I don't own anything, except Elzam Zonbolt and the Gold Eagles
Flight of the Eagle
'Clearing up Misunderstandings'
By steinerdavion2183
Elzam's expression on his face when he came down from the zip line after exiting the cockpit of the Aquila was far from cheerful. Truth to be told, it was akin to something like an overcast sky, or worse, the prelude of a storm.
Of all the teams that Dearka could have ended up in, it had to be that bastard Rau's team. Sure, Miguel has warned me about that before, and just my luck that they are the ones that stole the G-Weapons as well. How I hate life's ironies sometimes.
He was brought out from his thoughts by a nudge on his ribs. He turned to the side and saw it was Miguel. "Yeah, buddy?"
"If you are going back to quarters, or the bridge for that matter… I think you should deal with something first." Miguel said, cocking his thumb to the side.
Elzam followed his line of sight, and saw that a group of people, including some engineering crew were hovering around the Strike. Feeling rather curious, he made his way to the crowd. Finding Chief Murdoch, he asked. "What's going on here, Chief?"
"Glad you're here, kid. The kid in the Strike won't come out, and he isn't answering any of our calls either. Lieutenant La Flaga's up there trying to coax him out, but so far he isn't having any luck either." The ship's chief engineer and mechanic replied.
Elzam concluded one thing from what the Chief had been telling him. "Oh hell…" He quickly tossed his helmet to one of the engineering crew, making sure that he caught it, before running towards the Strike.
He found Mu, half of his body in the cockpit of the Strike, talking in calming tones to the young Coordinator that was within.
"Let me guess, combat shock?" Elzam asked Mu, noticing that Kira's hands were practically holding the controls of the Strike in a death grip, knuckles already white, and he was sweating bullets. Not to mention that his face had a light greenish tone to it.
Mu just nodded and said. "Indeed… and it seems he has a pretty bad case of it too. I'm not surprised though. All of us get it, even you I suppose during our first sortie."
Elzam nodded. "Yeah… I remember being scared out of my wits, and shivering uncontrollably for a few hours straight after my first battle."
The Hawk of Endymion just grinned. "So, the famed Gold Eagle of Jachin Due isn't so invincible at all huh? Glad to hear that… anyway, I wasn't any better than you during my first sortie…. I was also pretty much trembling after making my first few kills."
Elzam and said. "I'm still human Mu, I don't recall naming myself the God of Battles… hell, if I was… I would have predicted that bastard Rau's plan to sacrifice me and my team back at Endymion. But we can swap old war stories sometimes. Right now, we have someone to take care of."
He turned to Kira and said. "Hey KIra… you alright little buddy?"
"I… I think so… oh my god, I'm going to puke…" He said weakly, as Elzam took off his young friend's helmet and placed it in front of him, and emptied his stomach, which lasted some time before he caught his breath. "Is this… is this always this bad?"
Elzam waited, and then said. "Well, the first few ones you experience are always bad… though yours is few of the worst ones I have ever seen. Come on, we'll stop by the bathroom for a moment to get your helmet and you calmed down for a moment, before bringing you to the cafeteria where you can rest for a while."
He then turned to Mu and said. "Give me a hand here will you Mu?"
The blond pilot nodded, and moved to the right side of Kira, while Elzam took the left, and waited until Kira released his death grip on the Strike's controls, before easing him out of the Strike's cockpit and then gently supported him on either side as they exited the hangar bay, stopping by to clean Kira's helmet for a while in the restroom before making their way to the cafeteria.
Archangel, Cafeteria
After having enough rest, Flay finally decided that she was well enough to eat, and she exited her room, and went to the Cafeteria, and was a bit disappointed that Mir wasn't there. Nevertheless, she looked for a tray of food and sat down on one of the empty benches, and was about to in, when she noticed three people coming in.
One was an Earth Alliance officer, with blond hair, whom she recognized as Mu La Flaga, one of the most famous people in the military. Even her father told her that much, singing the man's praises sometimes. Elzam and Kira she knew, and she sent a silent prayer of thanks for being given to at least say sorry to them.
Elzam noticed Flay in the cafeteria and groaned to himself. He did not want to deal with Miss Blue Cosmos wannabe right now, but his mind too was in conflict over what Mir had told him earlier. So he just sighed deeply and then said. "Mu… why don't we bring Kira over to Miss Allster and let her take good care of him for the moment?"
Mu nodded and they approached Flay, who flinched when Elzam looked at her with cold eyes.
