacked a ship with civilians aboard (only slightly mitigated in that the Archangel had made no announcements of having picked any up before now), he had been the one to pass that information along to the Gamow, given that they would be taking the next run at the 'Legged Ship'. "Is that right..."

Lacus looked sympathetically at him and put a hand on his shoulder. "You look tired, Athrun."

"Of course I am," Athrun muttered, raking one hand through his hair. "Understanding everything doesn't make this situation any more comfortable for me!"

It still meant Kira was on an Atlantic Federation warship; and maybe this crew wasn't hardline, maybe they were just recruits who wanted to protect their homes, but they were headed for the Moon base or Alaska, and the people there would have Kira's head on a pike! Even if he didn't officially enlist, the people at Alaska wouldn't be interested in letting the 'miracle pilot' leave their service. They'd keep him as long as he was useful to them, force him to do terrible things, and...

He pressed his fingers into his palm. "Athrun, I lo..." That sentence fragment had been echoing in his mind like the shock waves of an explosion.

Had Kira really started to say that? God, why here? Why now? Why, when they were separated like this?

"I should have taken him with me," Athrun muttered. "He was a foot away from me, in the Heliopolis hanger...I could have reached him and taken him to the Aegis. I could have! I was so stunned to see him there...by the time I tried, that woman had recovered."

Lacus said nothing, just squeezing his shoulder gently. She was a little worried for Kira herself, though personally she had the impression that Kira wasn't just quick with a mobile suit, but canny as well. She was almost certain that not only had Kira already considered this, but had no intention of letting himself be trapped.

Athrun hadn't seen up close the way Kira could smile, act deferential, and get exactly what he wanted with no one the wiser. At least, not yet.

**~Back on the Archangel, a few hours later~**

"Hey, Kira! The Advance Fleet has arrived!"

Kira leaned against the wall, focusing on keeping his expression level so Kuzzy wouldn't become concerned. "Flay must be excited. She said her father was on board the flagship." He said. I'm not worried, knowing that I'm within shouting distance of a high ranking member of Blue Cosmos. Definitely not. Hopefully if he told himself that enough times, it would become true.

**~On the Deck~**

"We received your transcripts and your casualty reports. It has been a rough journey for you, up until this point." Captain Augustus Koopman addressed Murrue, held tilted in sympathy for their struggles. "The fact that the ship and the Strike are both in well working order speaks volumes for the capability and dedication of the crew and pilot."

Vice Minister George Allster spoke up then, his expression set. "Speaking of the Strike's pilot, where is he? The Coordinator boy?" There was some thinly veiled distaste when he said 'Coordinator', but it was mixed in with an odd sense of urgency.

Murrue blinked. "I believe Kira Yamato in the mess hall, with his fellow Orb refugees."

George Allster frowned. "An officer should always be on deck when their superiors arrive."

"But he's not technically an officer," Murrue protested, a sinking feeling coiling in her stomach. "He's only volunteering until he can be returned to his homeland."

"You mean you haven't already drafted him? After he defeated six of ZAFT's aces in pitched combat?" Allster sounded annoyed. "He's far too useful to us to be considered a loose end. If he hasn't already agreed to enlist, we shall...entice him to do so."

End Chapter

I can't say I'm entirely happy with this chapter, but loosing all my data like that was...really, really dispiriting. (winces) Yeah, establishing yourself as a total badass was bound to cause some problems. This is one of them. The next one will become clear when the Vesalius is in range.

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