But she then noticed KIra's sweating face, and his pale expression and she paled herself. "What happened to him? How did Kira become like this?"
"It's just combat shock… everyone who has been on the battlefield the first time gets it…" Elzam said flatly, his eyes still fixed on Flay. "And since when does Miss Blue Cosmos wannabe have concern over some 'Space Monster', huh? I thought you have cold space lubricants for blood when we Coordinators are concerned."
Flay flinched at the flat, emotionless tone, and the cold gaze that Elzam had trained on her, but managed to squeak out. "That… that's what I want to talk to you about, Elzam. Could… could you give me the chance to explain?"
Elzam looked at her thoughtfully for a moment and then said. "Sure… but the second I hear anything that resembles something that comes out of a Blue Cosmos doctrine, I'm leaving."
He turned to Mu and said. "Hey Mu… go on to the bridge first, will you? I'll join you later."
Mu nodded and said. "Sure… be sure you don't take long though. We're arriving soon at the Umbrella…. And I think it would be good for you and Kira to take a short break for now… but I think you should return when you are done. I think we should discuss what we are going to do when we reach Artemis."
"Will do, Mu…" Elzam said as he gave the blond pilot thumbs up, and watched as the Hawk of Endymion left the cafeteria, before he turned to Flay. "Alright Flay… now that you have my attention, talk away. But remember what I said earlier… the instant I hear anything from you that resemble anything those racist filth from Blue Cosmos has to say, I'm leaving you got that?"
At the girl's frantic nod, he relaxed slightly before saying. "GO ahead…. "
"Well…" Flay began rather nervously. "I guess you don't need me to tell you who my father is, right?"
"I don't think I need to know… Vice Foreign Minister George Allster… your father's anti-Coordinator sentiments is no secret, not if those speeches he gave are any indication." Elzam said blandly.
Flay nodded and said. "You are right about that… well, all my life, since my childhood, Daddy was the only one I had in my life. He called me his little princess and he treated me as such when I was growing up. I guess that's why I think I grew up to be quite a snob."
Elzam snorted. "Ain't that true…. Having a father in a high position in the Earth Forces could do something like that… bet you get a bit of his superiority complex that way too, huh?"
Flay flinched a little at the sarcastic tone that Elzam was using, but continued. "Yes… you are right. Anyway… Daddy has always told me since little, that Coordinators are unnatural creations of nature, perverted deviations of the human norm, space monsters and that sort of filth."
Elzam's eyes turned cold and hard, but he steeled himself, despite his feelings to just get up and leave. Add that to the fact that Kira was here as well, and he saw that the amethyst eyed youth looked slightly disappointed, though he had to admit, if Kira wasn't here, he would have left earlier. "Go on…" He said flatly.
Flay shivered under the coldness of those eyes, but she continued. "Well for a while, I thought they were true… since I had been exposed to Daddy's words all my life… and it certainly sounded true when ZAFT began attacking, and when Heliopolis was destroyed. But… I just feel so confused right now. I don't know what to believe…"
Elzam just raised an eyebrow and said. "Wow… that's something new. Never thought that I would hear you say that…" He silently felt grateful and said. Looks like the rot that George Allster has spread hasn't fully taken root yet… there may be hope still to cure her of the infection of her father's foolish notions.
Flay nodded and said. "Well yes… I was ready to believe the worst of you, ever since I found out that you were from ZAFT… and instinctively yelled at you back then at the hangar… and for that, I apologize… to the both of you, for my earlier words. I didn't know any better…"
Kira looked at Flay and nodded. "It's alright..." He wheezed slightly, his breath slowly returned to normal as he slowly recovered from the combat shock that he had experienced earlier.
Elzam looked at Flay thoughtfully for a moment and said. "As much as I wanted to say no, I do understand that you had only your father as your only relative, and the fact that he is an anti-Coordinator supporter would influence you and the way you think. SO apology accepted, for now… and please, do go on."
Flay nodded and said. "Well… to tell you the truth… the world I knew, at least about Coordinators was shaken when you ranted at me earlier… and the fact that you protected me earlier during the Heliopolis attack…. I don't really know what to believe in anymore. All the things that have been told to me since young now seem so… odd, in light of the recent events."
Elzam just smirked slightly and said. "Heh, I bet it was a real kick in the pants into reality eh, Miss Allster?"
Flay just nodded, smiling slightly at the reference. "Well… I suppose so. Umm, Elzam… could I ask you something?"
Elzam thought for a while and then nodded. "If it is within my knowledge… sure, I think I can."
"Well…" Flay hesitated for a moment and said. "What is it like? I mean life in the PLANTs?"
Elzam thought for a moment and shrugged. "Well, it's practically the same thing that you have on earth, though the different cities in PLANT are responsible for different sectors of production. In comparison, the PLANTs are something like the resource satellites like Heliopolis, for example. Pretty much of what you see on Earth, you can see on the PLANTs."
"Cities? You mean you have cities on the PLANTs? Ummm… could you tell me more about them, Elzam?" Flay asked curiously, and even Kira was intrigued. Although he had been friends with Athrun for a while, and did get invited to the PLANTs when Athrun was about to leave the school at Copernicus, he never really knew much about the PLANTs, so he listened intently, waiting for Elzam to speak.
Elzam just chuckled slightly. "Well… the 'cities' that I speak of are not really cities, but the PLANTs itself are divided into twelve different sectors, each named after the months of the Roman calendar. Each sector or 'cities' as we call it, usually has around ten individual PLANT settlements." He paused for a moment and said. "You both get whatever I have been talking about so far?"
At both the youth's nods, he continued. "Well, let me give you a brief overview of what each sector is responsible for. Let's start with Januarius City. Their main contributions to the PLANTs are its basic and applied micro engineering sector. Februarius City is somewhat famous for the doctors that graduate there, and towards the sciences sector. Its main contributions to the PLANTs are, basic and clinical medicine, biochemistry, molecular biology, and applied somatology. Martius City… well, I suppose it's responsible for the Laurasia and Nazca-class ships that the ZAFT military uses, since its main contribution is towards aerospace engineering and shipbuilding."
He paused for a moment and continued. "Aprilius City is well, the center of the PLANT government, since the PLANT Supreme Council resides in Aprilius One. You could say that Aprilius City is the PLANT's astronomical hub, since the fields of astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, space planetary science, and the fact that the fossil of Evidence 01 or to some factions calls it the 'Winged Whale' is also in Aprilius One. The study of space life sciences is geared to solve the mystery of Evidence 01."
He paused yet again and said. "Maius City is another military industrial hub, since most of the existing ZAFT mobile suits are designed and built on the Maius colonies. Unsurprisingly, the Maius sector focuses on applied mechanical engineering, basic and applied metallurgy, applied materials engineering, and robotics engineering."
Kira then said, interrupting Elzam for a moment. "Umm, Elzam... don't you think that Morgenroete resembles Maius City somehow?"
Elzam nodded and said. "Well Kira… if you want to look at it from certain aspects, yes, Morgenroete does resemble what Maius City is doing right now, only thing is, at least that's what I think, Morgenroete is not actively building its own Mobile Suit force for Orb."
He then continued. "Juinus City… well, if you want to take the recently destroyed Junius Seven..." He said the last part in anger, the cold rage flashing briefly in his eyes that made both Kira, and especially Flay shiver. "… Is mostly an agricultural sector, with the main focus on basic and applied agricultural sciences. Hydroponics and all that are practiced there, as does the field of social engineering."
"Quintilis and Sextilis City is the PLANTs central scientific and analytical hub, since they deal with quite a lot of stuff like basic and applied chemistry, basic, theoretical, particle and higher dimensional physics and mathematics. September City is most famous for its electronics, information and artificial intelligence engineering, and information sciences. October City deals with the social sciences, and November City deals with multipurpose practical industrial engineering."
Flay just said thoughtfully. "Wow…. I didn't know that the PLANTs were so diverse."
"Heh, it just gets better. Finally, last but not least, December City is where most of ZAFT's elementary schools are located. I would say that most of the children in the PLANTs are schooled there."
"I see…" Flay said quietly. She then said. "Thank you for your information, Elzam, though I still don't understand why you sounded so cold and hard when you said Daddy's name? DO you really hate him that much, and why?" She sounded more and more curious at this point.
Elzam sighed and looked at Flay thoughtfully. "Are you sure you want to know Flay? I personally feel that this matter wouldn't make me your favorite person, since the facts I will give you is a no holds barred version, and believe me, I won't pull any punches over it at all. If you wish to cease your enquiry, I will not blame you… he is the person you looked up to and taken care of you all your life, and the one who brought you up after all."
Flay suddenly had a feeling of dread inside her gut, and though she told herself that what Elzam had said made a lot of sense, and knew that she wouldn't like it., especially that he was going to speak the truth about her father.
"Well then, since you mind's made up… I suppose I would have to regale you with your father's 'exploits'." He said the last part in a biting tone, which made Flay flinch. Oh yes, it seems that Elzam did really dislike her father, if his attitude was like that.
"First things first, Flay… the reason I don't like your dad is nothing personal. But you do remember the attempted blockade on the PLANTs by the Earth Alliance back in C.E. 69, don't you? Guess who was one of the people responsible for that? That's right… your father, Vice Foreign Minister George Allster himself."
Flay became confused at statement. "Wait a minute… surely you are mistaken? I heard from Daddy… and the news that the PLANTs had provoked that response from the Alliance."
Elzam snorted at that. "Typical political response from those in the Earth Alliance government. Let me tell you the truth… those restrictions and quotas that the sponsor nations from the Alliance were too high and too incredulous to be tolerated. We tried to negotiate for the quotas and restrictions to be lightened; hell… we even tried to impose economic sanctions on them. But nothing worked… and then the Earth Alliance government, your father included… tried to impose that blockade on us." He paused for a while and smirk. "A fat lot of good that did… my team and I smashed that blockade with minimal effort and maximum efficiency."
His expression then turned hard and said. "The worst thing is… those idiots in the Earth government had the gall to frame us for the bombing at Copernicus, when the fact is we weren't even close to where it is."
Flay frowned just a little, some of her old prejudices surfacing. "What are you talking about? Daddy told me that the PLANTs and ZAFT were responsible for that attack."
Elzam just rolled his eyes. "Like I said… that is what I expected for George Allster to say… it is a known fact that those radicals from Blue Cosmos, who likes to spout their crap of 'for the preservation of our blue and pure world', were responsible for this. They wanted to start a war, and that gave them the excuse to do it. Add to the fact that I have heard rumors that your father, of all people… is one of the higher ups inside Blue Cosmos… if what I heard is true that is."
Flay's expression paled slightly, and shook her head. "No… Daddy... in Blue Cosmos? That can't be right… I know that his views on Coordinators are quite extreme… but he isn't Blue Cosmos… is he?"
Elzam just shook his head and said. "I can't be too sure of that Flay… like I said earlier, there are pretty nasty rumors out there about your father… some of them are pretty true. I suggest you ask your father about it when you get the chance to meet him… and I will stop if you don't want me to continue."
Flay bit her lower lips nervously but shook her head. "No… I think… I think I can take it… please do go on. And thank you for being honest with me… I... I'll think I'll do that… ask Daddy… I mean."
"You're welcome Flay…." Elzam said softly, his expressions softening for a moment, before becoming serious again. "Now, is there anything else you want to ask me?"
"Welll…." Flay thought for a moment and said. "I remember one time that Daddy came home cursing ZAFT, and when I asked him why, he said in extreme displeasure that ZAFT had done an evil thing when the N-Jammers are developed and causing many deaths on Earth due to an energy crisis."
Elzam just chuckled and said. "Hah! What a hoot that statement is! Listen to this Flay…. Do you think that ZAFT launched Operation Uroboros and created the April Fool Crisis for fun, and for no reason? NO!" His expression turned cold again. "It is because those maniacs from Blue Cosmos actually rigged a Moebius with a damned NUCLEAR missile and fired it against Junius Seven, killing 243,721 people." He then turned away from her and Kira clenching his fist as tears almost appeared in his eyes. "Two of those were my parents… whose only crime was to be at the wrong place at the wrong time."
Flay gasped, her hands covering her mouth, while Kira looked horrified at this latest revelation.
Elzam turned back to them, after controlling his emotions, though his expression was one of sadness. "So you see why I have no love for Blue Cosmos and their cronies…" He paused for a moment and said. "I am a student of history, Flay… and racism had caused much suffering in the Earth's history. From Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany… who propagated the Holocaust that killed thousands of Jews… to the slavery of the African-American community in the old United States of America during the 19th Century. Not to mention the racial discrimination in America, and the presence of the Ku Klux Klan… that is what Blue Cosmos is doing…"
He turned to Kira and said. "I think that's the only thing that makes me the same as your friend, Athrun Zala, Kira… his mother, Lenore Zala was also at Junius Seven when the nuke struck. Only difference is… I didn't go mad like Athrun's father did."
"What do you mean, Elzam?" Kira said, his heart secretly went out to the older pilot, who in his opinion was a kindred spirit to his friend.
"Well, it's no secret that Patrick Zala's attitude after the Bloody Valentine has become more and more radical. That's all I can say for the moment…" Elzam said in a tone that brooks no argument.
Meanwhile Flay was having a conflict of her own in her mind. Daddy once said to me that Coordinators are nothing but filth, deviations of humans due to genetic tampering… but after what happened to Junius Seven, and the fact that he lost his parents there… I wonder… if we are any better than those Coordinators.
She looked down for a moment and walked over to Elzam and said quietly. "E… Elzam… I'm sorry for what happened to your parents…." She then looked up and said. "Part of me doesn't want to accept what I just heard… but when I think about Junius Seven… and your parents… part of me wants to ask myself whether what Daddy had said all along have been a lie."
She paused for a moment before continuing. "I am still confused about all this… but I think… I think that Coordinators are not all that bad, not like what Daddy said."
Elzam and Kira looked at each other for a moment, and smiled, secretly relieved that Flay's anti-Coordinator sentiments were slowly eroding away, which is a pretty good sign.
"I… am glad that you feel that way Flay… and I am sure Miguel and Kira would feel that way too. Just remember this, there are good and bad Coordinators, just like there are good and bad Naturals as well. But what I think is… we all got off the wrong foot due to some technical aspects. So, I think that starting anew would be best in this situation." He then offered his hand to Flay. "Friends?"
Flay hesitated for a moment, but then quickly made a decision. "I agree… I'm at fault too, jumping into conclusions that you are a bad Coordinator… so yes, I want to be friends… with you, Kira… and Mr. Miguel too." She then shook both their hands, and for the first time since her arrival, a soft smile graced her face.
God, she's beautiful… Both Kira and Elzam thought unanimously.
Elzam was the first to snap out of his trance, and then said to Flay. "Thank you… I will let Miguel know… oh and Flay, just for your information, we are arriving at Artemis soon. I want you to stick close to Kira for your own protection…there's no telling what Rear Admiral Gerard Garcia will do."
At the girl's nod, he then turned to Kira and said. "I have some advice for you Kira… I want you to go to the hangar and put an encryption lock on the Strike. If what I think of Gerard Garcia is right, he'll probably want to use the Strike, the Aquila and even Miguel's GINN for his own nefarious purposes. Once you're done, come back to the cafeteria and stay by Flay's side… I'm counting on your, little buddy."
Kira felt a light swell of pride after hearing those words. To be counted on by his friend and the ace of ZAFT was rare indeed, and further more, his task was to guard Flay Allster, the girl that he had admired for sometime. "Alright Elzam… you can count on me."
Elzam nodded and said. "Alright then… now I think I had better get going. Both Miguel and I had already made the precautions, and now it's your turn." Before he goes, Elzam turned and then gave Flay a gentle hug, making the girl blush softly before he let her go, and exited the cafeteria.
Flay was silently feeling happy that Elzam seems to be back to normal, and her mind returned to when he held her protectively when ZAFT attacked, and she felt grateful that it wasn't too late for her to have a chance at him.
For Kira though, he felt slightly sad to see that Flay and Elzam seem to have something, maybe feelings for each other, and that he might not have a chance of winning her affections. But on the other hand, he also felt happy for Elzam. After what he had told them, he felt that the older pilot deserved some happiness of his own.
He then made up his mind to protect Flay, not just as a good friend, but for Elzam's sake as well. I meant what I said, Elzam. I will keep my promise to you and protect Flay… for you, and for myself. She will see more proof that Coordinators can be good as well. I swear it… even if it means losing my life. This I promise you, you can count on me… my friend.
Author's Note: Well, Chapter 10 is done, and as I promised, Flay's anti-Coordinator feelings gets a major beating. I thank you all for your reviews, especially Liubei1986. I will strive to make Elzam as un-Gary Stu like as possible. I will borrow a few bits and pieces of other Gundam AU stories, so I would like to ask the permission of Solid Shark, Dragoon Swordsman, Nukedawg and Storm Wolf to use their fics as my muses.
Up next: The Second Round of the Battle of Artemis. And please, people, I need your help in creating Elzam's arch-enemy, on how he looks like. The only thing I have in mind right now, is that he is the kind of person that kicks people when their down. His callsign for now would be the Grimaldi Vulture. Need suggestions for the character's appearance, name, and the name of the ship that Elzam's rival commands. Thanks…
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